Completing a merger to further your succession goals has many distinct advantages: long lead time in introducing your successor to clients, staff and vendors, giving the successor the benefit of your in-person knowledge for some period of time and possibly getting some financial reward while still maintaining an active and visible role in your company,…

Valuation Delusion Syndrome is on the rise. Here’s a recent case. Sam called me last week about selling his business.  Sam is 65 years old and was referred to me by a former client of mine.  He told me that he had been offered ten million dollars ($10M) for his business a couple of years…

If you ask any professional business or M&A advisor “What is the optimal time to maximize the value for my business before selling?” The most common answer is – 24 MONTHS. In reality, it turns out to be more like 24 WEEKS as the owner is tired, anxious, and ready to make the change.  One of my investment…

Start building value today. Consider a benchmark assessment that will give you a baseline and leads you towards transformation initiatives. We call them EBITDA (earnings before tax, depreciation, and amortization) Transformations or Operational Profitability.  In a relatively short time you can improve both top and bottom line for your business. Take care of your risks…

Recently, a topic has been on several different blogs discussing whether, when your business is being sold, you should go to a small number of buyers, or a broad buyer list.  Based on the title of this blog, you can probably figure out my point of view. Often when I’m talking to a business owner…

Cleaning Up Your Back-office for Sale Every business should be bigger than just one person. Unfortunately, too many business owners “do it all” in their small business. This doesn’t work when it’s time to exit, and makes it harder to sell at a fair price. Business owners know how to put on a dog-and-pony show….

If you came of age in the 1970’s, you likely learned the phrase caveat emptor – Latin for “buyer beware” – from one curly-topped architect named Mike Brady.  You remember that “Brady Bunch” episode, right?  Mr. Brady, never one to miss a thigh-high fastball teachable moment, cautions eldest son Greg to not hastily buy a…

During my presentation at the XPX Boston Breakfast Series meeting this past Tuesday (9/24/13), we focused primarily on the many financial and non-financial benefits that an ESOP transaction can provide to business owners seeking an alternative to a traditional third party sale of their company.  Dan Guglielmo raised an interesting question regarding the impact of…