Archives for August 2019

Dealing with Inexperience Can Ruin the Deal

The 65-year old owner of a multi-location retail operation doing $30 million in annual sales decided to retire.  He interviewed a highly recommended intermediary and was impressed.  However, he had a nephew who had just received his MBA and who told his uncle that he could handle the sale and save him some money.  He would do it for half of what the intermediary said his fee would be – so the uncle decided to use his nephew.  Now, his nephew was a nice young man, educated at one of the top business schools, but he had never been involved in a middle market deal.  He had read a lot of case studies and was confident that he could “do the deal.” Inexperience # 1 – The owner and the nephew agreed not to bring the CFO into the picture, nor execute a “stay” agreement.  The nephew felt he could handle the financial details.  Neither one of them realized that a potential purchaser would expect to meet with the CFO when it came to the finances of the business, and certainly would expect the CFO … [Read more...]

The Variables that Drive and Influence Business Valuations

If you’ve never bought or sold a business before, then the factors that drive and influence business valuations likely seem a bit murky.  In a recent Divestopedia article from Kevin Ramsier entitled, “A Closer Look at What Drives and Influences Business Valuations,” Ramsier takes a closer look at this important topic.  Business brokers and M&A advisors play a key role in helping business owners understand why their business receives the valuation that it does.  No doubt, the final assessed value is based on a wide array of variables.  But with some effort, clarity is possible. In his article, Ramsier points out that “value means different things to different buyers” and that the “perceived value depends on the circumstances, interpretation and the role that is played in a transition.”  It is important to remember that no two businesses are alike.  For that reason, what goes into a given valuation will vary, often greatly.  Looking to EBITDA Ramier points to several metrics including … [Read more...]

Is Your Business Really Worth Handing Over to the Next Generation?

Before you begin your business, you should be thinking about how you will hand that business over to someone else.  No one runs a business forever.  Whether you sell your business or let a relative inherit it, at some point you will need to step away.  When you finally do separate from your business, it is critical that you are certain that it is worth handing over.  In his January 2019 article in Forbes magazine entitled “Make Sure Your Business is Worth Handing Over,” author Francois Botha dives in and explores this very topic. In this article, Botha emphasizes that family businesses should not “fall into the trap of prioritizing job creation for their children.”  Instead, that the priority should be to perpetuate the business.  Botha cites the co-founder and chairman of The Leadership Pipeline Institute, Stephen Drotter, who feels that the main goal of any business needs to be its suitability. Drotter established five principles designed to assist family businesses as they seek to … [Read more...]