3 Reasons Why You Might Want to Own a Business
Have you been thinking that business ownership is for you? Many people are committed to the idea of owning a business and work hard to pursue this goal. Of course, the path towards buying a business is indeed complicated and requires a significant investment of not only money but also time. As a result, you’ll want to ensure that you are fully committed to business ownership before beginning the process. Let’s take a look at some common reasons why individuals choose to buy a business.
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Desire to Grow Your Income
Most people will say that they would like to make more money. However, keep in mind that while owning a business will likely mean you grow your income, it also requires a significant amount of work, especially in the early stages.
Research shows that the longer you own your business, the more profits you will generate. Those who have owned their business for more than a decade will typically earn more than 100K a year. Of course, owning a business always comes with a degree of financial risk, but if you do successfully run your company for a series of years, you will likely succeed financially. Just be prepared for the possibility that the first few years may not generate as much income as you had hoped.
On the positive side, owning your own business allows you to have control over your financial destiny. You have the ability to make decisions that will grow your business
Interest in Shaping Your Lifestyle
When you work for someone else’s business, the way your life is organized is dictated by the rules and regulations of the company. For example, you may want to work at home, but your job requires you to spend 40 hours a week in the office.
If you want to make key decisions that impact your day-to-day life, owning a business will be quite attractive to you. You will be able to decide not only where you work, but also how many hours you work and with whom you work. You have the power and ability to shape many aspects of not only your life, but the life of your employees as well.
You are Willing to Take on Some Risk
The personality of a typical business owner is a person who is comfortable with taking on some risks. After all, not all businesses succeed. At some level, you are always risking your time, money, and energy. Of course, this aspect will vary dramatically depending on the kind of business you acquire.
It is also important to consider that many business owners find that they are working around the clock. They simply cannot go home and forget about their job at the end of the day. In sharp contrast, they are always on call and actively thinking about their business and relevant decisions. You also may not get paid vacation or sick days.
Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute studied the ideal personality traits for a business owner and found that successful owners are action-oriented, curious, self-fulfilled, tech-savvy, and future-focused. They surveyed over 1,000 small businesses to generate this data. If you resonate with these traits, it is likely you are indeed cut out to own a business.
Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.
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Telling the Story of Your Business
Often selling a business comes down to storytelling. The buyer and seller are the main characters of the story that is being told. The seller is the one relaying the story, and the ideal buyer is the one who truly sees the future opportunity.
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A Brokerage Professional Can Help Tell Your Story
The simple fact of the matter is that often even sellers don’t know what the true story of their business actually is. They tend to lack the proper perspective as they are too deeply involved. Sellers may be burnt out or have never really thought through the story of their business in the first place.
Business brokers and M&A advisors serve a great function as a third party who can look at the story from a different perspective. These professionals are numbers people, but it goes beyond that, as they can clearly see your business as a story to be told. And they can help you control that storyline for optimal results.
Embracing the Human Element
In order to tell the story of the business and why a buyer should want to buy it, it is necessary for your business broker or M&A advisor to truly understand your business. This is why good communication is so important. After the interview process, these professionals must precisely arrange all the relevant information in such a way that the buyer can digest it and see the potential within the business. Through that means, a prospective buyer can understand that value and envision him or herself as the hero.
It Goes Beyond the Financials
Business brokers and M&A advisors also help sellers determine the price and work as advisors on pricing. The story of the business does start with the financials and the facts. But this is only the beginning of the process. Brokerage professionals will want to interview you to learn how to weave together your story.
In the end, every story has a moral. It is important to pull all of these elements together to make an engaging story that will ultimately inspire and motivate a buyer to buy the business.
Storytelling Leads to Successful Deals
When buyers open their minds to the story being told, they are able to envision the future potential of the business and why it is going to be a valuable opportunity. At the end of the day, selling a business isn’t strictly about numbers, figures, facts, profit and loss margins, and other financial variables. Instead, it is also about the people.
Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.
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How Sellers Can Boost Their Levels of Success
Many buyers view a publicly-held company as virtually being an open book with at least a modest level of transparency, whereas privately-held companies reveal much less about their inner workings, financial, and otherwise. Of course, this means that buyers of privately-held companies are left with no choice but to dig through whatever information is available in an effort to determine if a valuation or price indeed reflects reality.
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Comparing Publicly and Privately Held Companies
Determining the price on a privately-held company is typically more time-consuming since privately-held companies don’t have to deal with audited financial statements. But why do most privately-held companies typically forgo the process? Audited financial statements are expensive, and it is this expense that often prevents companies from going public. A publicly-held company is expected to reveal significantly more information, including often sensitive financial information.
What Sellers Can Do
If you’re a seller, you can take steps to make the process a bit easier for buyers. One step is to work closely with your accountant in an effort to ensure that the numbers are not just accurate, but are also presented in a concise and easy to understand fashion. This move serves to boost trust between buyers and sellers and, in turn, can increase the chances of selling your business.
Determining value is another area where sellers of privately-held companies can take steps to assist buyers in determining price or value. Sellers should consider opting for an outside appraiser or expert when it comes to determining the value of their business. The opinion of an outside expert clearly carries more weight, and using an outside expert is yet another step that sellers can take to boost overall trust with buyers.
Establish Your Bottom Line
Another key step is for sellers to establish their wish price. The wish price can be thought of as what price the seller would ultimately like to receive. It is also helpful for sellers to know well in advance what their lowest possible price for their business would be.
When establishing a price, there are several areas of the business where sellers can expect buyers to pay special attention. Here are a few areas that buyers are likely to explore:
- Size and scope of customer base
- Needs for capital expenditures
- Overall stability of the market
- Stability of earnings
- The general landscape of competitors
- Businesses relationships with suppliers
As with all transactions, the marketplace will have the final word regarding the sale of any business. Sellers should expect to receive a price somewhere between their asking price and their lowest price. But taking the right steps throughout the process can definitely make the process go more smoothly and boost the chances of success.
Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.
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When It Comes to Selling Your Business, Let Others Do the Heavy Lifting
While brokerage professionals are working to sell your business, it’s important for you to keep running things in a smooth and seamless manner. In countless cases, sellers have made the mistake of letting things slide simply because they are distracted while trying to sell. You’ll want to make sure things remain the same, as prospective buyers will otherwise start to become nervous. Be sure to keep the premises in tip top condition. Things such as operating hours and inventory levels should remain unchanged. After all, if sales and earnings decrease, that will raise a red flag for buyers.
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Business brokers and M&A advisors will help tremendously with various details and events that will take place during the sales process. From start to finish, they will keep their eye on the prize so that you have the time and energy to focus on running your business. The same holds true for other professionals who may help you, such as attorneys and CPAs.
Get Professional Advice on Pricing
You may have a pre-established figure in your mind of what your business is worth and how much you expect to make when you sell. However, the truth is that you will only receive what the market will allow. That’s why it’s so important to get a professional valuation before you decide on a price. If you set too high of a price on your business, it will only slow down or even halt your journey towards successful results.
Keep Things Confidential
Until your sales transaction is completed, you’ll also want to make sure the highest standards of confidentiality are held. If your vendors and employees know that you are selling, it could lead to circumstances that are detrimental to the value of your business. For example, key employees could seek employment elsewhere and/or vendors could terminate contracts.
Decide On Your Strategies
Will you be willing to stay on in some capacity? In many cases, this decision can help increase what you receive for your business. Buyers will often pay more when a seller stays on for a designated period of time as they see this as a reduction in their risk. Would you be willing to offer seller financing? Again, buyers will see this as a sign that you believe in the future success of the business.
Prepare in Advance
It’s always best to prepare when you are not experiencing external pressures. You never know when life could take its toll and force you to sell. That’s why so many sellers start preparing years in advance by taking actions such as cleaning up paperwork, handling litigation and/or environmental issues, and organizing documents.
Selling a business can be highly distracting for business owners. That’s why most reach out to a business broker or M&A advisor. In fact, the best policy is for business owners to start talking to brokerage professionals quite a few years in advance. That way they can make sure everything is optimized for positive results.
Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.
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What You Need to Know About Family Businesses
Family businesses are critical to both the US and World economies. In fact, in the US alone, there are approximately 5.5 million family owned and controlled businesses.[1] While much of the world’s wealth is a byproduct of family-owned businesses, the fact is that most are not actually prepared to sell in a way that will profit the owners for their life’s work.
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Many owners of family businesses care deeply about the legacy that they built and want it to remain in their family or with someone that will continue it with the same mission, vision, and values on which it operates. This is often difficult as the owners lack an established succession plan or exit strategy.
Studies show that about one-third of family owners never even plan to retire. As a result, they have no succession or exit plan in place. In some cases, the business is forced to form a strategy by default when the business owner becomes burned out, disabled or worse, passes away. This is clearly not the best path when it comes to maximizing profits.
Pros and Cons of Conveying Your Business to Family Members
According to Businessweek.com, the average lifespan of a family-owned business is 24 years. About 40% of family-owned businesses are successfully passed down to a second-generation with only about 13% passed down to a third generation. [2] With the fourth generation and beyond, the survival rate is 3% or less. Regardless of whether a family business owner intends to convey their business to a third party or have it remain in the family, it is important to maintain confidentiality and have the proper documentation in place for a successful transition.
There are disadvantages that need to be considered if you plan to sell your business to a family member. One key disadvantage is that a family business owner will typically receive less value for their business than engaging the sale with an independent third party. Selling to an independent third party can often force a family business owner to also paradoxically agree to a lower value to negotiate the retention of jobs and incomes for the family members they wish to remain with the business after the sale. It is important to prepare the remaining family members that they will have to accept the fact that they now answer to new ownership and management with the business.
Handling Multiple Owners and or Decision Makers
If there are multiple owners and/or decision-makers in the family-owned business and the business is being sold to a third party, it is important to appoint one family member to represent the negotiations. Having multiple decision-makers at this critical step in the process of conveying the business to a third-party owner can lead to numerous issues and headaches for both the buyer and seller. Many times, multiple decision makers cause failure in the ability to transition the business to third-party ownership, as the parties involved have competing priorities with the sale of the business, which prevents satisfying everyone involved in the process. Keep in mind that all family members must be in consensus with the price, terms and sale of the business or it will never happen. This fact can be true even if the family members involved are just employees or active/passive investors in the business. Disagreements among family members often derail the possibility of a deal happening.
Obtaining Outside Assistance
To increase your probability of success with conveying a family-owned business to future generations or new independent ownership, having a third-party guide you through the process who is not emotionally involved like the various family members involved, can be critical in making the deal happen. That’s why a variety of professionals including business brokers, M&A advisors, lawyers, and accountants should be brought in to help.
This article highlights just a few of the myriad issues and processes involved in conveying your business to new ownership once you decide it is time to retire or move on to a new venture. If you are just beginning or actively considering transitioning your business to new ownership, please do not hesitate to reach out to us for advice and assistance.
[1] https://www.gvsu.edu/fobi/family-firm-facts-5.htm
[2] https://www.johnson.cornell.edu/smith-family-business-initiative-at-cornell/resources/family-business-facts/
Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.
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What Do Buyers Really Want?
When sellers get ready to put their businesses on the market, they often wonder what buyers are really looking for in an effort to make their businesses as attractive as possible. The answer to this question can seem mysterious when you are on the other side of the bargaining table. So, what are buyers typically thinking about when they decide whether or not to purchase a business? It should come as no surprise that much of this is tied to earnings and stability.
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Guarantees of No Surprises
Sustainable earnings are very attractive to buyers. After all, it allows them to know what to expect. Buyers can then factor in if they can advance the business in a way that would grow faster than the current pace. If not, they at least would have the confidence to know that the business will proceed at the same rate. Of course, no buyer would want to acquire a business only to find that it had high earnings temporarily due to a one-time contract.
Accuracy of Information
Along the same line of avoiding surprises, buyers will want to verify the information they receive about a business. Anything involving past, present, or future legal issues will be scrutinized along with other issues, such as pending product returns. The due diligence process is when you can expect the buyer to dig into the details of your business. You can expect that he or she will often do so with the assistance of an attorney and accountant.
Oftentimes, accountants or appraisers add back one-time expenses or non-recurring expenses. Buyers will want to look at the earnings and have proof of expenses that are non-recurring, such as fees for a lawsuit or heavy repairs to a building. Since this process inflates earnings, it can make it difficult for buyers to understand the actual earning potential of a business. Otherwise, those expenses would throw off the true earning potential of the business.
In Closing
These are just a few of the key considerations made by business buyers when evaluating a potential acquisition. There are numerous other considerations that a buyer will make, and it is important to be prepared to address those questions and potential concerns a buyer may have up front, or they will quickly lose interest and move on to other potential acquisition opportunities. Put yourself in the shoes of a potential buyer and think about the kinds of assurances you would want before buying a business.
Working with a Business Broker or M&A Advisor can be tremendously beneficial in this regard. These professionals have worked with many buyers in the past, and, therefore, easily see things from a buyer’s point of view. They will not only be able to help you get prepared up front when buyers begin looking at your business, but also easily identify and point out areas of concern that a potential buyer may have in order to keep the journey to closing on track.
Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.
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No Replacement for Experience
When it comes time to sell your business and sign on the dotted line, you only have one opportunity to get it right. In many cases, business owners have made critical mistakes while attempting to sell their business. This kind of scenario can often occur when an owner trusts a friend or relative to help navigate the process. In some cases, business owners have even been known to try to broker their deals on their own. Let’s take a look at some common errors that have occurred during the process when experienced professionals were not brought in to assist.
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Not Prioritizing Confidentiality
We cannot understate the importance of confidentiality. When business owners try to go it alone, they often share valuable information with the wrong people, such as competitors. Or accidentally alert employees, suppliers and customers that the business is up for sale. When confidentiality is breached, unexpected and unfortunate consequences can result, such as employees looking for new work or customers switching over to work with different businesses. If any of these scenarios occur, it can devalue the business or even interfere with a sale going through properly.
Mistakes in Financial Information
If the party assisting you to sell your business lacks experience, he or she may accidentally omit preparing critical paperwork. Additionally, if the financial records are not properly audited, it could negatively impact the numbers. This could lead to lower offers and less interest from prospective buyers.
Failing to Involve Key Parties
Another error that could be caused by inexperience is neglecting to bring key parties into the deal. For example, when a business owner is guided by a layperson or trying to handle everything on his or her own, important people, such as the CFO, might accidentally not be brought into the due diligence process. While an error like this one might not necessarily kill the deal, it could lead to delays and complications.
The bottom line is that when it comes to a large transaction like selling your business, it is time to rely upon trustworthy professionals. There is a long list of protocols and steps that lead to a deal going smoothly. Experienced business brokers and M&A advisors will make sure that all the best practices are followed and that you come out ahead in the end.
Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.
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Leases: Key Considerations That Can Make or Break a Business
Are you selling a business that involves a lease? If so, this will be a factor that has significance to a buyer when you go to complete your deal. If your business relies heavily on its location and you don’t own property, then you’ll find the lease will be quite an important consideration for your buyer. By the same token, if you’re buying a business that involves a lease, you’ll want to carefully examine this document and consider how it might impact you and your business. Let’s take a look at some important clauses and terms you’ll want to be looking for.
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Lease Transfers
What are the terms for the transfer of the lease? This is something you’ll want to know before signing on the dotted line if you think you’ll be selling at some point in the near future.
Lease Lengths
How long is your lease? If your buyer can confirm that there are many more years on your lease, he or she will find that to be an advantage.
In the case of a business owner with a new endeavor, a shorter lease may actually be an advantage. That way the owner can get out of the lease if the business is not successful.
Competitors
If you’re planning on a lease in a shopping center, it’s essential to get in writing that the center will not accept other tenants that do what your business does. Otherwise, you’ll be constantly faced with competing with a similar business.
Unexpected Costs
It’s also important to look for clauses that address what happens in the case of an adverse event. For example, if the property was destroyed by a fire, who will pay in the interim?
There are other practical considerations to consider in leases that many business owners tend to overlook. For example, how are real estate taxes covered? Will you be charged a fee to cover maintenance of the property and, if so, what is it? Is someone in particular responsible for necessary repairs and who will pay for those?
It goes without saying that you’ll also want to check out clauses impacting rent changes. Otherwise, you may face unexpected rent increases that negatively impact your business.
Personal Guarantees
If you are a new business owner, a landlord may ask you to personally guarantee the rent. This would be quite a different lease from one that accepts a well-established corporation as a tenant.
As you can see, there is much more involved in a lease than just the amount of the rent. Be sure to read your lease carefully and ask questions. A Business Broker or M&A Advisor can assist you with lease terms when you are buying a business.
Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.
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Questions to Ask When Negotiating a Deal
Almost every sale of a business involves a high degree of negotiation between buyers and sellers. In this article, we share some of the questions you can ask yourself to prepare for this part of the process. After all, optimal outcomes are typically only achieved through proper negotiation strategies. Keep in mind that one of the key strengths possessed by Business Brokers and M&A Advisors is expertise and skills in negotiating deals.
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Can Both Parties Split the Difference?
If the buyer and seller can’t agree on a number, one negotiating tactic is to have them split the difference. This is a tactic that is simple to understand, and it shows both parties that the other is willing to be flexible. This reveals a good degree of goodwill and can serve to not only keep both parties talking, but also lower any pre-existing tensions. When both parties are still at the table, there is still hope that a deal can be reached. This tactic serves to continue the discussions and can often be highly beneficial.
Can the Buyer and Seller Better Understand One Another?
When it comes to good negotiations, one of the goals is for both parties to seek to understand one another. Sometimes a buyer or seller’s needs don’t even involve the numbers on paper. Instead, they may be seeking to adjust terms to make them more conducive to their overall goals. If you can keep an open mind and seek to better understand what the other party is ultimately looking for, it can go a long way in making the deal happen.
Can You Bring in a Professional?
There is an old saying that says, “Never negotiate your own deal.” One of the benefits of bringing in a brokerage professional is that this third party won’t have the same level of emotional investment. This means that he or she can keep a neutral perspective and be more apt to see things from both sides. Sometimes a new perspective can work wonders. Further, a brokerage professional will understand the myriad of complex factors that must be successfully resolved before the deal is finalized. A Business Broker or M&A Advisor will have tips and techniques that can only be gained from years of first-hand exposure to making deals happen.
Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.
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A Guide for Determining a Reasonable Price for Your Small Business
There is a considerable difference between determining the value of a privately-held company and a publicly-held company. Topping the list of considerable differences is the fact that privately-held companies do not have audited financial statements. Let’s look at how the owners of privately held companies should proceed in establishing a reasonable price for their company.
An audited financial statement is a costly endeavor. In order to avoid the cost, many companies simply don’t go public. Of course, it should be noted that publicly held companies, as the name indicates, reveal much more about their finances than their privately held counterparts do. Privately held companies are often seen as being more mysterious whereas publicly held companies are considered more “open.”
Business owners looking to sell their business will, of course, want to address the fact that their company lacks the public information associated with publicly held companies. Providing prospective buyers with as much verified information about your business as possible is one of the fastest and easiest ways to overcome buyers’ concerns. A smart move for any business owner is to work closely with their accountant to go over the numbers and create an easy-to-understand presentation for prospective buyers. This should serve to allay many of their concerns.
Working with your accountant is only the first step in providing prospective buyers with the information they need to feel comfortable. The second step is to work with an outside appraiser or other expert who can determine the value of your business. After that, you’ll want to decide on what your market price will be, as well as your “wish price,” or the price that you would ideally want. Third, you must know your “rock bottom” lowest price. You, as the owner, need to have this information as it will greatly facilitate and streamline all negotiations.
When buyers are reviewing materials and working to determine what price they are willing to pay, they will look at a wide range of factors including:
- Product diversity
- The size of your customer base
- Potential competitors in the area
- Competitors on the horizon
- Potential disruptions to your business, such as supplier problems
- The stability of your earnings
- The stability of the market
- Need for capital
Different buyers may place differing levels of emphasis on certain areas, but you can be certain that the aforementioned areas will be examined with care. The process is undoubtedly rather complex. This complexity underscores the need for professional assistance.
Ultimately, the market will determine the sale price of your business. For business owners, the first and most important step is to work closely with professionals such as accountants, appraisers, Business Brokers and M&A Advisors to establish the price of your privately held business. You can count on brokerage professionals to properly organize the facts and numbers that support that price.
Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.
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