The Business Broker Blog

I’m always being asked “How long will it take to sell my business?”. And quite rightly so. I fully appreciate why you would want to know.

So how long does it take to sell your business?

Well, you could time things absolutely perfectly. The person who eventually buys your business might be looking for one just like yours right this minute… so you could have a sale agreed in a week or two. This is rare. More likely it will take at least 6 months to find the right buyer, so don’t be too quick to blame your agent or broker if your business … Continue Reading

Retailers and restaurant owners know full well that most of us buy with our eyes.

Retailers spend £1,000’s making sure their visual merchandising – like window displays – are dressed up to do one thing… invite us into their shops to spend our money with them. Likewise, savvy restaurateurs spend significant time ensuring your meal arrives at your table looking nothing less than irresistibly appetising. If it looks fabulous, you know it’s going to taste fabulous.

Equally, he same basic principle applies to selling your business.

First impressions count. Yet so many business owners do very little to ensure their business … Continue Reading

As subscribers to my free email training course “Preparing To Sell Your Business” know full well, the best way to properly prepare your business for sale requires a significant amount of lead time – one to two years.

However, I accept the fact that some business owners abruptly decide to sell their business and want it sold tomorrow, so will not have the time for long-term preparations. There can be a number of reasons for this:

• A sudden onset of a serious debilitating illness.
• A complete mental burn-out where you … Continue Reading
  
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To achieve remarkable results, you must stand out from the crowd and be seen to be remarkable in some clear, concise and tangible way. You must make every effort to break away from the dull mediocrity of the masses… come up with a better idea… a better way of doing things… something different… something remarkable – including  the systematic preparation of your business for sale and the presentation of that preparation.

After all, isn’t it true the only difference between a rat and a squirrel is the quality of the presentation!

I have been helping owners to sell their businesses … Continue Reading

This is really cool:

When the owner of a business asks: “What is my business worth?”, do they mean what is the value of my business, or… what will my business sell for? In most cases, the seller is asking what price will my business most probably sell for on the open market­. Value and price are different. There is often a big difference between the value of a business and what it will finally sell for.

I am often asked to explain the difference between value and price, when preparing a business for sale.

In essence, a business valuation determines a value for … Continue Reading

This shocking statistic suggests there must be something wrong with the 133,700 businesses that will never sell. To a certain extent this is true, however the overriding reason 70% of businesses remain unsold forever, is mainly due to the owner.

You see, you only sell your business once. You get no chance to practice. You must get it right first time – so it’s critically important you are crystal clear, from the very day you decide to sell, on exactly how you are going to direct and manage the selling process itself.

Let me put it this way -

… Continue Reading

We are told often enough as small business owners, that we must have a plan in place  to enable us to exit our business in a structured and orderly fashion. It is, in fact, generally a good idea to have an exit strategy formulated and in place from start up on day one.

However, to be able to successfully implement an exit strategy to sell your business, you must own a business that is a ‘saleable’ asset. So what does a business in the form of a saleable asset actually look like?

Here are 5 key areas for you to … Continue Reading

Let me clear up a commonly held misconception straight away…  you do not NEED to list your business with a business broker or business transfer agent in order to sell it.

You may already have a good idea as to who the likely purchaser of your business will be – perhaps a key employee or a relative – in which case the marketing prowess of a business broker will not be necessary. You may also be in the fortunate position of having received unsolicited offers to buy your business. Or you might decide to place ads yourself in the business … Continue Reading

Thinking of selling your business?

Before meeting with potential buyers and talking facts, figures, terms, conditions and such like, you will be well advised to carefully consider a number of key areas first, such as timing, true verifiable market value, tax implications and so on…

Here are 10 things you need to know before even thinking of selling your business…

1. The TRUE Value

Most small businesses keep profits to a minimum in order to reduce taxes. This means your financial statements are not likely to reflect the true earning capability of your business and, in turn, its real value. It’s … Continue Reading