Related IT Services Blogs & Discussions

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.

Successful sellers of small businesses need a game plan to sell their California small business for maximum price and for the best terms. Peter Siegel, MBA discusses these seller strategies with BizBen Blog readers based on his experience as the lead Advisor with the ProSell Program on BizBen.com.

Would you like to know what your business is worth? What's more, what it could be worth with a small amount of effort and investment? Business brokers have a variety of methods to determine value. Tim Cunha, JD a SF Bay Area Business Broker discusses his answers to this question about valuation.

Peter Siegel, MBA discusses buyers who want to buy a business or franchise know about asking the seller to provide part of the financing with a carry-back note. Many business buyers need some cash to help fund the down payment and for working capital. Here are four ideas about how to get that money.

When selling and buying a business, it is almost always necessary to allocate the purchase price to various categories of assets for tax and accounting purposes, whether this is a transfer of all the assets of the business or an actual stock sale of the business entity. Broker Tim Cunha explains.

All sellers, agents, and business brokers should pre-qualify their businesses for sale for SBA loan business purchase financing, increasing the availability of more business buyers in the process. Peter Siegel with BizBen.com explains why in this article.

Looking to buy a small business? There is good news regarding business purchase financing. More financial institutions are coming back into the market with business purchase financing. After years of being selective many lenders are more open to financing deals they would not have in the past years.

Don't confuse a business opportunity with a going business for sale. In the broadest sense, an existing business being offered on the market is sometimes called a business opportunity. But for a buyer's purposes, seeking to invest in a business to own and operate, there are important differences.

After investing years of time and talent into a company, many small business owners want to feel like they are leaving their business in good hands and for that reason, some sellers opt to sell their business to an employee. Let's talk about the pros and cons to taking this route.

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.

Many business owners fail to maximize their business' value because they don't have a proper strategy in place to do so. Failure to maximize your businesses value will make it harder to attract the most qualified buyers. Have a plan that ensures your business is as attractive & valuable as possible.

The unfortunate truth is that approximately 50% of all small business sales transactions fall through. While failed transactions can happen for a variety of reasons, Peter Siegel, MBA (BizBen Founder & Lead Advisor) discusses the most common reason deals fall through; unrealistic asking prices.

It can take months, sometimes longer to sell a small business. Here are 6 questions plus other information from myself plus other BizBen Users to ask yourself to help you determine why your small to mid-sized California business isn't selling. You might be surprised what those reasons are!

Valuing a small business is not guess work. It's not what some other businesses of the same type may have or may not have been sold for, it's not even what a business owner "feels" they want or deserve. It is a formula based on many factors. Peter Siegel, MBA from BizBen & others discuss this topic.

Changing hands of business ownership can seem both exciting and daunting to all parties involved, but it's important that a smooth transition occurs to maintain or achieve success of the business. Here are some tips I recommend ensuring things go smoothly when buying a California small business.

When seeking SBA loan financing many potential business buyers have wrong information about the process of securing the best financing to buy a business. Peter Siegel, MBA a business purchase financing expert delves into the myths regarding SBA financing and business purchase financing.

Buying a business with a partner/partners, family members can make one think twice about ever doing it twice! However in this BizBen Discussion Post I chat with others about identifying roles, defining goals, attorney visits, and other relating issues.

Who really represents the buyer? The selling broker or agent through dual agency? Many brokers and agents weigh in on this Discussion on BizBen. Bottomline is all business buyers need to know who really represents them and has their best interest at heart when seeking and negotiating on deals.

Being prepared when potential buyers contact you about your business for sale is a good idea. Too many sellers (and brokers) are unprepared & miss good opportunities or get involved with unqualified buyers. This Discussion post and answers from ProIntermediaries on BizBen assist with this issue.

Should I Sell My Business During The Holidays Or Wait Till After The New Year? Business Broker Joe Ranieri and others chime in on this BizBen Discussion about selling a business during the Holiday Season.

Applying for a business acquisition loan can be challenging for someone who hasn't been through that process in the past. If one has a mortgage one knows that the value of the property being pledged has to at least equal the amount of the loan, SBA loans to buy a small business are very different.

It seems like these days that's all I hear from buyers in the BizBen ProBuy Program is they want a absentee or semi-absentee business to buy. I understand why, but most buyers don't understand how difficult that is to accomplish this feat successfully. I address this with other Advisors on BizBen.

Yes, there are ways to find businesses with growth potential that can be purchased with modest investments. But before offering any ideas about finding cheap businesses, it's important to review some of the risks involved. Peter Siegel (BizBen ProBuy Program) discusses this topic with others.

Every business broker knows that a listing taken is not a listing sold, in fact the ratio of listed vs. sold could be discouraging if you really thought about it. Joe Ranieri (Orange County Business Broker) discusses what you should do if you finally have to close the doors and call it quits.

Can a seller of a small business back out of an ongoing escrow? Probably, yes, it all depends how far along the escrow is, which will dictate how messy things will get for both owner & buyer. Joe Ranieri (Southern California Business Broker) gives his feedback with others on this BizBen Discussion.

It's important to remember that selling a business takes time. Unlike selling a house, which can be sold relatively fast, a business can take up to six months to a year to sell. I discuss this topic with other advisors and intermediaries on this BizBen Discussion.