Archive for category: General

Not everyone has a good sense of what we Kansas City brokers “do” in getting our buyers and sellers to a successful conclusion. Yes, they know we have to send a lot of emails and make a lot of phone calls. But what else? In this article we’ll give you a bit of a look at a hypothetical “day in the life” of one of Kansas City business brokers.

Finding and Qualifying Buyers

Each broker has his/her unique network of buyers that has been cultivated over the years. The best brokers will have also taken the time to qualify those buyers by making sure they aren’t just lookers or tire-kickers. We make sure that our buyer list is as qualified as possible, so that no one wastes their time. We may keep that buyer network “in the loop” through emails, forecasts, or even blogs like this one. 

We want to stay top of mind for those looking for businesses for sale in Kansas and Missouri (we are also active throughout the Midwest). So when we get a new business listing that we like, we send it out to our network. We get new listings all the time, so these touch points happen regularly. On any given  day we might be communicating with this network or bringing it up in discussions in our ongoing networking and other meetings in the community.

First Steps

Once buyers display genuine interest in a particular business due to an abstract we’ve provided (confidentiality is important so we don’t get too detailed), we will then get a non-disclosure/confidentiality agreement from them. This allows them to get the information they need in order to make a serious decision to move forward. We want the buyer to meet with and interview the seller as soon as possible to determine if the business is the right fit for the buyer.

If there is interest, it is important to move to an  Offer to Purchase to solidify their position ahead of other potential buyers. In this phase we get the seller to disclose high-level detail and not getting too deep into the weeds with specific and detailed questions. That’s the thing to do during due diligence.  

Diligence

After an acceptance of an offer, emails and phone calls really get rolling. We will arrange for the buyer and seller to meet and facilitate information gathering necessary for diligence and deal financing. At this stage we wear different hats, depending on the email, phone call, or conversation:

• Mentor: Many clients are first time buyers or sellers and really don’t know how the process works. We have to tell/show them. 
• Coach: Just as there are certain exercises and drills that sports players have to do in order to get to game day, there are certain documents and legal issues that need to be addressed prior to closing day. We gently prod, but sometimes have to be less gentle when people are zoning out/procrastinating.
• Professional: Some clients will need help with issues like tax planning, obtaining financing, or negotiating real estate. We have seasoned professional contacts that we can refer people to.
• Friend: We will often field a panicked phone call or respond to a troubling email with empathy. Many of us have owned businesses before and we know that seller remorse is real (and how to deal with it). Again, each broker brings his/her own particular personality to the table to deal with specific situations.

Every broker will tell you that on any given day we’re wearing at least one of these hats at any moment.

Closing

There are various parties that will sometimes do their best (or maybe their worst?) to derail transactions. They may do this consciously or unconsciously, but whatever their mentality, it’s our job to mitigate their destructiveness.

Our role is to clearly and professionally deal with roadblocks, obstacles, and any other challenges that can keep these two parties, buyer and seller, from walking away happy in a transaction, both getting (mostly) what they wanted. Our brokers’ secret weapon is experience. This is not the first time we’ve dealt with these challenges and we have plenty of stories to tell about unbelievable last-minute problems that nearly sunk great deals. But we dealt with them in a timely manner, with patience, and as noted above, with empathy. We are closing deals on any given day and preventing them from going astray.

As you can see, our days can vary, but there’s a consistent theme: helping our clients get to a successful finish. We happen to be good at that. If you want to learn more, give us a call!

Here at Apex, we’ve been proactive in advising our clients as 2020 has unfolded. We began the year by discussing issues that might come in an election year. As the first wave of lockdowns occurred we encouraged people to look at federal funds (and followed up with detailed information on PPP). As the lockdowns continued we shared our long term outlook (don’t panic) while offering short-term changes that could help businesses adapt to the continuing chaos.

But now it’s the second half of 2020 and there’s no “normal” in sight.  What now?

We’ve heard many business owners say “2020 is a write-off.” While we understand that thinking, there’s also a danger in the phrase… It assumes that events know when December 31st comes and hence switch off just because it’s a new year. A new year may be something that we as humans pop champagne over, but the universe is indifferent. It just keeps going. Hence, with months of an unprecedented business climate, we should have more wisdom under our belts, and more importantly, we should use that wisdom.

Our position at Apex is unchanged. We look at the fundamentals and the transactions that we continue to handle. Our business has not stopped. There are still buyers and sellers looking to do deals. Every industry is different. While food and beverage and entertainment may be tougher to sell at the moment (yet some of them still continue to move), some businesses have temporarily put their listings on hold as they experience record years.

However, your position may have changed.

Leaving the Corporate World

You may have been someone who was already looking to leave the corporate world and enter business ownership, but now you have cold feet.  Is having a job any more secure in this environment? While business owners are indeed facing challenges, they do so knowing they have the most control over their destinies. They can live and die by that self-determination, and that’s preferable to waiting for an ax to fall. Does COVID-19 really change whether a business is the best vehicle to determine your own destiny?

Selling a Business

You might have been someone looking to sell a business. You still need to do what’s necessary to prepare that business for sale. And that includes guiding it through challenging circumstances. As we’ve discussed before, companies who showed good performance in 2009 and 2010, following the 2008 financial crisis, made for even more attractive acquisition targets. Those companies showed resilience, not just doing well when the sun was shining, but when the storms hit. Has COVID-19 changed your desire to sell your business, or just demanded more perseverance and resilience from you?

In this second half of the year, we aren’t waiting for events to “happen to” our clients. We are encouraging them to take matters into their own hands. If it feels like you’re trying to catch a falling knife, get some gloves on and reach those mitts out. Success in life doesn’t come to those who passively wait in fear for the next disaster, but those who, amidst setbacks and challenges, fill sandbags for what may come next. They keep their eyes on their environment close and far, watching for opportunities.

Feeling paralyzed about what to do in 2020? Talk to one of our advisors. While this is all of our first time through COVID-19, it’s not our first major financial shock. We have great advice and guidance for you.

Some time ago we wrote about adjustments you could make proactively in your business as COVID-19 started to make larger waves in the global economy. As the crisis grows and lingers, dynamics necessarily change for both buyers and sellers in the marketplace. What we continue to tell our clients here at Apex is: don’t panic. Those who can keep their heads when everyone is losing theirs will prosper when conditions improve. With that spirit of calm, let’s consider some things.

Short Term (the next 90 days)

We have deals in the pipeline and some of them will collapse due to a change for either buyer or seller that was unforeseen prior to these past few weeks. This has nothing specifically to do with the business but more to do with the general business climate. For example, a buyer may get cold feet about buying now or watched income which was going to be cashed out of stocks to finance the sale crater in value. They may see waiting as the best option.

That said, many deals will close, regardless. We saw some of this in 2008 during the financial crisis as well.

While the media may make it seem that fire is raining down from heaven, the reality is that business does go on in many sectors. And not just in the US but worldwide, including the supply chain for all businesses marked as “essential”. Indeed, some businesses are seeing their most profitable months in some years even as they move towards acquisition. Some of those sellers might delay a sale just to continue to ride some of those record profits a couple more months.

Medium Term (the next 6 to 18 months)

Should some kind of lockdown become national in the United States as it has in much smaller countries in Europe, there could be a hit to valuations of businesses, as those are based on earnings including the most recent financial statements.

On the other side, borrowing will be historically easy, as the Treasury and SBA make unprecedented guarantees and funds available. Rates are at historic lows. Some banks may put some additional provisions in the paperwork in relation to COVID-19 and its impact on certain types of businesses. But banks want businesses to move forward, not to freeze up, so they will likely be encouraging rather than discouraging.

Long Term (the next 24-48 months)

As with any shock to the economy of any country, there will be some necessary recovery time. But the realities of life go on.

The Baby Boomers continue to retire, and in record numbers, and many own businesses that have to be sold. Many people will begin to see their jobs through new lenses in a period of remote work. And the idea of buying a business, with its levels of control and opportunities for growth, may become even more appealing.

This isn’t to say that we don’t see some challenges ahead, but we tend to take the long view, because this isn’t the first economic shock we’ve experienced as advisors. Life does go on, despite great uncertainties, and indeed, this time, as any time in life and in business, is only as good as what you choose to do with it.

We look at facts and history and combine them with what we hear from our buyers and sellers and that leads us back to what we started this article with: not panicking.

Do you have questions about buying or selling a business right now?
We’re happy to talk through some of the challenges (and opportunities) with you!

It wasn’t that long ago that we were discussing the effects of an election year upon the business climate, and early in 2020 it seems that the dominant story is a flu-like disease that the world seems uncertain about in general. While it’s true that in many parts of the world consumers are still spending, shops are still open, and people are still going to work, at the same time stock markets have been swinging wildly, supply chains have been disrupted, and numbers of people have been quarantined.  What does this mean for business?

What has happened so far?

A number of airlines have made the decision to stop flying to certain places that are showing high levels of infection. At first this was just China, but now those concerns are spreading to Europe with northern Italy showing the greatest level of infections.

Major conferences have been cancelled. At the time of this article it looks as if SXSW in Austin will continue on as scheduled, though Twitter and Facebook have pulled out of the event. Facebook has cancelled its own F8 conference, opting for local gatherings and streamed content in its place. Shopify and Adobe are two other software firms that have cancelled their annual development conferences.

On the travel and leisure side, for the first time in many years, the final two days of Carnival in Venice were cancelled as the city was rapidly shut down by the regional and local governments. Giorgio Armani’s latest fashion show was streamed as the models walked in their outfits in empty rooms.

Like an Earthquake?

At this moment, the question seems to be whether this disease causes a fundamental change in global lifestyle and business norms or whether, like an earthquake, it is something that will pass. Indeed, after the ground stops moving in an earthquake the first things that need to be attended to are those who are hurt and wounded, but almost at the same time, the clearing and rebuilding begins, and that actually causes a rise in economic activity.  

It is clear that the media loves the sort of uncertainty that Corona Virus provides for them. Endless drama, speculation, and doomsday predictions. Much of the reaction in business can be traced directly to their reporting on these events.

Be Proactive

Business owners can’t really do much about how the media decides to conduct their business. They need to focus on the best way to navigate their businesses through this time of uncertainty, and there are some best practices that savvy entrepreneurs can adopt during the months ahead:

• Educate your customers about the virus and how it affects them specifically in their interactions with you. If your business is customer-facing, consider having hand sanitizer available and send emails/social media updates informing them about how to minimize their risk of infection.
• Talk with your vendors and bankers. Don’t wait until the Federal Reserve makes moves to start making moves of your own.  Consider expanding your credit line or restructuring some of your debt. Be more proactive on your receivables. Consider asking for better terms on your payables. Again, this is more about preparing for possibilities than panicking.
• Take a look at where you can save. Even if you may have already gone through this exercise at the end of last year, take another look. Perhaps you can buy some more materials at a better discount, or pay annual rates for SaaS instead of monthly. Better to save money now when it isn’t on most people’s minds.

There have been global disease scares and realities in the past and there will be more in the future. Know that we here at Apex are here to help you through the uncertainty, whether you are buying or selling. And yes, we will have hand sanitizer for you when you stop in at our offices!

Many people, for better or worse, avoid going to the doctor. No news is good news or if they feel fine all must be fine. But often there will at least be some kind of warning sign to nudge you to seek help. It may not be serious or life threatening, but it’s enough to get your attention.

This happens in business as well. In this article we will talk about a few of these that should make you pay attention.

Missing Revenue Targets

All businesses have bills to pay and if you don’t hit your revenue targets you may be in a more and more compromised financial position. You may start to rely on credit card debt or some of the higher priced alternative financing options out there. This can lead to a challenging situation if managed from a position of stress without foresight. Instead of limiting your liability to your corporate obligations, you may be putting your personal assets at risk as well.
Why are you missing your projections and what can you do to fix the situation?

Health Problems

Sometimes we have health problems because of genetic dispositions or because of choices we have made outside of the business. But on many occasions we’ve heard stories about health problems directly related to a business. The stress you are dealing with has to go somewhere, and sometimes it’s inflicted on your body, with devastating results.
If your business is causing you health problems, what are you going to change?

Loss of Passion

Many of us get into a particular business not just because we are good at it, but because we happen to enjoy it and find meaning in it. But sometimes, for various reasons, we lose our mojo. Very often it’s because of burnout.
If you’ve lost your passion for your business, can you keep it going?

Loss of Mission

While it’s true that businesses pivot to deliver something slightly (or greatly) different from where they may have first started, sometimes in the excitement to build and extend, a mission can get lost or muddled. These effects are felt throughout the business: from customers who aren’t sure exactly what you do, to staff who are confused about the change in direction, to you, who repeat what you think the mission of the company is but which has no basis in the reality of what your company is doing day to day.
If your company isn’t mission-focused, how will you correct that?

Key Staff are Leaving

If you don’t see the writing on the wall, sometimes your staff will. And when it’s key staff that leave, it’s the hardest to take, as they are the hardest to replace. They leave with institutional knowledge that is hard to pass on, and worse, they are probably leaving for preventable reasons.
If you’re losing key staff, are you willing to take a hard look at who the problem may be? (Is it you?)

If any of these are an issue for you, that’s cause for concern. If you have more than one, you’re in a crisis and need some help. If you want to rebuild and keep going, it’s possible, but it’s going to take a lot of work. But it may also be a good turnaround opportunity for one of our opportunistic buyers and can offer you a light at the end of the tunnel instead of just a longer tunnel. Give us a call to see if we can help.