Selling a Business Articles For Entrepreneurs & Small Business Owners

Do Your Own Business Valuation – Part 5: Adjusting Net Income

The earning capacity of a company is the primary driver of its value. Cash flow is the preferred measure of earning capacity for valuation purposes because it represents a purer form of earnings. Calculating cash flow begins with the net income or loss of a company then adjusting it for a number of items to [...]

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Business Brokers: Their Importance To Business Buyers & Sellers

As many businesses change their owners at some point, the services of business brokers can be necessary and highly valuable both from the business buyer’s and seller’s perspective. A person who is aiming to buy a business will need to evaluate the particular establishment and an experienced business broker can offer priceless assistance in this [...]

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Can Franchisees Resell Their Franchises?

Usually, at some point there comes a time to sell your business. If it is an independent establishment, you are left completely on your own – and while this degree of freedom can be daunting at first, it also provides you with an unlimited array of possibilities. But what if you want to undertake a [...]

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Success is a Journey NOT a Destination

Success is a Journey – Not a destination. A well repeated phrase that ones reads, nods in approval and then moves on to other matters. But what does it really mean?  Taking a moment to interpret the meaning can provide a strong foundation for business and personal planning of a small business owner or entrepreneur. [...]

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Do Your Own Business Valuation – Part 3: Quantifying Business Returns

The basic concept of business value is that the future benefits (returns) of owning a company must be adjusted (discounted) for the risks associated with owning the company. The sales or earnings of a company are typically used to represent the benefits (returns). Multiples and rates are used to represent the risks. The basic formula [...]

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Do Your Own Business Valuation – Part 2: Defining the Valuation

A valuation is based on a hypothetical sale of the company, so two critical issues need to be well defined from the beginning – 1) exactly what is being sold (valued), and 2) who is the most likely buyer. What is Being Valued? Businesses are generally sold in two types of transactions – asset or [...]

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Do Your Own Business Valuation – Part 1: Introduction to Business Valuation

As a business owner, you know more about your business than any one, but there is one thing you are not too sure about – how much it is worth. This is the first in a series of articles designed to help you learn about business valuation and, if you choose, do your own business [...]

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How Do I Value an Existing Business for Sale?

Let the Buyer (ALWAYS) Beware As a proper thinking entrepreneur, you have decided that the pizza place that’s been on the corner of your street for 15 years – and is now for sale by its original owner – would be the perfect business to buy.  You have some cash on hand, you know that [...]

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When Is Price Not The Most important Factor When Selling Your Business?

When the full content of the deal in its entirety is fully explored and strongly considered … price, financing terms and conditions, taxes, debts, real estate, sellers goals, and the qualifications / resumes of all parties involved are all factors that should be fully considered in a well thought out deal. “If I could get [...]

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Franchising Process: How to Start Franchising

Start a Franchise Business Many small-business owners reach a point where their company’s success makes them think of expansion.  One possible way to enjoy additional income involves opening a second location, and then adding more as time and cash allows.  But an increasingly popular method involves franchising your business.  The franchising process will allow you [...]

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What Separates the Good Business Broker From the Bad?

Over the years, I’ve heard a million horror stories from business owners about their experiences with some of the “fly by night” business brokers out there.  It’s always the same names and it always makes me wonder, “How did you get hooked up with these people?  Why did you hire them?”  I mean, I’ve seen [...]

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Business For Sale Contracts: Understanding Business For Sale Agreements

The Basic Business For Sale Agreement Whether you are buying a business or selling one, a certain number of legal papers are a necessary part of that transaction.  One of the most important is the Business For Sale contract.  While the exact form of this document may vary from state to state (or from country [...]

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Should I Use Seller Financing To Sell My Business?

Know The Buyer One of the top commandments for anyone looking to sell a small business is to recognize where your prospective buyers will come from, and what will motivate them to acquire your company.  Among all the things you can do to sweeten the deal and attract a wider selection of prospects, one of [...]

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How to Advertise a Business for Sale While Keeping the Sale Confidential

Selling Your Business? Once you decide to sell your small business, the next step involves finding someone to buy it.  When advertising a business for sale, the first inclination may be to broadcast the opportunity far and wide.  Some owners even go so far as to put a sign in their window that reads, “This [...]

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Can Accountants Value a Business For Sale?

Short Answer… Yes. The Concept of Business Valuation Whether you own a business and want to sell it, or else you’re an entrepreneur who desires to buy an existing small business, somehow or other you need to know what the company is worth.  On the selling side, the plan is to make the price low [...]

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How to Value a Business

Why Business Valuation Is Important The process of arriving at an accurate assessment when valuing a business is perhaps the most challenging aspect of any prospective small business purchase.  A seller has arrived at a specific price he or she wants for the company, and one must determine if that business value is accurate.  Pay [...]

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How Do I Sell My Business?

Five Magic Steps At some point in any entrepreneurial career a business owner will be compelled to say, “I want to sell my business.”  Whether he or she is a sole proprietor or the head of an ownership group, selling a business does not need to be a complicated affair.  There are a few simple [...]

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Why Your Business Must Have a Buy-Sell Agreement

Multiple Owners Could Mean Multiple Headaches Some business owners have the privilege of controlling 100 percent of their enterprise.  These companies are sole-owner entities.  You have no one to answer to but yourself in the event of business challenges, but all the success you achieve is yours and yours alone.  For everyone else – caution [...]

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Selling Your Business To Family – Tips And Considerations

Keeping Things In the Family After toiling for years to build a successful business, you are proud of your accomplishments but ready to take some time off, or perhaps retire altogether.  Because you have so much invested in your company – both financially and emotionally – you hate the idea of seeing strangers behind the [...]

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How Much Do I Pay a Business Broker to Sell My Business?

Be a Smart Business Seller Congratulations!  You have built your small business into a very successful enterprise over the years, and now it’s time to sell it and enjoy the fruits of your labor.  Perhaps you are dreaming of retiring next to a mountain stream with a fishing pole in your hand, or you may [...]

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