If you’re considering selling your business, and you are employing a professional business broker or intermediary, it’s imperative to be absolutely open with him or her. This is not the time for secrecy — or even for subtlety, especially when…

1. Not knowing what the business should sell for One of the most costly errors a business owner can make is not knowing the approximate price of his or her business prior to entering the selling process. Although the marketplace…

Buyers Want Cash Flow The first thing to keep in mind is that the vast majority of buyers want to buy cash flow. Sit down with your accountant or bookkeeper and begin to get your financial statements in order with…

Do have all of your business documentation ready. Everything starts with it. Don’t underestimate the value of your business. Owners of privately held businesses usually minimize profits to lower taxes. The financial statements may not reflect the real value of…

Some of you might remember the commercial for one of the major airlines in which a business lost a major client, because they never saw anyone from the company. The president handed out airline tickets to the entire sales staff…

In the day-to-day activity of making a business work, many owners overlook the importance of the buy-sell agreement. This document (also referred to as a business continuity agreement) is like a will; no one thinks about it until it’s too…

For every reason that a pending sale of a business collapses, there is a positive reason why the sale closed successfully. What does it take for the sale of a business to close successfully? Certainly there are reasons that a…

There are several things to consider when buying or selling a business. The most important is to listen to the other side. There are always reasons why someone wants something – even if you don’t agree at first. Find out…

The buyer and seller have both agreed on the sale price and the terms of the transaction. Everyone appears satisfied. As the day of closing approaches, the seller seems less cooperative and more apprehensive about selling the business. Ultimately, the…

If you are considering selling your business, remember that there are positive factors that influence value and those that detract from it. Looking at your business from a buyer’s perspective is important since a prudent buyer will be adding and…

Experienced buyers of large businesses have tended to spurn the smaller business, citing traditional “negatives” involved in this type of transaction. Now big-time buyers are throwing away the don’t-buy-small book; or at least, they are beginning to read between the…

If you are an independent business owner, you are most likely also an independent business seller–if not now, you will be somewhere down the road. The Small Business Administration reports that three to five years is a long enough stretch…