View all current blog posts, discussions and podcast sessions by ProIntermediaries and ProAdvisors on BizBen.com that are associated
with selling and buying Food Distributors small businesses throughout the USA. Thanks.
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 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.
Owners often ask agents to sell business offerings for them. It's usually more difficult than selling houses when working to find a buyer for a business, to satisfy contingencies and close escrow. Business sales intermediaries either agents or brokers may want large fees, but often are worth it.
I've sold many wholesale/distribution businesses and there are some particular things that you should considering when making the decision to purchase this type of business. Christina Lazuric is an Orange County Business Broker shares her experiences of working with these types of businesses.
Any deal when selling a business tends to have a life of its own. Joe Ranieri discusses a restaurant deal in Orange County that has had many twists and turns. This article shows what types of issues can and do come up when selling a business or in this case a restaurant.
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.
Start-up costs are typically so high to build a restaurant from scratch that many current owners prefer to look for an existing restaurant that isn't doing so well and customize it as their own - second location. Joe Ranieri gives tips to restaurant owners buying a second location to expand.
This live FREE workshop by Cheryl Maloney (San Francisco Business Broker Specialist) is designed for San Francisco restaurant owners who are thinking of selling and would like to know how much their restaurant or bar is worth and how to get it sold successfully. Limited seats, please RSVP via phone.
One of the most important steps in buying a business is doing your due diligence. When buying a California winery, there are three major areas to focus your attention during this period of research. Learn about these three factors in this BizBen blog post on wine industry due diligence for buyers.
To be successful in buying a small business you must be able to look objectively at the company and determine whether or not it is a business that will be able to grow into the future. The key to long term survival is when a business is able to change and grow along with the needs of their consumer.
Lee Petsas, a Southern California business broker addresses how he handles potential business buyers when they request information on a business for sale listing. He gives his strategies and tips for handling and directing business buyer inquiries.
The idea to buy a business with seller financing is clearly understood by most people whose career move is to purchase their own company. But not everyone knows how to structure a deal with the seller carrying back part of the price. Be prepared for three situations when negotiating your purchase.
Many California small business owners know that when selling a California business it's vital to get a landlord commitment and have relevant financial information ready for review. Peter Siegel, MBA with BizBen.com discusses three common mistakes California owner/sellers need to avoid.
Have the results back from surveying business buyers, business owners/sellers, and business brokers and agents about what annoys them most about the other participants in a deal. Some information was inevitable some was surprising.
Buying a seasonal small business restaurant can be challenging, but Joe Ranieri a business broker restaurant specialist and others in this BizBen Discussion review multiple ways to offset these factors and still get the most from buying and operating a small to mid-sized seasonal restaurant.
Was chatting with a potential buyer of a restaurant in our BizBen ProBuy Program and he asked me what he should look for in due diligence when he finally did find a restaurant he was interested in. Peter Siegel, MBA with BizBen and others on BizBen explore this topic.
Buying a small to mid-sized restaurant can have many pitfalls, and potential restaurant buyers should know how to avoid getting burned! Several restaurant advisors weigh in with (Peter Siegel, MBA at BizBen) and discuss tips for buying a restaurant in California.
Every day I speak to business brokers, business owner/sellers and I hear some pretty amazing stories about potential buyers of small businesses. I tend to ask them what buyer traits do you listen for to see of a potential buyer is serious? What traits or buyer actions are "deal killers"?
Should small business owners/sellers or brokers/agents give potential buyers direct access to past company tax returns and financials (profit & loss statements) either before or pre the due diligence process? Multiple ProIntermediaries and ProAdvisors discuss this topic on this BizBen Discussion.
Sometimes business brokers just can't win with their clients, because if an offer comes in too fast & too early then they must have lowballed the price & the seller is suspicious, and if not enough offers come in after putting the business on the market - they may look unproductive to their clients.
Buying a small business is hard enough when there is no competition, so how might a buyer navigate the process when there is additional competition from other buyers? Peter Siegel, MBA (BizBen ProBuy Program) and others explain a few of the ways that a buyer can beat out other buyers.
For those who don't know, a non-compete agreement is a contract between a buyer and seller of a business, which after the sale, prohibits the seller from engaging in direct competition with the business they previously sold. Joe Ranieri (Business Broker) adds this topic to a BizBen Discussion Post.
When purchasing a small to mid-szied business, there are a multitude of things to evaluate. One area that is often overlooked is the business's culture. Peter Siegel, MBA with BizBen discusses with potential buyers the importance of understanding how the business runs on a day-to-day basis.
When selling a small to mid-sized business, owners should have their paperwork and financial information ready to go! They should also have a short business plan of past history, current operations, and potential for the future. In this BizBen Discussion several advisors and intermediaries weigh in.
A huge part of any exit strategy is properly planning for that moment in time when employees find out the business is for sale or, preferably, has been sold. Your workers have been kept in the dark for as long as possible. Some won't be a bit surprised. Others may be devastated.
Recently a business owner asked me on the phone, "Why do you keep the sale of a business confidential? How do you keep the sale confidential - any good tips?" Would like to hear from other Members - what would be your answer to this business owner? ProIntermediaries on BizBen discuss this topic.
A buyer who I have been consulting with on the BizBen ProBuy Program is looking to buy a liquor store (and possible other "cash" oriented businesses). They asked me how they should verify cash being generated by the business and how to go about conducting due diligence etc.
Many business buyers complain to me about business intermediaries not getting any financial information about the business they may be interested in purchasing. There are multiple reasons for this but I agree that financial information should be readily be available to interested buyers upfront.