Posts Categorized: Business Owner

What to Do When Something New Attracts your Attention

Jessica Tindel and her partner started Dream Enrichment Classes, a business offering after school programs in math and art 13 years ago. Tindel built the business to 60 part time instructors and 5 full time office staff when a new business caught her attention. Stretched thin and drawn to the potential of her new idea, she… Read more »

7 Big Questions to Ask Yourself Before Moving Forward

The first step towards successfully selling a business is finding a qualified business broker to work with.  Sellers should also ask themselves an array of important questions.  A recent article, “7 Questions to Answer Before Selling Your Business,” published by Good Men Project, has a great overview of questions sellers should answer before moving forward…. Read more »

The Other Half Of The Equation

To have a happy and lucrative exit, you need two things: 1.  A business that is ready to sell 2. An owner that is personally ready to sell …Yet so many owners fail to consider the latter and wind up crippled with depression because of their regret to exit – which is exactly what happened… Read more »

The Historic Levels of Small Businesses Being Sold Drops Slightly

The number of small business transitions continues to be strong for the first quarter of 2019.  In fact, despite a small decline, small business transitions remain at historically high levels.   Looking at the Statistics According to a recent BizBuySell article entitled, “Number of Small Businesses Changing Hands Dips Slightly, But Market Remains Ripe for… Read more »

Buying a Business to Sell It

Connie Fenyo started out as an employee at Dye & Durham, a company that makes software for lawyers. She rose to Executive Vice President when she learned her boss was looking to sell the 200-employee firm. Fenyo decided to make a bid. She scraped together all the money she could find, borrowed (in return for… Read more »

How To Avoid The Hodgepodge Discount

Nobody likes paying for a hundred TV channels when all you want is a few, which is why so many people are dropping cable in favor of a subscription to only the select channels they’ll watch. Similarly, no investor wants to buy a business with a hodgepodge of product lines if they can’t figure out… Read more »

Why You Should Exit Your Business While You’re Ahead – A Cautionary Tale

The very best time to sell your business is when someone wants to buy it.  While it can be tempting to continue to grow your business forever – particularly when things are going well — that decision comes with a significant downside. Take a look at the story of Rand Fishkin who started his entrepreneurial… Read more »

IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse Survey Report Predicts Major Changes

The IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse Survey Report for the fourth quarter of 2018 has a range of interesting insights.  The survey’s purpose is to provide an “accurate understanding of market conditions for businesses being sold in Main Street (values $0-$2MM) and the Lower Middle Market (values $2MM-$50MM).  This national survey was designed as… Read more »

5 M&A Myths and How to Deal with Them

Where your money is concerned, myths can do damage.  A recent Divestopedia article from Tammie Miller entitled, Crazy M&A Myths You Need to Stop Believing Now, Miller explores 5 big M&A myths that can get you in trouble.  Miller points out that many of these myths are believed by CEO’s, but that they have zero… Read more »

8 Things That Drive the Value of Your Company

If you’re like a lot of entrepreneurs, you use your Profit & Loss statement as your report card at the end of the year.  You may even use your P&L to figure out what your company is worth by applying a multiple to your profit.  But having worked with and surveyed more than 40,000 entrepreneurs,… Read more »