Blog
Why You Need An M&A Lawyer
When selling your business, the M&A lawyer plays a crucial role throughout the negotiation and transaction process. They help you understand the complexities involved in a transaction and how to navigate through them. They know how to translate legal jargon into...
Business Values Up In 2021
Business values increased in 2021 despite ongoing challenges from the pandemic, talent shortages, and supply chain disruption. Deal activity continued at an intense pace, with advisors across the country reporting increases in both incoming deal flow and completed...
You’re Thinking About Selling Your Business In 3-5 Years, How Do You Prepare In The Meantime?
For an optimal selling price, you’ll want to engage with an M&A firm 3-5 years prior to the sale of your business. An M&A firm can help you get the right deal team in place, set you up with tax planning, keep your business in mind when dealing with buyers, and...
M&A In 2022: Is This The Year To Sell?
If you’re a business owner, you’ve probably had a rough couple of years – and the challenges aren’t over. While COVID-19 may be weakening its grip, talent shortages, supply chain issues, and inflation are still very much at play. And yet, the economy is surging....
Tracking Your Business Perks
Business owners take any number of perks from their business, from the more standard items like auto expenses, memberships, and insurance plans to extras like entertainment, vacations, or an additional family member on the books. Perks are a way for owners to be...
Should a Buyer Overpay to Close a Deal?
As a valuation expert I often get asked, ‘should I overpay in order to close the deal?’ One of the main things I ask anyone asking this question is to consider the opportunity cost of not closing the deal. Being an expert in valuation I never want to say that...
When is the Right Time to Plan the Sale of Your Business
If you are a business owner, at some point you have likely asked yourself, “I wonder how much my business is worth.” Perhaps you’re considering selling, thinking about estate planning, or maybe you’re just curious if your business strategy is adding value. We’re...
Buyers Like Big Fish In Small Ponds
Some business owners worry that a niche will limit their opportunities and they’ll miss sales. But a niche can often be the key to growth. What’s more, it can increase your overall business value. Niches are attractive because it’s much easier to be #1 or #2 in a...
ENTREPRENEURS REALLY DO THINK OF BUSINESS AS THEIR BABY
Many business owners say selling their business feels like giving a child up for adoption. As it turns out, that’s not just a metaphor. Research shows entrepreneurs really do think of their business as a kid. Researchers found parallel brain activity...
Buyer’s Top Focus Is Employee Team
Employees. Finding them. Keeping them. It’s on everyone’s mind right now. And for the company or person who buys your business, it just may be their number one concern. In the latest IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse Report, a quarterly survey of M&A...
Retention Raises Business Value, Especially Now
“To win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace.” Those words of Doug Conant, business leader and former CEO of Campbell Soup Company, ring particularly true today. The talent market was tight before the pandemic, but now we’re in a critical state....
The Happiest Business Owners Know What’s Next
I recently came across Bo Burlingham, the former executive editor for Inc. magazine and author of several books, including Finish Big: How Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies on Top. What I learned from his book is many business owners are unhappy after selling...
What Happens to Employees After I sell?
Business owners often come to us concerned about employee jobs and retention issues after a sale. They worry that selling their business will lead to job losses if certain positions become redundant. However, buyers today are often just as focused on retention...
Know the 3 Types of Business Buyers and What Motivates Them
When selling your business, you may receive offers from three kinds of buyers: strategic, financial, and individual. Here’s a look at the most common buyers and where their motivations lie. Strategic buyer: The strategic buyer is a company that is looking to grow by...
How COVID Slumps and Bumps are Affecting Business Values
I don’t know of anyone whose business wasn’t affected, at some level, in 2020. Businesses were either on the COVID slump or the COVID bump. Some businesses, like gyms, may have lost customers permanently as people brought those experiences into the home. For...
What is the Most Significant Characteristic that Defines Future Success?
During a business conference I attended a couple of years ago, the facilitator asked, “What is the biggest characteristic that contributes to future success?” Think for a moment about how you would answer that question. Would you say intelligence? Strategic thinking?...
Put Time Into Planning Sale Of Business
Over my career, I have witnessed business owners who spent more time planning for their children’s wedding, their 50th wedding anniversary, or even their fantasy football draft, than they put into planning for the sale of their business. According to the quarterly...
Spring Cleaning is Good For Business
We’re just a few weeks into spring and that means it’s time for spring cleaning – both at home and at work. Putting in this effort on a yearly basis makes due diligence and the whole business sale process a lot smoother. Here’s what I mean: Clean...
Did you ever have to make up your mind?
As a business owner, you have to evaluate the role you want in a transition as part of your overall evaluation of the suitors interested in your business.
Economist suggests business owners sell by 2024
Economically speaking, COVID-19 was a “natural disaster.” That’s according to Brian Beaulieu, CEO and chief economist of ITR economics. Beaulieu spoke at the virtual State of M&A conference hosted by Cornerstone Business Services in February,...
How To Find An Exit Coach
As you start thinking about selling your business, it is important to engage with someone who can coach you. There’s a lot of value you can create over the final years before you sell. Start asking questions like, “How can I position my...
Financing M&A In A Pandemic
The year 2020 was anything other than ordinary and customary. Deal volume was down, like in most recessions. But unlike other recessions, valuations held strong or even increased, at least for COVID-proof organizations. So how are deals getting done in this economy?...
M&A Buyers May Need to Move Quickly in 2021
One year ago, buyers were looking for talent. Every company we talked to was up against the same problem - there was so much opportunity to be had, but none of the employees to make it happen. It's amazing how much can change in year. Business buyers today are coming...
Pros and Cons of Selling to a Strategic Buyer
When it's time to sell your business, you may have multiple buyers to choose from. You could receive offers from strategic, financial, and individual buyers. As you start thinking about selling your business, think about what's most important to you in a sale....
Will COVID-19 Impact The Value Of My Business?… It Depends
As we continue to take companies to market during COVID, we're asking new questions about business response plans and resilience. It's been interesting to see the different attitudes and approaches. The business owners who are burned out are very much taking a "sell...
The Irony of Rising Business Values
The M&A market does not usually respond well to times of uncertainty, such as election years. But in Q3 2020, in a time of uncertainty on top of uncertainty, we are seeing record buyer interest. The issue is largely one of supply and demand. Business owners,...
Escaping M&A “Deal Killers”
When selling your business, you can expect to hit a couple of snags before the deal is complete. But proper planning can help you avoid the most common "deal killers" like these: Deal Killer 1: Time We have a saying in the M&A industry: "Time kills all deals." The...
Plan a 2021 Comeback with an Acquisition
Business owners tend to think about selling when things aren't as much fun as they used to be. Running a business in the COVID era is anything but fun, and owners are being particularly responsive to acquisition inquiries right now. Proactive acquisition searches When...
Lopsided Market Drives M&A Values in Pandemic
With all the upheaval in the world right now, you'd expect M&A deal value to take a dip. But recent market analysis shows that's anything but the case. According to GF Data, companies with an enterprise value of $10 million to $25 million sold at an average...
Discover Portage
Finding the right advisor when selling a business is paramount. Knowing their capabilities is the first step. When we originally began our journey, we put a lot of thought into the brand. We wanted a name that would reflect the fundamental service we provide –...