The opportunity available today for making targeted business acquisitions has never been greater given the thousands of baby boomers who are implementing their exit strategies.
However, the decision to buy a business is not one to be taken lightly – it affects virtually every aspect of your life, so you have to be sure you’re ready for the commitment. It requires careful planning as well as the consideration of a wide range of financial, legal, tax, lifestyle and emotional concerns that can be quite overwhelming.
A complex process simplified
The following list provides a quick overview of several of the ways that Business Brokers help their clients succeed in finding and buying the right business when they are looking to purchase a business for sale.
- Opportunity Identification: As a purchaser’s advocate, business brokers can help clients to identify and evaluate the right opportunity. Business brokers begin with a thorough review of your needs, interests, skills, background, finances, likes and dislikes to ensure the right fit, for the right reasons.
- Opportunity Matching: Once a business broker has accurately identified the type and range of businesses that may suit your objectives, they search our database of businesses that they have for sale or actively pursue in the market business searches to match your interests (discussed below) against all potential opportunities. Business brokers will also monitor their database regularly to identify fresh opportunities as soon as they become available. When you are working closely with business consultants, you may even discover new opportunities before they are in the public domain.
- Business Search: Business Brokers also provides 3-6 month acquisition program which is a fee-based service to conduct a targeted search for businesses that are on the market. This can often be the best way to target and acquire the ideal business that you are looking for or to obtain growth through strategic acquisition, without open market competition. Acting as the purchaser’s advocate, they use specific techniques to manage confidentiality, vendor price expectations, the flow of information and relationship integrity between the parties.
- Strict Confidentiality: Managing confidentiality is a critical factor for most purchasers and sellers. The seller cannot risk letting their staff, suppliers, bankers, customers or competitors know that they are selling. Business brokers know how to manage confidentiality and prevent the risk of litigation that a breach of confidentiality could create.
- Understanding Value: Identifying and understanding the real value of a business is not always easy. In most cases, the seller’s financials do not fully reflect the true benefits of ownership. A business broker can help you understand all of the nuances of financial presentations and the difference between original and recast financials. Similarly, it’s not always easy to envision the full potential of a business from a written presentation. Business consultants are also experienced at recognizing and communicating the benefits, opportunities, and risks relating to business ownership opportunities.
- Managing the Process: There will be a seemingly endless number of steps, and countless details that need attending to in the process of buying a business. Each one of them in the right order is critical to a successful outcome. Your business broker will manage the process, keep things on track, and keep you fully informed every step of the way.
- Professional Recommendations: It will potentially take a whole team of experts to successfully purchase your business and protect your interests in the process. Lawyers, accountants, bankers, insurance and tax specialists, financial planners, business coaches and consultants are all part of the extended network of people that your business broker can help put on your team.
- Negotiating the Deal: Creating a win-win deal is the best way to buy a business. This is especially important when seller financing and training are involved. Business Brokers’ approach to facilitating successful, win-win deals is one of the reasons that some successful business brokers sell so many businesses.
- Developing Creative Solutions: Buying a business often requires many rounds of creative problem-solving. Whether it’s structuring the terms of training and coaching or creating the best approach to minimize tax, a Business Brokers’ network of industry specialists and consulting professionals puts creative problem-solving expertise at our fingertips.
- Financing Options: Business Brokers are always aware of the current business financing options in the marketplace as well as general lender requirements. Business brokers regularly provide assistance and financing recommendations to our clients who require additional capital.