For many owners, selling their business is a new experience, and there is always the fear of the unknown. Selling a business is a not only a major economic decision, but it can also be an emotional one. After all, many business owners have spent many years, and a lot of hard work building the business. When the decision to sell is made, there will inevitably be accompanying concerns. However,...Read More
A contingency in the sale of a business is a condition in the contract of sale or offer that must be resolved, satisfied or rectified by either a buyer or seller. If they are not satisfied then the sale will generally not go forward. Most offers on a business contain one or more contingencies. The sale may be subject to the buyer obtaining financing, or the seller repaving the parking lot....Read More
The following is provided as a simple explanation of common leasing arrangements within a small business transaction. It is not intended to provide legal advice.
The New Lease
A new lease is created generally when the prior lease has expired or is about to and when there are going to be substantial changes to the existing lease. A new lease would be executed between the purchaser of the...Read More
The cliché is that the key to business success is: location – location – location. If you own a business in which the location is an important reason for the success of the business, and you are considering selling, then the lease is a very critical issue in the sale. The time to deal with this is not in the middle of a sale, but before you even place the business on the market....Read More
This is a story based on a true incident – only some of the details have been changed. The buyer and seller were ready to close on a business when the buyer asked to look at the list of fixtures and equipment that were to be included in the sale. After a few minutes reviewing the list, the buyer said that the desk lamp on the owner’s desk was not listed. The seller explained that...Read More
Depends on whom you are asking. If you’re the seller, you might say that the asking price is too low. The buyer would say, obviously, that the asking price is too high. How can they both be right? Who decides?
Most sellers have an idea of what they want for their business. It can be based on their knowledge of the industry and what similar businesses have sold for. It may be, however,...Read More
What are the odds of your business actually selling once you have made the decision to sell? Well, if the annual sales of your business are $750,000 or less, research indicates that the odds of your business selling are only 18 percent. If your annual sales are $750,000 to $2 million, your odds increase to 25 percent. If your annual sales volume is above $2 million, the odds increase to 30 +...Read More
There was a study done, years ago, that showed that the reason businesses were for sale had a direct relationship to its probability of sale.
Reason for Sale
%Reason for Sale
%Probability of Sale
Retirement
10-15%
30-35%
Health Problems/Death
15-20%
25-30%
Partnership & Family
Problems/ Divorce
5-10%
15-20%
Burnout/Other Business
Investments
15-20%
15-20%
Under-capitalization...Read More
Many people who are selling their business think that once they find a buyer, the business is sold. Unfortunately, the real work is just beginning. Once a buyer is interested, there are the inevitable questions that must be answered. After the questions are answered and the buyer has satisfied himself or herself that the financial aspects of the business are satisfied, the buyer is probably...Read More
Prepare for new management. As soon as you make the decision to sell, begin doing what you can to help the business run “on its own.” The business should not, especially now, be just you!
Accept the financing facts. You’ll likely be financing the sale of your business, since banks are traditionally unenthusiastic about loans for the purchase of most businesses.
Make sure...Read More
