Related Garden Centers Blogs & Discussions

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.

Selling a business online, while often effective for finding the right buyer, is a strategy sellers need to execute correctly in order to be successful. That means avoiding the six common mistakes made by sellers. Peter Siegel, BizBen Founder talks about what it takes to effectively sell a business.

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!

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.

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?

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.

Selling a business is hard enough but using the wrong word, text, and strategy can really delay or outright kill a campaign to sell a small business successfully. Peter Siegel, MBA Founder of BizBen.com shares what words, phrases, and strategies work (and not) when selling a small business online.

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.

Maintaining confidentiality is not a simple task. It is a complex, interlocking process that has to be methodically practiced. The methodology that we believe most successful in maintaining confidentiality is using a business intermediary, an attorney, CPA or some other third party to act as a...

In my experience working with the "right banks and financial institutions" repayment ability sometimes overrules collateral pledged by someone needing financing for a business purchase or a down payment. Peter Siegel, MBA - BizBen's ProBuy, ProSell Lead Facilitator explores this important topic.

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.

Due to the current state of the credit markets and bank financing, seller financing when selling a California small business is more important then ever in a business sale. Lee Petsas, Southern California business broker walks us through the nuances of owner carry notes - seller financing.

It might be the most tedious thing you do when buying or selling a small California business for sale, but conducting inventory - counting out the items that are sold or used in running the business is absolutely essential. Peter Siegel, MBA founder of BizBen.com discusses this topic.

Lee Petsas (Southern California Business Broker) shares his concerns regarding some questionable business practices by some California Business Brokers lately. Other Business Brokers and Advisors weigh in as well on this BizBen Blog post with other "dirty tricks" they have observed and heard about.

A seller just posed this question to me in a BizBen ProSell session. Any feedback for this business owner, potential seller? I would like to hear some feedback from my fellow BBNers on this topic. Make sure you're comfortable with the person with whom you are dealing.

We all understand the idea of paying too much for a small business. But is there such a thing as not paying enough? That seems like an odd notion, but I'm familiar with situations in which a buyer acquired a small business for a figure substantially under what probably was market value.

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.

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.

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.

Business buyers, brokers, owner/sellers all ask this question at some point. So I decided to ask some of the top Intermediaries in the marketplace what they thought of the idea. Most of the ProIntermediaries on BizBen agreed with me on taking early possession before the close of escrow.

At What Point Do You Show Key Marketing Info And Materials To Buyers? Robb Hartman, Business Broker at BizBen discusses this topic with others on this BizBen Discussion.

What qualities should you look for in a escrow and bulk sale service when buying/selling a business? I often get asked this question by other brokers and business sellers. See what I tell others and what other BizBen Advisors have to say on this topic in this 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.

When considering buying a business that is losing money one has to be very careful. There are reasons that the business could be losing money that aren't fatal or extremely difficult to fix and there are other reasons that should send you running in the other direction. Peter Siegel, MBA explains.

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.

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.

There can be many reasons why Brokers take awhile to get back to potential Buyer & to other Brokers and Agents if they are cooperating on the listing. Broker's reasons include: unprofessionalism, too busy, the listing is no longer available, the buyer doesn't sound viable, etc. We discuss them all.

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.