Are you trying to time the sale of your business so that you exit when both your business and the economy are peaking? While your objective to build your company’s value is admirable, here are five reasons why you may [...]
Jay Steinfeld built Blinds.com into a $100 million e-tailer before selling out to Home Depot. Here are five things that made it a spectacular exit. 1. Win The Make vs. Buy Battle Companies like Home Depot have a “make or [...]
One of the core principles of creating a more valuable business is ensuring it can run without you by getting managers to think like owners. The theory goes that empowered employees are the best positioned to solve your company’s thorniest [...]
Have you ever wondered why startup companies stop growing? Sometimes they run out of potential customers to sell to or their product starts losing market share to a competitor, but there is often a more fundamental reason: the founder(s) lose [...]
How do you avoid not being disappointed with the money you make from the sale of your company? Perhaps you’ve heard that companies like your's trade using an industry rule of thumb or that companies of your size sell within [...]
A great business is bought, not sold, so, if you look too eager to sell your business, you’ll be negotiating on the back foot and look desperate—a recipe for a bad exit. But, what if you really want to sell? [...]
Where do you sit on the doer vs. dealmaker continuum? On one hand, you have business owners who are really good operators. They have a plan, know their numbers and work that plan. They look for small improvements every day [...]
If your goal is to grow your business fast, you need a positive cash flow cycle or the ability to raise money at a feverish pace. Anything less and you will quickly grow yourself out of business. A positive cash [...]
John McCann sold The Bolt Supply House to Lawson Products (NASDAQ: LAWS) at the end of 2017. McCann’s strategy involved learning from the acquirers who knocked on his door. He invited would-be buyers into The Bolt Supply House and listened [...]
If you’re wondering what your business might be worth to an acquirer, there is a simple calculation you can use. Let’s call it “The Build vs. Buy Equation”. At some point, every acquirer does the math and calculates how much [...]
Being a middleman (or woman) has become a risky business. When was the last time you used a travel agent? Agencies have largely become irrelevant given the rise of online travel booking companies. How about a record/CD store? iTunes and [...]
One of the most intimidating aspects of selling your business can be facing the barrage of questions during the various management presentations you’ll be doing for potential acquirers. Be prepared to be grilled on all facets of your operations. Of [...]