Selling a Business

Why To Sell Your Business After Your Best Year Ever

Business owners come to me to sell their businesses. I’m a VR Business Broker serving the North Carolina Triangle Market so owners observe the exits I help other owners achieve and ask me about how to achieve their own. Some of these owners I can help; they have a transferable business producing significant cash flow. Others I can’t. They may have had a great business, but now they are trending downwards. Unfortunately for many of these owners, they may have more of a problem than Read More>>

Thinking of Selling Your Motel? Here's How to Know it's the Right Time

Are you a motel owner who’s planning to sell your business soon and capitalize on your previous efforts? Planning is of the essence; by clearly anticipating all obstacles, you’ll be able to work through them effectively. If you’ve been running a motel for a while, you’re probably no stranger to this logic of anticipating problems and finding solutions in advance. In fact, that is probably the reason why you’re reading this article right now. Luckily, you’ Read More>>

Attorney Selection for Business Deals

As a business broker I answer a lot of questions about how to sell a business. One of my FAQs that I share with all business owners planning to sell is call the “Do We Use My Guy Or Yours?” While the “guy” could be a “gal,” the question is all about attorney selection. The point of that FAQ is that sellers must have legal representation when selling a business, whether it’s someone they already know or someone I’m going to recommend. Here are s Read More>>

Selling Your Business?

JoAnn Lombardi VR President Learn to Think Like a Buyer You’ve built a great business with love and care. It has grown larger than you’d ever imagined, and generates a nice profit that has allowed you and your family to live comfortably. Now you’re ready to sell. You assume there’s a buyer out there who w Read More>>

The Stakeholders In Successful Deals

It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a team to close a deal. Going at it alone can be a challenge, as business deals have multiple, opposing stakeholders on both sides. Here’s a roster of some of the major players in a business deal assuming you are the seller of a successful small business: Your Deal Making Team: You: You are the most important element in the deal. You have created a small business that has created cash flow and job opportunities for your employees. Read More>>

Facing the Marketspace

JoAnn Lombardi VR President Since the beginning of the 20th century, advertising drove our economy in the form of a pre-packaged, one-way story. Today, it's a different story. We've gone from three channels to 500, from no web pages to a billion web pages. The choices that consumers have today are astronomical. There are more than Read More>>

Why an Exit Plan is Critical When the Time Comes to Sell

Peter King VR CEO Every business owner should have an exit plan in place. If you currently own a business, you know as every other successful entrepreneur knows that you won’t be doing this forever. You want the value of the business to stay high so you can attract qualified buyers to take over ownership and expand whenever Read More>>

Follow the Necessary Steps to a Successful Business Sale

JoAnn Lombardi VR President Most business owners, who are looking to sell, make the mistake of not preparing early enough. This can result in not receiving the maximum dollar amount for your business transaction. The selling process should start when you buy your business. You should know the return that you are receiving on your i Read More>>

How Seller Financing Can help you Find a Qualified Buyer for Your Business

Peter King VR CEO When you are exploring the option of selling your business, you may want to offer seller financing in order to attract a larger buyer pool, which, in turn, will generate a higher selling price. At VR, we strongly recommend using this route to help sell your business. Whether you've sold a business before or not, V Read More>>

Poor Pricing Strategy: Seeking Suckers

I help sellers go to market all the time, typically after we walk through a “Broker’s Opinion of Value,” but sometimes sellers have their own price in mind. Going With The Gut When sellers come to me and they have a price set I like to ask them how they got to their price. Normally it’s a combination of what they invested in their business, what they need to move on, and what they “feel” is right. When it was time to sell my business a dec Read More>>

Selling Your Business? Learn to Think Like a Buyer

JoAnn Lombardi VR President You’ve built a great business with love and care. It has grown larger than you’d ever imagined. It generates a nice profit. As a result, this has allowed you and your family to live comfortably. Now, you’re ready to sell. You assume there’s a buyer out there. You want someone Read More>>

Walking the Road to the American Dream

JoAnn Lombardi VR President People want to be their own boss. By far, this is the biggest reason people want to go into business ownership. Some may be frustrated in their current job or position. Others may not enjoy their current boss or employer, while others feel that their abilities are not being used properly or efficiently. Read More>>

How to Attract the Attention of a Seller

BusinessesForSale.com When a seller puts their business on the market, they are usually prepared for a lot of time-wasters. Most sellers try to reserve their energy for buyer enquiries that they think are serious. This means that, if you are one of those buyers, you need to stand out from the crowd. Your enquiry needs to give the selle Read More>>

Selling the Family Company

Peter King VR CEO It may seem like just yesterday, but in reality its many years ago and you started your company. At that time the goals for you and/or your family were closely aligned with that of your business. Time has marched on, the family has grown up, homes have been paid for, and you are once again considering what the Read More>>

How to Attract Serious Buyers

BusinessesForSale.com When you are trying to sell a business, your main goal will be trying to attract the people that are serious about buying so that you don’t your time with people that are not. To do this, you need to be serious about selling and there are a few things to do to make sure that you are. Preparation Preparing Read More>>

Where Your Company Fits In

Peter King VR CEO Knowing where your company fits into the world of business is a must if you want to understand the dynamics of selling it. The rules that govern the sale of public companies like Ford, Microsoft, and General Electric are radically different from the rules that control the sale of closely held, owner operated, founder Read More>>

Selling your Business? Here’s How to Remove Yourself

BusinessesForSale.com Building a business and maintaining it takes dedication. Understandably, the relationship between owner and company can become so close that the two are fused in some respects, which can be problematic when it comes to selling it. To clinch a successful deal and allow a business to thrive under new ownership, it’s import Read More>>

How Not to Deceive Potential Buyers

BusinessesForSale.com When you’ve made the decision to sell your business ideally both the premises and your books need to be on point. If the business does not appear to be looked after, the buyer can suspect some concealment or deception. Along with this you’ll need to be careful about your responses to any questions you are asked. Th Read More>>

5 Essential Tips to Master the Art of Selling your Business

BusinessesForSale.com Have you started to contemplate the eventual sale of your business? Never sold a business before? Here are five essential tips to help you prepare the business for sale, find a buyer and achieve a deal on price and terms that you’re happy with.1. Value the businessGet an accurate valuation of your business from a t Read More>>

Can Your Business Broker Answer These 7 Questions To Your Satisfaction?

BusinessesForSale.com The only thing worse than no professional support is the wrong professional support. Ask these questions to secure the right broker. Selling a business on your own to save money is often a false economy, but hiring the wrong business broker is arguably even worse. If you are to avoid appointing a broker who is unscrupu Read More>>

Avoid These Pitfalls When Selling Your Business

BusinessesForSale.com From a lack of preparation to proceeding without the help of a business broker, these are some of the most common mistakes made by sellers. Selling a business for a satisfactory return and within your preferred timescale can be a challenging prospect. Attracting buyers requires a focused approach, careful groundwork a Read More>>

5 Things You Need to Know When Selling Your Business

BusinessesForSale.com Selling your business is never going to be an easy process. It’ll take longer than you expect, and could be more complicated than you anticipate. However, if done correctly, it can set you up financially for the next step in your life – whether that’s retirement, another business venture or something els Read More>>

Closely Held Businesses and Compensation Plans

Duane Merchant, CFP® Financial Advisor How to ARM Your Key Employees for Success Most business owners would love to have employees who are as passionate about the company as they are. It makes sense: The future of a closely-held or family business depends on how securely its select employees are tied to it. But creating Read More>>

How to Sell to Millennials

BusinessesForSale.com Move over Baby Boomers. The next market business brokers should be paying attention to is Millennials, whom are defined as being between ages 18 to 34 in 2015. There are many misconceptions about this generation, but in reality, Millennials are the future business owners of America. The Power of the Millennial Genera Read More>>

Employment Based Fifth Preference (EB-5 Program) - A Summary

Larry Behar Behar Law Group The fifth employment based visa preference category ("EB-5"), created by Congress in 1990, is available to immigrants seeking to enter the United States in order to invest in a new commercial enterprise that will benefit the US economy and create at least 10 full-time jobs. The EB-5 Program is governed b Read More>>

Explore Your Selling Opportunities

Michael Langford VR Sacramento, CA I recently met with a business owner who, because of health problems, wants and needs to sell his business. He has a key employee that supervises much of the work that is performed by the company. He offered to sell the business to the employee, and they agreed on a price, with the seller carrying a Read More>>

9 Point Checklist: How to Attract the Right Buyer

JoAnn Lombardi VR President When considering selling your business, every buyer expects a business of great value as an investment. Depending upon the qualified candidate, it could be an entrepreneur with a specific set of needs that motivates them to invest in an established business or it could be a private equity group that sees t Read More>>

5 Things to Avoid When Selling Your Business

BusinessesForSale.com If you’re considering selling your business, congratulations! This could be a great move for you. Or, it might not. It’s definitely a big step, though, and one that requires thought and preparation in order to optimize the outcome for everyone involved. Unfortunately, many business owners go into the sale o Read More>>

How To Prepare For An Interview With A Qualifying Buyer

Peter King VR CEO All phases of business sales stress being prepared in advance, and the Buyer Interview is no exception. Preparing psychologically in advance empowers you with an inner confidence to control the situation, rather than being controlled by the circumstances. You have successfully handled the Ad Call and closed for the Read More>>

The Art Of Selling.....A Business

JoAnn Lombardi VR President As with any profession that involves making important decisions, selling skills are key elements to success in Business Sales. Before examining the technical side of the Business Sales industry, it is important to understand a few elements of the psychology of selling to gain an appreciation of the skills Read More>>

5 Types Of Discretionary Earnings To Be Aware Of Before Selling a Business

Peter King VR CEO 1. Owner's Salary Most business owners do pay themselves some salary on the books. The key here is whether there are other members of the family included in the payroll expense, and whether or not these individuals serve a function in the business. (A buyer can only replace one salary, so be careful which salary(s) Read More>>

5 Ways VR Business Brokers Educate Sellers

JoAnn Lombardi VR President As a professional business broker, it is important to insert yourself as the expert on how to sell or buy a business among other needs based on the potential client. Before a seller lists their business for sale there are a few things you can do to educate your client and keep them satisfied with your serv Read More>>

Getting The Deal Done....Ways To Develop a Closing Strategy

JoAnn Lombardi VR President Once all of the papers have been submitted to escrow for preparation, you should receive back a total amount the buyer will need to bring to closing in certified funds. This figure is based on prorating each applicable item to a certain day of closing. If you’re closing day changes or a new prorated Read More>>

Six Steps On How To Handle Objections When Selling a Business

Peter King VR CEO An important part of the selling process deals with handling objections and addressing issues and problems raised by the prospect. Most novices make the mistake of jumping in and attacking an objection, and as a result, lose ground with their prospect. To be effective at answering objections you must be a good prob Read More>>

The Importance Of Effective Communication In Business Sales

JoAnn Lombardi VR President Just as listening and observing skills are important, so are careful, well thought out communication skills. With important decisions such as buying or selling a business, it is critical to convey each point carefully. Equally important is that the recipient interprets a point in the way it was intended. O Read More>>

5 Tips for Selling Your Business

JoAnn Lombardi VR President Businessowners own life-long dreams, not businesses. When the time comes to pass on that dream, care should be taken to get the best price. The followingtipscan helpbusinessowners successfullyselltheir businesses. 1. Position yourbusinessforsale. This process should begin the day you purchase or start th Read More>>

Business Books & Records….Who Cares? Your Buyers Do!

JoAnn Lombardi VR President You likely didn't go into business for yourself because you relished the idea of creating, organizing and maintaining financial documents. Financial records are part of your ongoing operations, but if you're like most business owners, you likely don't focus on them often or think about them regularly; howe Read More>>

How To Make More Money Selling Your Business

Peter King VR CEO The sale of your business is of extreme importance. Regardless of the reason you may be selling, consulting with a professional business broker presents a better opportunity. The sale of a business consists of a presentation, finding the most suitable buyers and ensuring you receive payment for what the company is a Read More>>

Knowing the Right Time to Sell Your Business

JoAnn Lombardi VR President It can be a tricky endeavor, figuring out the best time to sell your business in a market that is constantly fluctuating. Using a VR Business Broker can help you identify important signs to look for in determining the best time to conduct business valuations and see your company sold on the market. Sell Y Read More>>

Getting the Most Out of Your Business Before Selling

JoAnn Lombardi VR President Selling a business isn’t simple as most people would think leaving the entrepreneur with more options than they can think of. Taking the wrong approach could have a negative impact financially both for the seller and company, so knowing the advantages and disadvantages from a professional intermediar Read More>>

Seven Ways to Sell - It Depends on Your Objective

JoAnn Lombardi VR President 1. Top price at all costs The objective is clear, just like the submarine commander who said, “Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead.” Whether it is a public company divesting a subsidiary or a private owner, regardless if the plant is moved and the employees are dismissed, the top price is pa Read More>>

The Importance of Keeping Your Business Books Up-To-Date

Peter King VR CEO At least once a month, you should be doing an analysis of your business,and making sure that your books and records are in working order. It's not only good to see the progression of your business, but to verify thatboth your accounts payables and receivables are in the black. If you are thinking about selling your Read More>>

Why Organization is an Important Part of Selling a Business

Peter King VR CEO It doesn’t matter what you are buying or selling. Buyers want to buy low. Sellers want to sell high. It is all a matter of strategy when going into a transaction negotiation. But, as a seller you need to be organized and be ready with the most positive spin on any answer to the tough questions that inevitably Read More>>

VR Business Brokers Facilitates Sale of Import Distribution Company

JoAnn Lombardi VR President VR Business Brokers of McKinney, TX, a leader in the sale of privately held companies, recently facilitated the sale of Source Network Sales & Marketing, Inc. to Transition Capital Partners, a Dallas based private equity firm. Source Network Sales & Marketing, Inc.,based in Plano, TX, designs an Read More>>

List Everything or Be Selective

Peter King VR CEO A debate has raged within the business brokerage industry ever since there has been a business brokerage industry about the proper approach to taking a listing. Let’s look at both sides of this issue and see what makes sense for you. There are two main schools of thought on this; first, list everything you ca Read More>>

Sell Your Business For a Fair Market Price

JoAnn Lombardi VR President Business owners face a myriad of challenges on a daily basis. One challenge no owner wants to grapple with is financial distress. But if you've struggled with declining profits, rising costs, fierce competition and other overwhelming problems for some time, and the situation doesn't seem to be improving, s Read More>>

Selling Your Business at the Right Time

Peter King VR CEO In a perfect world, business owners sell their companies when banks are anxious to lend, the economy is strong, their industry is booming and the business is enjoying record profitability, with the future looking even brighter. Naturally, a perfect convergence of all of these variables would enable you to maximize t Read More>>

Loose Lips Sink Deals

JoAnn Lombardi VR President Confidentiality Agreements are Essential When It Comes to M&As During World War II, posters showed Uncle Sam with a finger to his lips superimposed over a freight ship. The caption read "Loose Lips Sink Ships." It was a clever way to remind troops never to discuss confidential information, lest they Read More>>

5 Ways to Prepare For Business Transaction Deal Breakers

Peter King VR CEO You’re buying a rival company. The transaction is nearly complete. At the last minute, an unexpected problem arises, and the deal falls apart. This nightmare scenario plays out countless times every year. But you greatly increase the odds of a smooth andsuccessful acquisition by looking for potential deal brea Read More>>

How to Approach Selling Your Business

JoAnn Lombardi VR President When a business owner makes the decision to sell, it can be instantaneous. It can be made after years of planning or quickly through thoughts of retirement, personal or family matters. Regardless of the reason, the goal of selling a business remains the same, maximizing what you receive from the sale. B Read More>>

How Do You Answer a Buyer’s Concerns Regarding Your Business?

JoAnn Lombardi VR President Any buyer when they’re reviewing your business will have these questions to ask: What is the business’ growth potential? How can I grow the business? What separates your business from the competition in the marketplace? What are the variables involved in operating the Read More>>

Keeping Yourself Open to Buyer Inquiries for Your Business

Peter King VR CEO All businesses are inquired by a variety of different buyers - some are qualified while others are tire kickers. If you're a business owner, you may not be thinking of selling right now; however, the time will come when you hit the wall and decide right at that moment you need to find a qualified buyer to take over Read More>>

Being Aware of Deal Breakers in a Business Sale

JoAnn Lombardi VR President When the time is approaching when the business sale is near, both buyers and sellers can jump the gun, resulting in the situation quickly moving south. Whether it’s an issue with the closing documents being done at escrow, question of funds being transferred, incorrect inventory count or use of goodw Read More>>

Reducing Risk Will Pay Off at the Closing Table

Peter King VR CEO When considering the idea of selling your company, it’s important that you the owner understand that the relationship between risk and cash flow will always be the main consideration of the company’s value. Depending on the size of the company, Seller’s Discretionary Cash Flow, EBITDA, or EBIT ar Read More>>

Five Pointers When Thinking of Selling a Business

Peter King VR CEO Everything always has a beginning, middle and an end. This is true when you look at business ownership. Any business owner will inevitably start thinking of selling their business somewhere down the road. The smart business owner will start planning to sell when they’ve bought it through planning their marketi Read More>>

Determining the Right Time to Sell Your Business

Peter King VR CEO This is a hard question to ask, but only can answer it when it comes down to decidingtosella business. Some argue that you should sell when the business is doing well, which can give you the most control over the deal and maximize your profit. However, others argue that the owner should sell when the business is on Read More>>

Don’t Forget to Run Your Business as You Prepare to Sell to a Buyer

Peter King VR CEO One of the worst mistakes that you can during the process of selling your business is neglectingyour every day duties of running the business. It’s easy to get caught up spending so much time and energy in regard to business sale matters that it can result in a deterioration of both revenue and the resale valu Read More>>

Why You Must Find a Qualified Buyer When Selling Your Business

JoAnn Lombardi VR President Remember that even though you may find aspiring and established business owners that are looking to buy a business, they might not be qualified to buy your business.VR Business Sales will help you find the most qualified buyers to take over your business through our extensive global network. Your local V Read More>>

Deciding to Position Your Business for Sale

JoAnn Lombardi VR President The realization is easy to forget, but small business owners do not live and breathe their businesses, they live and breathe their dreams that they have had since they were young. For the majority of business owners, their aspirations recently came to fruition when they were able to buy their businesses. O Read More>>

Using a VR Business Intermediary When Selling Your Business

Peter King VR CEO Apart from buying or selling your house,selling your business stands as one of the biggest financial steps that you will take. The reasons that a business owner sells are wide and varied – retirement, health, relocation, etc. Regardless of the reason, you will need to recruit a VR business intermediary in prep Read More>>

How to Approach Selling Your Business

Peter King VR CEO When you are a selling your business, you must define exactly what is being sold to determine how to price and structure the sale, understand how thebuyer will analyze the business sale opportunity and plan a win-win tone for discussion with that buyer. The overall value to the seller in a sale is the combination of Read More>>

Managing Disclosure When Selling Your Business

Peter King VR CEO If you are looking to sell your business, you have to know that at some point in the sales process that someone inside or outside your organization will ask questions about your intentions – specifically, if the business is indeed for sale. The disclosure of appropriate information must be made to prospective Read More>>

Importance of the Letter of Intent to Sell Your Business

JoAnn Lombardi VR President Having to drafta written understanding of what both the seller and buyer think they have preliminarily agreed to is important as the point of referencefor due diligence and the preparation of definitive agreements in the sale of a business. Now most buyers are not interested in letters of intent becaus Read More>>

Always Keep Good Books

Peter King VR CEO Have you ever wondered about the consequences when business owners don’t report all of the revenue that they’re creating? Business intermediaries know that buyers will only pay for what can be proven, so one ramification is the eventual selling price of the business will be lower due to the decreasing nu Read More>>

Seller Beware – Due Diligence Critical When Evaluating the Buyer for Your Business

JoAnn Lombardi VR President Normally when the buying or selling of a business takes place, the buyer only performs due diligence. However, smart sellers know that it’s a two-way street. Let’s be honest, for both parties, it’s important to truly understand each other, to make sure that the other has a good head on th Read More>>

Creating the Right Exit Strategy for Reselling Your Business

JoAnn Lombardi VR President People that own a business own more than just an establishment with four walls; they own a dream. For several owners, their business is an aspiration that just recently came true when they bought it. For others that have seen their businesses grow, they are pursuits that have been enjoyed and valued for ye Read More>>

Determining the Right Selling Price for a Dry Cleaning Business

JoAnn Lombardi VR President According to the International Fabricare Institute, dry cleaning businesses are currently selling for a multiple of 70-100% of the gross sales. The correct percentage to use is often determined by the age and condition of the dry cleaning equipment. They generally have a lifespan of approximately 20 ye Read More>>

Following the Correct Path to Selling a Business

JoAnn Lombardi VR President The time always comes when you decide to sell your business. You may have not thought about it when you were looking to buy, but this situation happens all the time: the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity becomes a financial and psychological albatross that you seek to have someone else take over. Read More>>

How to Prepare Your Business for a New Owner in Two Years

Peter King VR CEO Today, a buyers needs confirmation of the business’ financial standing. This means solid and verified financial documents by an accounting firm. The most valuable ones come from updated and correct tax reports. You shouldn't be insulted if a potential buyer asks you to validate your records as he is only sh Read More>>

Keeping Good Business Records

JoAnn Lombardi VR President At least once a year, you should be doing an analysis of your business to make sure that your books and records are in working order. It’s not only good to see the progression of your company but to verify that both your accounts payables and receivables are in the black if you do decide later Read More>>

When to Disclose Financial Records

Peter King VR CEO Just as you would not want your personal financial documents made available to the public, business owners only want serious buyers to have access to information such as their accounting books and records. Disclosure of such information does not occur until much further into the selling process, depending upon t Read More>>

Protecting the Business from being disclosed by the Public when on the Market

Peter King VR CEO Here at VR, we work with the problem of protecting a business that’s for sale from being disclosed to the public daily. We require that every prospective buyer sign a non-disclosure agreement stating that he or she will not make available any proprietary information learned about that business to others. I Read More>>

Obtaining a Fair Market Price when Selling Your Business

JoAnn Lombardi VR President Business owners face a myriad of challenges on a daily basis. One challenge that no owner wants to grapple with is financial distress. If you’ve struggled with such problems as declining profits, rising costs, fierce competition with no sign that the situation will improve, selling may be the b Read More>>

Better to Sell Your Business to a Strategic instead of a Financial Buyer

JoAnn Lombardi VR President During a period of economic uncertainty, many entrepreneurs love to hear reports of businesses being sold to strategic buyers for apparently large sums. The truth is the investors that are strategically-inclined will recognize higher valuations with potential investments than those that are financially-ori Read More>>

Preparing Your Business for a Buyer's Visit

Peter King VR CEO Believe it or not, some business owners will take a qualified buyer’s visit too lightly to the point where they only see it as a quick meet-and-greet before pushing him or her out the door that he or she came in. This cannot be stressed that a buyer visit has to be taken very seriously for a number of reason Read More>>

Why Drafting a "Letter of Intent" is Recommended When Selling Your Business

Peter King VR CEO Except in rare cases, the use of a letter of intent is recommended. First, the letter contains certain binding provisions that can give both parties a clearer understanding about the basic terms of the deal. For example, experienced buyers do not want to spin their wheels while the seller shops an offer for th Read More>>

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