Those of us searching for good news about credit availability find the search to be a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack. Recent changes to the Small Business Administration’s 7(A) guaranty loan program provide one such shiny needle for owners of companies with purchase prices between $400,000 and $4 million.
Under new rules, [...]

One constant of successful companies is a stable, motivated management team. This quality not only contributes to corporate success, it is also key to increasing the value of your business and your successful business exit.
Should you decide to sell your business to a third party, you’ll discover that potential buyers place significant value on the [...]

Myth: “My CPA will tell me when it is time to start planning for my business transition.” (Replace CPA with “attorney,” “financial planner,” or “insurance professional” and the myth remains intact.)
Fact: Your advisors, be they CPA’s, attorneys, Financial or Insurance Professionals, may not initiate planning discussions primarily because you have not told them you are [...]

In today’s Merger and Acquisition marketplace, an all-cash buyer is as rare as a balanced federal budget. Those buyers who do arrive at the closing table with cash in hand may not be over-burdened with huge bagfuls.
Almost as uncommon as the all-cash buyer is the offer of a valuation multiple that approaches (much less matches) [...]

So, you have decided to become a seller. You have determined that even though market conditions are not absolutely ideal, your company is saleable.
This scenario is reminiscent of a little boy who cried “Wolf!” In our context, the story usually begins when a buyer approaches you (unexpectedly) expressing an interest in acquiring your company. [...]

When time comes to tell your banker you’re planning to exit your business, or when you need money you may experience feelings ranging from mild anxiety to outright panic. Why? We’ve been conditioned to believe that bankers say “no” far more often than they say “yes.” That may or may not be true but bankers [...]

The necessity of having a trained and motivated management team in place before and after you leave the company cannot be overstated. In the eyes of a buyer, a business has little value if its owner’s departure means the new owner must reinvent the wheel. So it is with systems. Once you are gone, can [...]

Fictional owner, Peter Miller, had called his accountant to ask her to help him value his business with the idea of retiring in a few years. No stranger to Exit Planning, his accountant assembled all of Peter’s advisors and launched a complete Exit Planning process. She began, not with an examination of how a transfer [...]

“I haven’t decided what I ultimately want to do with my business, or when I want to exit, or how much money I’ll need, or whom to sell to, so how can I plan my exit? Besides, I don’t want to exit right now.” If you’ve said this, or thought it, you are not alone. [...]

“Exit Planning? I’ll start soon—I’ve got plenty of time.”
“Exit Planning? I’m too busy. I just don’t have enough time.”
The problem with both of these statements is that active business owners seldom slow down. We all know that the only things likely to reduce your pace are death or terminal burn-out. This is not to imply [...]