sell a business florida Archives - Page 4 of 11

You Want to Sell Your Business Someday How to Prepare Today

By Scott | March 14, 2011 - 7:44 am |December 15, 2014 business broker florida, buy a business, entrepreneur, Main, sell a business, sell a business florida, selling my business, small business ideas, small business owner

1 Comment

Every Business Needs an Exit Strategy. Do you want to Run Your Business Forever? Do you Want to Sell your business? Do you want to leave your business to your children? Do you want to sell your business to Your Employees? Do you Just want to close your doors and Move on? How do you want to exit your business ?- And when?

Recently a good friend of mine that is a successful business owner contacted me about the prospect of selling his business in a few years. He asked me to contact him regarding what he may want to be doing now to prepare his business for sale. He has a successful growing business, he has grown his number of employees from 10 to 75 over the last 18 months. He is effective at gaining new contracts and growing revenue, but like so many businessmen, he has never attempted to sell his business.

Devising An Exit Strategy For Selling Your Business

Normally during the startup of a new business the thought of an exit strategy is not even a consideration. Then small business owners get so involved with the day-today operation of their businesses that again an exit strategy is either not even thought of or possibly just put on the back burner. Taking some time to put some thought into your exit strategy can go a long way to increasing your odds of exiting your business the way you desire to.

Planning, gaining knowledge, and preparing may be the 3 most important measures you can take when considering an effective exit strategy.

If your exit strategy involves an interest in trying to successfully sell your business in several years, what sort of measures or actions should a business owner take to make this successful:

Make sure your financials are in order. Clean understandable Income Statements and Balance Sheets will add value to your business.
Systematize and document your operations and procedures. Well documented policies, procedures and practices are a sign of a well run company and probably would help your company run better, and add value. If you got hit by a truck tomorrow could someone use your documented practices to help continue run your business?
Move your business towards a business that does not rely on you. Do your customers do business with your company or do customers do business with you. When you go to sell your business are you selling a business that is dependent on you the owner or a self-sustaining business based on a solid philosophy, solid customer service and reliable employees and practices. Or when you go away, does your business go away?
Speak to your trusted advisers- let them know your intentions see if they have any input suggestions that could help move you towards this goal. Trusted advisers may include your attorney, CPA, financial advisor, business brokers.
Learn by speaking to your trusted advisers what are the most important aspects that affect your business value. How does one value your business? What is most important to business buyers?- Your Assets, your cash flow, your sales, your number of customers, your patents, trademarks, your competitive advantage. Learn what the real driving factors are behind raising the value of your business and work on them. Understand that not all businesses that attempt to sell actually do find a business buyer and sell.
Running your business and concurrently, preparing your business for sale is a viable approach towards business transition. It is not a” one or the other approach”. Preparing your business for sale does not need to get in the way of running your business, and most measures improve your business. If you make needed improvements to your business and or operations and decide not to sell your business or exit your business, you still most likely will have a better business on your hands.

For planning purposes try to learn what the potential value of your business may be. Also educate yourself on the business buying or selling marketplace. It is not always the same. Selling a business during the 90’s was different than selling a business in 2006, and is significantly different than selling a business in 2010… and different than 2015 or 2020.

If you think you want to sell your business in 5 years for $1M, attempt to understand what realistically your approximate value may be today. If your business may realistically only be worth $250,000- change your expectations, change your time frame, or maybe more importantly get to work on making necessary changes to your business.

Its not Who You Know its Who Knows You

By Scott | January 31, 2011 - 6:52 am |July 17, 2013 business broker florida, buy a business, how to sell a business, Main, sell a business, sell a business florida, selling my business

Establishing The Right Relationships

We use various means to establish those relationships. When we make it our goal to grow our businesses by “getting out there and meeting more people”, that effort can be somewhat miss-guided. For every business person the needs are a little different. I help people buy and sell business. I strive to speak to more people that are considering buying a business.

I also prospect and market to reach small business owners that have an interest in selling their business. In some businesses the largest asset may be the production equipment, in others it may be their building they own, in my business as a business broker my largest asset along with my experiences may be my business relationships.

Actually to me the concept of Business Relationships has changed significantly over the last several years with the evolving of the internet and social media. And the definition of a business relation has become somewhat blurred.

“On Facebook I have 1800 friends”, “on Twitter 12,000 Follow Me and I follow 14,000” “On Linked-In I have 2200 Contacts”.- I actually dont have these sort of numbers but many of us know people that do. The real fact, at least for me, is that if I have to use all my fingers and toes to count my real friends I consider myself fortunate.

Photo (c) sheranescloset.com

Does Knowing People Mean That They Know You?

Do the 1800 Facebook friends know you ?, Do the 14,000 on Twitter know you?, Of the 2200 Contacts on Link-ed In , how many are going to shoot me an email when they want to Buy a Business or Sell a Business in Florida, or buy printer paper, or get my lawn service, or whatever my business offers?

As we strive to network and expand our sphere of relationships I recently got reminded of the actual goal of this effort , or rather what the end result of this effort should actually be. Very often I think thru my networking efforts, I want to meet people, when really what I want to do is have people meet me, get to know me. I know who President Obama is, I don`t really”know” President Obama. So I know of President Obama- does that help my business -no. But what if President Obama knew me or knew of me?

I know of Bill Gates-Microsoft. So what? What if Bill Gates knew of me? But from a practical standpoint, knowing the president of the small business right here on Main St is nice, but meeting him and striving to get him to know me, and when he and his friends are talking and one strikes up the all to common conversation of ” Do you know anyone who…..” can help me buy a business in Florida, this small business owner can say yes, I know this great business broker and his name is…

How to Sell Your Business for More

By Scott | January 14, 2011 - 7:41 am |July 17, 2013 business broker florida, buy a business, how to sell a business, sell a business, sell a business florida, selling my business, small business ideas, small business owner

1 Comment

At some point a business owner considers selling their business. Sometimes it is just a fleeting thought. Sometimes its a thought of “I don`t need this anymore, get me out”. Other times its a well planned out progressive process. You want to sell your business- how do you sell it for more.

This sounds like a fairly straight forward approach, but just as the selling of a business process can be very involved, the question of how to sell it for more firstly needs definition. I am a business broker based in Florida and speak to many many business owners about the potential sale of their business. I also sold my own business several years ago.

Selling Your Business When The Time Is Right

Just consider the simple analogy of having a rusty bike in the garage with flat tires that you want to sell today. You put it out at the end of the drive way put a For Sale sign on it- what do you think it will sell for? How can you sell that bike for more tomorrow than you can today?

Selling Your Business For More:

Selling your business for more can be a very good thing and very reasonable goal.
Trying to sell a business for more than it is worth can ultimately result in your business not being sold at all.
Setting the Goal today to improve your business, prepare it for sale so that it is worth more after your improvements is probably your best approach
Wanting to sell your business for more than “what you heard a local competitor sold for” can also be a mis-guided path.

Preparing Your Business For Sale

So selling your business for more is a reasonable and understandable goal. How do you get more for your business? Start today preparing your business for sale. Like so many of your other important business decision, prepare yourself a to-do list and systematically address those items. Below are some items you will want to include on your to-do list to help ready your business to sell for more. Ask and honestly answer these questions about your business.

How are your financials? Are there some unusual entries on your P/L that have escaped needed adjustment? Are all sales accounted for? Do you have a good clean P/L statement? For smaller businesses Do you have a P/L and Balance sheet?

How reliant is your business on you. What can you do today to help your company be more about your company and less about you.?

How documented are your systems, procedures, policies, pricing structure?

Photo (c) discoverytraining.co.za

Is your customer base as diverse as it should be? How reliant is your business on a few key customers. And again do those customers do business with you the business owner or with the company?

Do you have the opportunity to add recurring revenue streams to your business, but elected to not pursue? Do you have some contracted customers that you just haven’t updated contracts with?

Spend some time to meet with some of your trusted advisers. Dont rely on information you hear through the grapevine about this person selling their business for this amount. Talk to your attorney, your accountant , or visit with a business broker start to really learn the marketplace. Have you scraped the rust off your bike?, painted it ? oiled the chain? pumped up the tires? put an ad in the newspaper? on the Internet?- Is your bike worth more today than it was yesterday?

How do you sell your business for more tomorrow or next year than it is worth today? Start today preparing your business for sale.

Number 1 Reason For Selling Your Business

By Scott | December 2, 2010 - 6:35 am |July 17, 2013 business broker florida, buy a business, Main, sell a business, sell a business florida, selling my business, small business ideas, small business owner

Solid Reason For Selling Your Business

Good businesses get sold for very good reasons. Being “ready to do something else” is a good reason. A seller of a business needs to be ready to sell. Really- you only really exit your business by 2 means.

1. By your choice-your timeframe, your plan.

2. Not by your choice– closing due to business failure, business conditions, bankruptcy,Forced Sale.

Granted there may be certain undesirable business or personal events that prompts one to “be ready”. A business owner may have additional employee problems and decide that enough is enough and that is the impetus to sell ones business. New frustrating regulation, customer problems, and any one of numerous problems a business owner may face may be the “final straw” and induce a business owner to pursue the sale of the business.

But again for any business owner that has owned and managed a business for an extended period of time problems such as these come and go. Business can be going quite well and the owner may just be ready to move on. Actually selling a business while the business is doing well is a well thought out exit strategy for a business owner. And yes problems can and, do come along with the business. Problems within the business does not make a business a bad business.

A business owner may “just be Ready” to:

retire
try something new- a second career
want to move or relocate
Just be done running the business I have been running for the last 20 years

I am not aware of the existence of a Perfect Business. Even the best of business opportunities will likely contain issues and or undesirable situations. But if you truly want to own your own business and move into the role of business owner- Understand that good business are being sold by business owners that are just ready…. to move on.

7 Ways to Improve Your Business that Cost No Money

By Scott | November 17, 2010 - 12:37 pm |July 17, 2013 business broker florida, buy a business, entrepreneur, Main, sell a business florida, selling my business, small business ideas, small business owner

What Can I Do To Improve My Business With Limited Or No Money

1.Look at your company from the perspective of a customer. Can you do that?, can you pretend you are a customer trying to do business with your company. You send an inquiry via email, you place a call into your company- what happens?. We all have dealt with companies that customer service seems more like “How to effectively get a customer off the phone” instead of ” I wont let you hang up the phone until I know I have completely helped you to fulfillment” IS it a pleasant experience to do business with your business?

2. Attempt to surround yourself with more beneficial synergistic strategic partners-

As a business broker I have various strategic partners that allow me to best assist my clients. These professionals include, Attorneys, Accountants, bankers and Financial people. Not so long ago I relocated to a city 5 hours away. Among other things, I needed to develop a new “team” that I could rely on that help me help my clients. I researched banks that do a lot of SBA loans to small business, migrated thru the company website, found a point of contact that I had an interest in meeting with, sent an email, and got an email back saying “going on vacation back in 2 weeks, call me then”. I proceeded to pursue a relationship with someone that would call me back., passed over this prospective strategic partner and found someone that I feel may develop into a mutually beneficial business relationship. My clients will benefit from my valued strategic partners.

3. Use the Internet more

Photo (c) highachievingwomen.biz

post a blog- how much does that cost?
post a tweet about a sale, a special or event- We’ve all heard/read that this can be a good idea- just do it.
check out a site such as Fiverr.com and see if someone can do something for you for $5. Are there other sites that facilitate low cost solutions? Can you afford to make a $5 error?
Try something you haven’t tried- a video, guest blogging, join more related forums or user groups, start a group.

4. Educate yourself– take some time out of your day to read other related blogs info on your industry or specific area of focus. Commit yourself to learn your own financials better than you presently do. Again the ROI on your time invested in this can be quite high.

5. Go to a network meeting– there are several available in most communities that are either free or cost a couple bucks. How much could you benefit from making that “right contact”.

6. Consider a Freelancer– Are there some functions/task that you currently are having performed that may be done more cost effectively thru an outside source such as a free lancer. Open your mind to it.

7. Treat all customers, prospects, employees, vendors with respect and integrity– The ROI on this no cost effort is immense

Dont ever stop trying something different. I have utilized the above items in my various business ventures throughout the years and still utilize them on a regular basis. If you are running a business, buying a business, or growing a business these low and no cost business practices will result in very good return on investment and usually all it takes to get these returns is to consider them and just do them.

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