Nine Steps to Better Due Diligence, Closing Deals
Third in a series on Business Brokering Sarah Wheeler, an attorney with Moore & Reese Buyer and seller strike a deal, but a thorough due diligence and either seal or sink that deal. Georgia Association of Business Brokers Vice President Mike Ramatowski moderated a panel discussion at the July meeting on getting buyers and sellers through due diligence and to the closing table. Panelists...Read More
Georgia Business Brokers Discuss Working With Buyers and Sellers
The collective wisdom of four brokers with 75 years experience was on stage Tuesday, June 30, as the Georgia Association of Business Brokers hosted a panel discussion on how to move buyers and sellers to the closing table. Moderated by GABB Vice President Mike Ramatowski, the panel featured GABB Treasurer Jay Fenello, who specializes in helping people buy and sell small businesses and...Read More
Overcoming Five Buyer Objections to SBA Loans
By Susan Kite, Vice President, Signature Bank of Georgia, and Kim Eells, Vice President, The Brand Bank I. “This deal costs too much; I can’t get it financed.” SBA 7a Loans are guaranteed by the US Government, giving banks a higher comfort level to make a loan they may have denied as a conventional loan. SBA loan terms can be up to 25 years with no balloon. This means that your...Read More
Questions Business Owners Ask & Answers I Give Them
Questions Business Owners Ask & Answers I Give Them Veteran business broker Loren Marc Schmerler, a member of the board of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers and president of Bottom Line Management, Inc., offers his advice for answering common questions asked by business owners. How much is my business worth? The correct answer is the price a Buyer offers you that you are...Read More
What Are Buyers Looking for in a Company?
It has often been said that valuing companies is an art, not a science. When a buyer considers the purchase of a company, three main things are almost always considered when arriving at an offering price. Quality of the Earnings Some accountants and intermediaries are very aggressive when adding back, for example, what might be considered one-time or non-recurring expenses. A non-recurring...Read More
A Reasonable Price for Private Companies
Putting a price on privately-held companies is more complicated than placing a value or price on a publicly-held one. For one thing, many privately-held businesses do not have audited financial statements; these statements are very expensive and not required. Public companies also have to reveal a lot more about their financial issues and other information than the privately-held ones. This...Read More
Why Buy a Franchise?
By Mark Jones, Franchise Systems Advisors404-444-3186 Owning a business is part of the American dream and owning a franchise can make that dream a reality for many people who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity. People are attracted to franchises because the best ones have proven to be extremely successful over the years. They combine many of the benefits of business ownership with the...Read MoreWho Is the Buyer?
Buyers buy a business for many of the same reasons that sellers sell businesses. It is important that the buyer is as serious as the seller when it comes time to purchase a business. If the buyer is not serious, the sale will never close. Here are just a few of the reasons that buyers buy businesses: Laid-off, fired, being transferred (or about to be any of them) Early retirement (forced or...Read More