Following is a short recap of some of the best articles I’ve read recently on selling your business, buying a business, business value, as well as other useful nuggets of small-business wisdom. [Plus a photo from my travels around Main Street USA.] Part of the formula for selling a small business is YOU If you read [...]
Whether you believe you built it — or feel as if you couldn’t have done it alone — it’s likely that the primary motivator for selling your business will be the same one that made you start it: freedom.
My recent post in the New York Times deals with the thorny issue of transferring ownership of a family business from one generation to the next, or more accurately the decision not to. While family-owned businesses have impressive results, outperforming public companies in areas like stock price and return on equity, the statistics associated with ownership transfer are sobering. Following is the uncut version of my recent Email interview with author and third-generation business owner, Tom Deans.
Many business owners believe the act of selling their business is similar to passing the baton in a 400 meter relay: once you’re finished running, you get to relax. In reality, many buyers will insist that you stay on for a transition period – anywhere from six months to five years – during which time [...]
Exit planning is all about learning the options for your exit and finding a customized solution that works best for you, your company and your family situation. If working in your business until you cannot work anymore sounds like it is the best strategy for you, then here is how to implement your exit plan.
It seems like we’re at a fork in the road. On the one hand, there are some positive signs that the economy has recovered from the downturn of 2008. At the same time, the unemployment rate and housing market can’t seem to manage more than a limp, Europe’s sovereign debt crisis is still headline news and banks continue to behave badly. It’s precisely because we’re at this inflection point that we see a lot of business owners hitting the eject button. If you’ve been thinking of selling your business, here are seven reasons to get out now.
I recently ran across a YouTube video called The Secret Powers of Time. Behind the clever animation is the voice of Philip Zimbardo, a social psychology professor at Stanford who explains that how we view time — our orientation within six human time zones — affects every aspect of our lives. Our perspective on time influences who we are, how we view relationships and how we act in the world.
Most owners have a dream of running their business for their working career, finding a buyer and then riding off into the sunset with no other planning. But without proper planning, the notion that your business is all it takes to get to retirement is usually a myth. Josh Patrick, financial planner, offers some strategies that will help ensure that you can afford to leave your business.
