Tag Archives: selling a business

What is the Right Price?

Of all the misconceptions by business owners, the ones surrounding their company’s value are both the most common and often wildly inaccurate. I’ve been working for the last couple of months on the training videos for advisors in our new product, The ExitMap®. … Continue reading

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The 7 Deadly Sins of an Entrepreneur — Reprise

I make no claim that using the Seven Deadly Sins as a metaphor for business behavior is original. Of course, the original concept is a codifying of “undesirable” human behaviors, or sins. The work probably comes from the Latin word … Continue reading

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Is Your Business in the “Neutral Zone?”

As Baby Boomers business owners approach retirement (the youngest of them turned 50 this year) they face a unique challenge. The market for small businesses is increasingly a buyer’s smorgasbord A shrinking middle-aged population, corporate competition for talent and less interest … Continue reading

Posted in Building Value, Entrepreneurship, Exit Options, Exit Planning, Exit Strategies, Leadership | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

2 Responses to Is Your Business in the “Neutral Zone?”

  1. Clint says:

    Thanks John. Interesting what the future will hold for these businesses…Buying businesses for millions of dollars seems like pie in the sky for most of us Xers or Millennials. I totally agree with the “hire a buyer” future. When I told my boomer boss that I may be interested in opportunity for buying I think he woke up a bit and has started me on an upper mgmt ladder. I call this Intrapreneurship and have even started a community at http://www.IntrapreneurOnline.com where we IPRs can share our wins, grow and help each other. Maybe it will even turn into a place for nurturing these “hire a buyer”s.
    Thanks again,
    Clint.

  2. TKO Miller says:

    Great article, thanks for sharing! We\’ve written a blog post on why 2017 is the perfect time for baby boomers to consider selling their businesses. Read it here: https://www.tkomiller.com/blog/baby-boomers-and-business-owners-2017-is-your-year

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Companies Sell for a Multiple of…What?

Last week we discussed the difference between Main Street and Mid-market companies regarding their prospects for finding a buyer. You can read it here, but the short analysis is that the market is tightening for Main Street businesses, while the … Continue reading

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Exit Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

5 Responses to Companies Sell for a Multiple of…What?

  1. Jon Konchar says:

    Right on target. Thanks for the article. Thought: The experts who have never bought oe sold a business,,, are they experts?

    • John F. Dini says:

      Good point, Jon. Some believe that their technical expertise in analyzing financial statements or drafting contracts is sufficient to handle a transaction. Too bad so many owners find out too late that isn’t the case.

  2. David Cunningham says:

    Hi John.
    If I am representing a buyer, we would look at the discounted cash flow of four year projected earnings, plus a terminal value, particularly if the buyer is using some debt to make the acquisition.
    David.

    • John F. Dini says:

      David,
      NPV of future cash flows is a reasonable way of calculating ROI for a buyer, but it would still translate into a number that needs to be compared against the industry data calculated in the more standard way.

  3. Oswald Viva says:

    Good article. The truth is that a business, any business, is not worth what the owner think is worth, and is not worth what the buyer think is worth; it is somewhere in between, but how do you convince both parties of that?

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Owners Live in Two Different Worlds

Business owners live in two different worlds. If you are a Baby Boomer, the title of this column might bring memories of any one of the many covers of the song by the same name. (Everyone from Nat King Cole to … Continue reading

Posted in Building Value, Entrepreneurship, Exit Options, Exit Planning, Exit Strategies, Top Blog Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

One Response to Owners Live in Two Different Worlds

  1. David Basri says:

    There is no question about the difficulty in the Main Street market. Another strategy besides fading into the night is to find someone to pass it on to. That likely means finding someone years in advance, nurturing them and at some point starting to share equity. Having said that, I fully recognize that many small businesses are not in a market where a successor is easy to find. While I own a small software company, it is not so easy to find someone willing to start work at 3 AM so there are fresh bagels ready by 6 AM. Thank goodness there are such folks.

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