Should I wait?

If you own your own business and have thought about selling in the near future, you are probably watching the markets fluctuate with apprehension – especially if you are a business owner who survived the downturn of 2008. Business is booming right now, and your business is probably doing better than it has in years – but business was booming in 2007 too.

It can be excruciatingly difficult to pull the trigger and sell your business when there’s no real way to know if you’re leaving a bunch of money on the table because you’ve sold too soon. The healthy state of the economy is driving up the sale prices of businesses every quarter, but we all know we’re closing in on the top of that upward trend.

What to do? Sell now while the selling is good. Business owners that didn’t go under after the 2008 slide had to take what they could get from the tiny pool of buyers who still had capital to buy a business. Many scrambled to find buyers in their industry when there were no buyers to be had. If you leave some money on the table because you sold six months or a year before the market reached it’s peak you can comfort yourself by knowing that you didn’t have to sell after the tide turned and prices slid.

Taxes and regulations for business and industry are likely going to change, but only the future knows how those changes will affect small businesses. The economy is booming, and has been for quite a while. Housing prices are at bubble-like levels again, and many investment groups have slowed their rate of investing. A downturn is in the tea leaves – so if your tentative plan is to sell in the next five years – sell now.

Are you a business owner who is on the fence about selling? Would you like to know what businesses like yours are currently selling for? Ask us! Please feel free to leave any questions or comments here and we would be happy to help.

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@InfinityBusinessBrokers.com
12995 South Cleveland Avenue, Suite 249
Fort Myers, FL 33907

www.InfinityBusinessBrokers.com

Owning a small business is often a family affair, where children grow up working in the family business and sometimes take over the reins when mom and dad decide to retire.

While this idyllic business model might seem smart and straightforward, some aspects of your children’s role in your business can be detrimental to the financial return you get on that business if you ever decide to sell.

Here are three things to consider when you think about your kids and the future of your business:

Making Your Kids Work For Free

Having your children as staff members who only earn tips might save you on your payroll today, but it can dramatically affect the value of your business. Any potential payroll for any underpaid or unpaid staff will need to be adjusted and will affect the amount a buyer is willing to offer. This also goes for family business situations where family members earn way more than fair market value for the job they do. The solution? Pay family members a fair market wage for the work that they do today so you can keep future buyers from taking that amount off the top.

Only Trusting Your Kids To Do The Job Right

It can be difficult to find good employees, so some small business owners make their children responsible for almost everything. Leaning so heavily on your children can make your life easier today, but if your children have no intention of taking over the business when you retire their massive role in the business can cause major issues with a new owner.  If you sell, your kids probably won’t continue on as employees because their loyalty is to you, not to the business itself. This will leave a massive void in the business that a potential buyer will see as a massive issue. How can you solve this problem? Keeping your entire staff, or at least some key players, cross-trained in everything that makes the business run will help with the transition to a new owner.

Using Your Children As Your Only Retirement Plan

More often than they should, family businesses that get handed down to children falter or fail completely. Why? The drive and passion you have for your business is yours alone. As we said before, in many cases children are loyal to their parents, not to the business itself. If your kids don’t want your business but do want to continue the entrepreneurial legacy of your family, a good path can be to sell your business and then use that money to invest in a business that your kids are actually passionate about.

Do you own a family business where one (or all three) of these considerations might become an issue down the road? Do you have questions about how payroll adjustments are calculated in negotiations? Protect the future return on your business investment and contact us today.

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@infinitybusinessbrokers.com
12995 South Cleveland Avenue, Suite 249
Fort Myers, FL 33907

https://infinitybusinessbrokers.com

If you are considering selling your business, you need to do everything you can to make sure you are putting your business in the best light. Fix broken equipment, put your financial records in order, revamp your web presence, expand your marketing – it’s a long list. A first impression with potential buyers can make or break a deal, so here’s an addition to the list you may not have considered:

You need to keep your political opinions to yourself.

It can be very tempting in this highly charged and politically divisive climate to wear your political views on your sleeve, but if you own a business and are considering selling any time in the near future – you just can’t. 

Wait, don’t business leaders take a political stand all the time? Why can’t I?

Sure, some big companies take a political stance on issues they consider important (think Starbucks and hiring refugees, for example), but what these companies have that you don’t is an enormous customer base and media exposure enough to bring on new patrons who believe in their political ideology.

As a small business you can’t afford to potentially alienate half of your client base or to potentially offend half of the buyers who come in the door. Even if a buyer agrees with your political opinions, how does putting your opinions ahead of the best interest of the business look to someone who is about to write you a very big check? If you’ve been willing to drive off half of your revenue, what other risks have you taken that could potentially affect the next owner and their ability to remain profitable?

Keep personal political opinions to yourself and only share them with your non-business circle. If you share something political on social media, make sure it cannot be accessed by anyone who is a potential client or customer. Keep political statements off of your billboards, out of your ads and off your website. Lastly, don’t bring up your political affiliation or political beliefs in meetings with potential buyers. 

The welfare of your business should be your first priority, no matter how angry politics makes you. Put your neutral business-self in front and leave the politics at home.

Do you have questions about what buyers consider when they look at potential businesses to buy? Feel free to leave any questions or comments here and we would be happy to help.

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@infinitybusinessbrokers.com
12995 South Cleveland Avenue, Suite 249
Fort Myers, FL 33907

https://infinitybusinessbrokers.com