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  • About Us
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    • You Need to Know >
      • Exit Strategy
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  • Newsletter Sign Up
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    • 75 Things To Do When You Exit Your Business
  • 'Sell Your Business 4 More'
  • Coaching

our Blog for Growing or 
selling your business

Going It Alone. When Partners Do The Sale Themselves.

1/24/2017

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An email I recently received. 
I am expecting an offer from my partner to possibly buy me out. If this falls through I will contact you.

​My response. 
Thanks for the update. Food for thought. I recently had a conversation with another Owner we have been talking with over the last couple of years. His plan was to buy out his partner of 30 years or have the partner buy him out. The partner chose to be the Seller.

The Buyer, our contact, chose to do the deal on his own. We offered our services but he declined as he knew his partner well and they have had a 30 year relationship. After literally a couple of years of discussion the deal was supposed to finally close on January 2, 2017. 

It has so far not ended well. They are no longer friends, the Seller continues to go back on his word and change the deal and the whole sale may never happen. The result will potentially be metaphorically like 'a divorced couple living in the same house'. You don't really know someone until you negotiate with them from opposite sides of the table.
Sadly, as of Jan. 22, 2017, it still has not closed yet. The Buyer and Seller no longer trust each other and a 30 year friendship is ruined.

In another case the Owner was planning on his key person buying the business, although he never actually asked him if he was capable or interested. When the question was finally posed the answer was no he was not interested in buying within the Owners timeline and no he did not have anywhere near the funds. Unfortunately that was the Owners only play.

Isaac (my partner) and I would like to offer our services to help you and your partner engage in a harmonious and mutually satisfying transaction. 

Not trying to be heavy handed or negative but the examples above represent only two recent attempted Sales By Owner. 

Please let me know if you would like to discuss. 

We wish you all the best in a positive and successful sale.

​Cheers, Eric
__________________________________________________________________________

Readers

In case you believe one of the examples is you, know that it's likely not. This happens far more often than you think.

The current buzz in the business transaction world is that 2017 will be an incredible year for selling a business. Are you ready?

As always, I am available for a telephone conversation or a coffee.

Cheers, Eric
Selling Businesses and Buying Businesses
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Understanding The Other Generation

1/19/2017

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​My son and I got into a conversation about Trump the other day. And of course the inevitable what do we do here in Canada about our own leadership. 


As we talked I realized that our discussion was less about the specifics and more about our own generational concerns and how the implications would affect us personally. 

So with that clarity I understood we likely would never agree on everything and we both need to work hard to appreciate the impact the upcoming changes will have on each other.

There is a parallel between this conversation and a generational or transitional discussion about a business, regardless of it being family based or not. Most, if not all companies are being run by 2 or possibly 3 generations.

The thought I offer to you is this.

Get The Best Out Of Everyone 
Excerpt from 'Moving Forward'.

​When you sell or transition you need to make sure your successor understands the value of getting the best from everyone and you need to help them. They might be a family member, a long time employee or an outside acquirer. In any case you want the new Owners to have as much success as possible. Particularly if part of your compensation is tied into the future financial achievement of the company.
 
The new management may have been groomed to run the family business, in some cases, for their entire adult lives. Or you may decide to offer a loyal employee or management team member that opportunity. The originators of the business often try for years to educate, share their experiences, impart their wisdom, and mould their successors. Some succeed others don't. Family isn't always the best choice. In fact it's more rare than you might think.
 
Share what made you successful and make sure that goes for everyone involved with the company as well. Give the new Owners complete and unfettered access to you and the senior management team. An immediate and never ending inside edge to the key goings on of the organization.
 
Some of the same benefits (experience, familiarity, and loyalty) can be gained from non-family, non-management employees and business associates who offer expertise and experiences that are different from yours. They may not be an Owner but what they offer is invaluable. Make sure you pass this insight and access on to the new management.
 
In some cases the new generation will continue to operate the business as it had been run in the past, a safe short-term measure.
 
This strategy may have worked for the previous generation, but circumstances are changing at a dramatic pace. We are living in a time of new technology, new needs, and new ways of approaching problems. E-commerce, database marketing, social media, big box and online stores, branding, and many other new terms have not only entered our small business vocabulary, they have taken business over.
 
As part of the older management you may be set in your ways, a little tired, and perhaps a little too comfortable with a particular style of conducting business that has provided you with years of triumph (usually tempered by a few bumps in the road).
 
The younger management may be full of energy and have new ideas for reinventing the business. But working together, you both need to blend the best of both generations. Preserve the successes from the past, incorporate the new opportunities, and build for the future.
 
A reminder to the older generation: not everything old is good nor is everything new bad.
 
To the younger generation remember: not everything old is bad nor is everything new good.
 
​
As always, I am available for a telephone conversation or a coffee.

Cheers, Eric
​
Selling Businesses and Buying Businesses
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You Can Handle the Truth (about selling your company) I Know You Can

1/13/2017

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The first thing I'm consistently told by my readers, when we meet in person or speak on the phone, is they respect the honesty and tell it like it is attitude in my writing. I take that as a badge of honour. So thank you.

The truth and cutting to the chase is and always has been important for any successful business owner. I respect you by offering the truth and I expect to receive it back. Trust is earned over time and we slowly develop an honest relationship.

I think you do want it and you can handle it. One of the tools you used to build your successful business was and still is a strong BS meter.

At a high level, you have likely not moved forward with plans to sell your business because of at least one of the following:
  1. You don't know what you don't know.
  2. The information you've been given is wrong or at the very least misleading.
  3. You don't know where to go for good answers in the first place.

The conversation usually continues with a variety of questions about our experience, credibility and relatable stories of other owners we are working with. (Nothing identifiable is ever said and names are NEVER used).

At the same time it is important to make sure you have as much time as you need to tell us your story. If we haven't offered at least 2 or 3 suggestions on how you can increase the value of your company in the first conversation then we are having a bad day. Sorry we will make up for it next time.

The questions we are typically asked are as follows:
  1. How much is my company worth?
  2. How long will it take to transition out?
  3. Who might buy my company?
  4. How long does it take to get my company ready for sale or transition?
  5. How do I protect my people?
  6. What size companies do we work with?
  7. Will we meet with the Owners' spouse or children or partners and reiterate our conversation?
  8. How do we charge for our work?

The post question conversation usually goes something like this. Wow I didn't know what was involved in selling my company. I knew some of the ways my business could be made more valuable but had no idea there were so many more opportunities. I'm surprised at what a difference a little work pre-sale could make in the selling price/transition terms and how that translates into cash in my jeans.

So when you're ready to hear the truth about selling your business and have a pair of fresh eyes or two look at your company, call me. I like making new friends and setting people straight. What you don't want is someone telling you what they think you want to hear.

You can handle the truth, I know you can.

In the spirit of getting closer to the truth, download a pdf sample of my new book 'Moving Forward' available on Amazon. 

However, if we agree to meet in person, I'll send you the complete book in pdf prior to the meeting.

Cheers, Eric
Selling Businesses and Buying Businesses
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