If you’re trying to figure out what your business might be worth, it’s helpful to consider what acquirers are paying for companies like yours these days. A little Internet research will probably reveal that a business like yours trades for a multiple of your pre-tax profit,...
A recent article posted by The National Law Review entitled “Thinking of Selling? Start Early, Build Your Team” explains the importance of putting together a good team of trusted advisors well in advance of selling your business. Your team should include an attorney, accountant, investment banker,...
In the previous article in this series we discussed the importance of scalability and defensibility in building value in a company. A key means to achieving both is establishing unique intellectual property as an asset of the company. What is the ‘secret sauce’ that your company...
Have you ever wondered why startup companies stop growing? Sometimes they run out of potential customers to sell to or their product starts losing market share to a competitor, but there is often a more fundamental reason: the founder(s) lose the stomach for it. When you...
A recent article from Divestopedia entitled “To Sell Your Business, Start with the End in Mind” explains the importance of planning your exit strategy in the early stages of your business. The article points out that emotion plays a big part in humans’ decision making process, and when a potential buyer perceives that the owner has...
A recent article posted on BizJournals.com entitled “Top 5 rules on preparing your company for sale” explains how the best time to begin preparing your business for sale is right now. The article highlights these main rules to follow: Start auditing your financial statements now as these...
It’s not surprising that most entrepreneurs of start-up companies focus on generating revenue from any viable source. Product revenue, services revenue, or both; whatever is easier to get and helps pay the bills. Once the basics are covered and a company grows beyond startup mode, business...
Overview Growing a middle market technology business is a challenging endeavor. Day-to-day choices affect immediate operations and the bottom line, as well as the longer-term value of the company. With hectic schedules and immediate pressures like customer needs, growth and profitability, business executives sometimes lose sight...
A recent article posted on Forbes.com entitled “Small Business Owners Are Retiring, And Millennials May Not Fill The Gap On America’s Main Street” uses the closing of a 235-year-old hardware store to prove a startling fact: the Millennial generation may not be suited to take over...
If you own a business, then ownership transition should be a central topic in your planning. A few years ago, MassMutual Life Insurance Company conducted an interesting and thought-provoking survey of family-owned businesses. Obviously, family-owned businesses have their own unique needs and challenges. The MassMutual...