Blogs
Know Your Broker: Attending the IBBA Conference
The IBBA conference draws 2,000 members. We attend because it helps us become better brokers and get better outcomes for our clients.
Cautionary Tale #13: Open Mouth Syndrome
We’ve engaged with a bakery seller several times in the past, and the deals have not worked out for one reason or another. But the reason for the most recent failure was entirely on the buyer, who lacked self-awareness and accountability.
Apex Success Stories #5: Persevere!
This particular success story starts with a business that often has a more specialized buyer pool: an auto service shop. The seller wanted to retire and had some health issues. The buyer was an experienced mechanic who had always wanted his own shop. The match looked good on paper, so it was time to start the work on the deal.
Book Club #39: Value Control by Ron Kleier
The value of Ron’s book is to orient first-time sellers to some general and specific things to keep in mind as you prepare to sell a business.
Preparing for a Controlled Auction
While a “controlled auction” may not sound exciting, it’s an excellent way for businesses valued at $1M+ to gauge interest.
Better Websites can Lead to Better Valuations
For many businesses, a website isn’t just a checkbox on a due diligence worksheet: it’s an integral part of your business valuation.
3 Mistakes Business Sellers Make
Let’s look at all the mistakes a recent seller made that led the buyer to run away from this deal as fast as he could.
Keep Your Accounting in Order
Nobody buys or sells a business without solid financial statements. So, what are some ways to keep ourselves on the straight and narrow?
Cautionary Tale #12: The Supreme Court Decides a Business Valuation
What happens when the IRS tries to get more money from a small business owner and loses in the lower courts? They appeal to the Supreme Court.
Looking into the Mind and Heart of a Business Buyer
we’ve put together some categories and questions you can put to a potential buyer in a first meeting to find out if this person is a good fit for you and to potentially spur them on to action.
Inside the SBA’s New Working Capital Program (WCP)
The SBA has been piloting the Working Capital Program (WCP) and it officially launches to the public on August 1, 2024.
The FTC and Roll-Ups
One of the industries that has seen a lot of rollups recently is healthcare and the current head of the FTC isn’t keen on all that activity.
The Market Discovers Boring Businesses
A boring business is not glamorous. The fun part? It reliably returns cash flow, day after day, month after month, year after year.
Cautionary Tale #11: Counseling Sellers
As we say early on in the transaction process: tell us everything, even if you don’t think it’s important. And the important stuff? Tell us that first.
Don’t Wait for Rates
A solid business doesn’t rise or fall based on interest rates in the market. The same goes for when you buy a business.
Five More Items for Your Business Closing Checklist
Round two of our business closing checklist has five more items that are logical, but don’t occur to most first-time sellers.
The Buc-ee’s Phenomenon
The King Kong of beloved gas stations is Texas-based Buc-ee’s, and learning what they’ve done can help you build a better business.
Book Club #38: The Psychology of Money, by Morgan Housel
Morgan Housel’s The Psychology of Money challenges the way we may think about money, offering helpful reframes in place of platitudes.
The Rise of Beloved Gas Stations
Gas stations have taken a cut-throat, geographically-limited, low-margin high volume business and transformed it into a high-margin business.
Know Your Broker: Kevin Layton
Kevin Layton was an entrepreneur early on. At 17 he had a letter of intent and was doing diligence on a dairy operation in Central, PA.