Listen to Eric Gilboord and Bo Burlingham discuss: 

The '7 Biggest Mistakes Owners Make When Selling Their Company'

1. They haven't figured out who they are, what they want and why.
2. They haven't built a company that is sellable.
3. They haven't prepared themselves and their companies for the transition.
4. They haven't got the right kind of help.
5. They haven't thought through what they owe to their employees and investors.
6. They don't understand the buyer's intentions.
7. They don't know what to expect before, during and especially after the deal.

Even if you're not thinking about selling, every entrepreneur can learn something from this conversation. Click Here

In my experience, within the SMB world, owners are definitely looking at buying up their competition in order to grow or to eliminate them altogether. It might be that you are a $3-10 million company within a narrow specialty niche. Your competitors could be 3 or 4 players, also with boomer aged owners, all doing the same amount of business as you or a little less and all wanting to get out. Let's look at a real case we are working on.

Our client (Bob) is 53 years old and his company has sales of $4 million annually. They have remained at this level for the past 10 years mainly because he and his partner were comfortable, made a good living and didn't need the perceived headaches of running a larger company. So little effort was made to grow the company. 

He believes his operations skills are superior to his competitors and he could therefore run their businesses better than they could. His partner (Joe) is 60 years old and wants out. He is not interested in growing. Bob thinks differently, he has another 5 years or more in him and the idea of going out on a high has gotten him re-energized about his own company. So Bob now has the opportunity to fast forward growth by buying out his partner and his competitors.

Here are the next steps highlights as we have outlined for Bob to create an Exit Plan that will allow him to retire on a high note. Possibly with greater success than he had ever imagined.
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1. Bob has to first buy out his partner. To do this he needs advice and capital that we will provide.
2. Bob now has 100% of his company and makes decisions as he sees fit. So growing and acquisitions are definitely on the agenda.
3. Before he can think about buying his competition and growing he needs a plan. We will help him develop and execute our WarrenBDC Deep Dive Integrated Plan.
4. He needs to buy out 3 of his key competitors. Two have annual sales of $2 million dollars and one is at $1 million in annual sales. To do this he needs advice and capital that we will provide.
5. Now Bob is running a $9 million company post purchase and likely has some new challenges that come with larger organizations. We will provide him with our team members who possess the skill sets he requires to run and grow the larger company. Bob can run this as a $9 million dollar business or he can choose to grow it further before he exits. He may choose to grow it to $15 or 20 million or more and then sell. It's up to Bob and how much work he is willing to put in.
6. In order to exit successfully Bob will need an Exit Plan. We will develop that plan with him and help execute it. 
7. He will require a buyer(s) and we will identify them. He will also require our team to represent him in the sale.
8. Bob will have now taken a lifetime of experience and grown and sold a company worth significantly more than the company he was running with his partner when we first met. Quite an achievement and a great way to go out on top. Not to forget he will be significantly better financed for his retirement.

You've likely seen the many articles and posts on selling your company to fund retirement.
It's not an easy subject to discuss and vastly more complicated to navigate than any other business challenge you may have faced to date. 

The personal side is even more difficult. No one wants to give up a sense of purpose or place. Both the business and personal issues you will be confronted with require guidance and experience to be successful.

Perhaps it's time to dip your toe into the transition pond and see what the future holds for you. It's not as bad as you may think and can be very rewarding. At the same time it is not without risk. You don't want to go it alone.

As an easy first step click here to listen to a 15 minute conversation with Wayne Vanwyck creator of the Business Transition Coach Forum. It just might clear up a lot of confusion and provide you with a proven successful path to follow.

WarrenBDC helps to increase the value of a business, while preparing the owner and the company for sale or transition. When the owner and the business are both ready, the company can be confidently sold or transitioned on their terms.

We specialize in working with business owners who own companies enjoying annual sales of $3-25 Million. Larger or smaller companies are considered on an individual basis.

If you're interested in transitioning, partial selling, outright selling or buying a business(s) let's talk. 

​Cheers, Eric
Eric Gilboord
416-270-2466
eric@warrenbdc.com