For Sale: Pet Product Manufacturing Distributor Company - SF Bay Area, California

Even without meaning to be dishonest, sellers or brokers talking to someone who wants to buy a small business often make statements that are not true. And sometimes what is said is known to be a lie. The buyer is smart to carefully evaluate what they hear - six untrue statements sometimes told.

When selling a California business, owners should use our salability checklist to determine whether the effort will be successful. Ten factors must be considered to properly prepare a business for sale. Three of the factors account for more than 50% probability of achieving success in selling!

A business buyer in the BizBen ProBuy Program asks how to handle the inventory amount in the purchase price of a business. Other questions answered in this article: Do you add the inventory value to the business value? Should the owner be expected to take back a note for the value of the inventory?

Knowing how to advertise a business for sale without revealing too much is an important skill for anyone who wants to find a buyer for a small or mid-sized California business at a good price. One caution about giving too much detail is that it might identify the company and ruin confidentiality.

A problem owners encounter when offering a California business for sale is that not all so-called buyers are qualified to make the purchase. It's frustrating and costly to waste time showing non-qualified buyers the business. Here are ways to identify time wasters so the focus is on real buyers.

Each day, more than 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 62. Around this age, Americans, many of which are small business owners, start to think about their exit strategy from the workforce. For a small business owner, the process can be complex and their decision to retire has an impact on many others.

A business plan is a living document that should serve several purposes for your business. When you are buying a small business, a business plan will assist you in obtaining business purchase financing by showing lenders and investors how you plan to repay their loan by running a profitable company.

There are a handful of key asset categories in allocating or breaking down the purchase price allocation of a business sale. The allocation is required to complete the transaction. Lee Petsas, a Southern California business broker reviews this topic in detail for buyers and sellers of businesses.

When seeking large SBA business acquisition financing loans, it helps to review seller's add backs (cash flow analysis) as a source of funding to service the debt. Peter Siegel, MBA - SBALoanAdvisors.com Founder covers this specific topic for business buyers, owner/sellers, agents, business brokers.

Many times when buying a business there are reasons why buying stock or buying assets is the better business decision. We explore these options on the BizBen Blog Post of which option may be better depending on the circumstances of the buyer (and seller) involved in the transaction taking place.

A business buyer in our ProBuy Program searching to buy a business asked me to sum up what I though the biggest mistakes business buyers make when they search for and bought a small business. I asked ProIntermediaries on BizBen their thoughts on the matter and received a diverse response.

This webinar is designed for business buyers, owner/sellers, business brokers, agents, and advisors who can benefit on the latest information and strategies on procuring large SBA loans to buy or sale a "large" small business - typically priced between $500K to $10M. Peter Siegel, MBA is the host.

Depending on the type of business being sold, a month-to-month situation can be severely detrimental to the value of the business. Peter Siegel, MBA Founder of BizBen (and Lead Facilitator at BizBen) explores the issue of month to month leases in this blog/article.

Throughout the recession, it was very difficult to get approved for business purchase financing. If you are considering incorporating some alternative funding sources in your next small business acquisition, here is what you need to know to protect yourself and your investment.

Using an earn out can benefit both buyer & seller of a business purchase. A recent question by a buyer in the BizBen ProBuy Program about the best way to structure a business earn out prompted me to ask a panel of BizBen Resources how they would deal with the buyers question on earn out structures.

In this month's Business Buyer survey for BizBen.com, we asked participants in our ProBuy Program and 250 other random business buyers what they look for and avoid when looking at a business for sale postings online. Of the 20 potential posting characteristics we asked about, 8 stood out.

In my opinion and experience, an LOI may very well be appropriate for lower middle market transactions of $5,000,000 or more; but, for deals less than that an Asset Purchase Agreement ("APA") with contingencies on the actions of the buyer (and seller) is much more efficient and effective.

80% of all California business buyers never end up buying a business! Many factors contribute to this statistic, but by following the points below and utilizing the ProBuy Method of buying a business you should be successful in locating a business that interests you and completing the transaction!

You have a strong entrepreneurial spirit. You know you want to be a small business owner. Now what? Do you buy an existing business or start one from scratch? An existing business can save a lot of time and effort. I will share with you some of the advantages of buying an existing business.

Showing your business when selling is one of the most important steps in the sale process & how it is done will greatly affect the selling price. There are two areas to be concerned with, how the business looks & how you react to the prospective buyer.

There are many myths associated with the process of selling a small business and some of them can actually cause deals to fall through. Don't let your sale be compromised, be aware of these common misconceptions related to the process of selling. Peter Siegel, MBA with BizBen explores this topic.

Demonstrating sufficient cash flow to cover a business acquisition loan is key to getting a lender's approval. But buyer must be knowledgeable. Support a business acquisition loan with the target company's cash flow. And know how to determine the actual cash flow amount. Peter Siegel, MBA explains.

First the dreaded statistic: 80% of all business buyers looking to buy a small business never end up doing so! Peter Siegel, MBA BizBen.com Founder & ProBuy Director) covers successful tactics & strategies all business buyers of small to mid-sized businesses should utilize now to buy a business.

SBA large loan expert and advisor Peter Siegel, MBA (BizBen.com & SBALoanAdvisors.com Founder) shares his views and experience for getting the right SBA loan for larger deals, getting deals professionally prequalified & analyzed, and getting that loan through underwriting with fewer complications!

Trying to purchase a business with no money down is usually a waste of time if you want a good business. But leveraging into a business with a relatively small cash down payment can often be accomplished using some of these suggested strategies in this article on buying a business with limited cash.

The idea to have a buying a business checklist follows the adage that it's always useful to start with a plan when searching to buy a small business for sale. Peter Siegel, MBA Founder of BizBen.com and top advisor of the BizBen ProBuy Program suggests six items for all business buyers to utilize.

An often overlooked aspect of selling (or buying) a small business is taking back-up offers during the entire process of selling (or buying) a business. Most sellers (or buyers) don't realize that over fifty percent of all deals/contracts fall out escrow or contract for one reason or another.

The key to finding the ideal business broker or agent and selling a small business is asking the right questions and getting the right answers back! Peter Siegel, MBA with BizBen & several top business brokers and agents in California (ProIntermediaries) contribute to this topic to assist sellers.