Meet Courtney Foley: GABB’s Executive Assistant
The GABB has hired Courtney Foley to be the group’s executive assistant, in charge of member relations, the website and communications.
The Importance of Owner Flexibility
You shouldn’t expect to sell your company overnight. For every company that sells quickly, there are a hundred that take many months or even years to sell. Having the correct mindset and understanding of what you must do ahead of time to prepare for the sale of your company will help you avoid a range of headaches and dramatically increase your overall chances of success.
First, you must have the right frame of mind. Flexibility is a key attribute for any business owner looking to sell his or her business. Many variables are involved in selling a business, and that means much can go wrong. An inflexible owner can irritate prospective buyers and inadvertently sabotage what could have otherwise been a workable deal.
Be Flexible on Price
A key part of being flexible is to be ready and willing to accept a lower price. There are many reasons why business owners may fail to achieve the price they want for their business. These factors range from lack of management depth and lack of geographical distribution to relying too much on a handful of customers or key clients. Of course, one way to address this problem is to work with a business broker or M&A advisor in advance to minimize or eliminate these price issues.
Be Prepared to Compromise
In the process of selling your business, you may want confidentiality, to sell your business quickly and to sell at the price you want. However, most sellers find it impossible to have confidentiality, speed, and top price at the same time. Ultimately, you’ll have to pick two of the three variables that are most important to you.
Be Patient
A third way in which business owners can boost the chances of success is to embrace the virtue of patience. If you accept that businesses can “sit on the shelf” for a considerable period of time, you are shifting your expectations. This realization can help reduce your stress level. Stressed out owners are far more likely to make mistakes.
Sometimes Losing is Really Winning
Fourth, business sellers should realize that they and their lawyer will not win every single fight. There will be many points of contention, and a smart deal maker realizes that it is often better to have a good deal than a perfect deal. You may have to make sacrifices in order to sell your company. Simply stated, you shouldn’t expect the other side to lose every point.
At the end of the day, a savvy business owner is one who never loses sight of the final goal. Your goal is to sell your business. Seeing the situation from the buyer’s perspective will help you make better decisions on how you present your business and interact with prospective buyers. Maintaining a flexible attitude with prospective buyers helps to position you as a reasonable person who wants to make a deal. Goodwill can go a long way when obstacles do arise.
Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.
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The Main Street Lending Program
There is no doubt that the COVID-19 situation seems to change with each and every day. The disruption and chaos that the pandemic has injected into both daily life and business is mirrored in the government’s response.
In this article, we’ll turn our attention to an overlooked area of the government’s pandemic response and how businesses can use a whole new lending platform to navigate the choppy waters.
As the pandemic continues, you will want to be aware of the Main Street Lending Program, which is a whole new lending platform. The Federal Reserve established the Main Street Lending Program to support lending to small and medium-sized businesses and nonprofit organizations that were in sound financial condition before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief & Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Main Street Lending Program is quite attractive for an array of reasons. Let’s take a closer look at what makes this program almost too good to be true.
This lender-delivered program is a commercial loan. Unlike the PPP, there is no forgivable component. However, the Main Street Lending Program has one feature that makes it attractive to all kinds of businesses. It can be used to refinance existing debt at a rate of around 3%. However, businesses cannot refinance existing debt with the current lender. Instead, a new lender must be found. Generally, loans are a minimum of a quarter-million dollars and have a five-year term. Another attractive feature, there is a two-year payment deferment period. There is no penalty for prepayment.
To be eligible for a Main Street Lending Program loan, a business must:
- Have been established before March 13, 2020
- Not be an ineligible business according to Small Business Administration (SBA) regulations
- Have no more than 15,000 employees or 2019 annual revenues of no more than $5 billion
- The SBA’s affiliation rules apply in determining the employee and revenue count
- In counting employees, the Main Street Lending Program advises businesses to refer to SBA regulations by counting all full-time, part- time, seasonal, or otherwise employed persons, excluding volunteers and independent contractors
- Have been created or organized in the U.S. with significant operations in and a majority of its employees based in the U.S.
- Not also participate in one of the other Main Street loan facilities, as well as the Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility
- Note: Businesses that received support through the SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) are eligible to receive a Main Street loan
- Not have received specific support pursuant to the CARES Act (Subtitle A of Title IV for air carriers, air cargo, and businesses critical to national security)
The Main Street Lending Program is not just for refinancing existing debt. Lenders make the loans and then sell 95% of the loan value to the Fed. This of course means that the lender is only required to retain 5% of the loan on their balance sheet. The end result is that lenders can dramatically expand the amount of loans they can make.
Whether it is the PPP or a program like the Main Street Lending Program, there are solid options available to help you. Businesses looking to restructure debt or put an infusion of cash to good use may find that the program offers a very flexible loan with great interest rates.
Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.
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Why Does Your Business Need Google Reviews?
In today’s business climate, reviews are the differentiator. Years ago, people commonly asked for references when they were vetting a product or service. But these days when people are searching for a local business to work with, they are likely to conduct research on their own and read online reviews.
Google reviews can give businesses a big credibility boost without having to spend a dime. Let’s take a look at some of the key benefits.
Increased Credibility & Trust
Approximately 91% of consumers read reviews to determine credibility of a local business. In fact, 84% of consumers say the positive reviews have helped them gain trust. Without the reviews, that level of trust would not have been established.
Needless to say, people trust Google. The fact that these reviews are on a third party website increases transparency. These reviews have much higher value than testimonials posted on the actual business website.
Improved Business Conversions
Once a potential customer gains trust in your company through reading Google reviews, it is more likely the conversation will get converted to an actual business transaction.
Customer Feedback Loop
When your customers write reviews about your business and post them on Google, these reviews often clearly mention details about your product or service. Through this means, future customers become educated. These reviews can also serve as a feedback loop for you if things need improvement.
Increases Online Reputation & Visibility
The power of online marketing methods you might be using to promote your business will be amplified, as users will become more attracted to your business due to 5-star reviews. This factor increases online traffic to your website and an increase in leads and business.
Another fact to be conscious of is that your clients will review your products or services whether you want them to or not. If you fail to set up Google reviews, you’re missing out on the opportunity to gain a level of control and visibility.
How to Set Up Google Reviews
- Create a Google My Business account. – Visit https://business.google.com/ to sign in or create a Google account for a business. Complete the step by step process by filing required information like email, phone number, business details, etc.
- Ask clients to review your services. – Start sharing your Google My Business URL with clients and ask them to post a review about your services. When asking for reviews, you can mention to clients that their review will help everybody else make an informed decision when they are looking for help. It is important to ask about the review within a few days of closing your transaction. If more time goes by, the client may be less motivated to post a review for you.
- Remind clients. – Everybody is busy. Therefore, there is a chance that your client might forget to write a review. In this case, we recommend reminding them to do so. You can also politely inquire if they need any help posting the review that you discussed.
Through the above-mentioned process, you can begin generating reviews for your business. Of course, it goes without saying that you can only guarantee good reviews when you are providing excellent customer service along with a top-notch product or service.
Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.
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Getting Back to Business After the COVID-19 Pandemic
Despite our various technological advances and the complexity of our society, disease can instantly change the course of history. Not having a robust global system for dealing with disease and pandemics comes with a hefty price tag. In the case of the COVID-19 economic crisis, the price tag will no doubt be in the trillions.
You can’t control what has happened, but you can focus on what to do when the pandemic is over and life begins to slowly return to normal. In his article “How to Hit the Ground Running After the Pandemic,” Inc. contributing editor Geoffrey James explores what businesses need to do to jumpstart their operations once the pandemic is history.
Understand that this pandemic will end, and business owners need to be ready to charge back in when the economy rebounds. If history is any indicator, the economy will eventually rebound, James says.
James correctly asserts that businesses need to put together a plan for how they will get up and running as soon as the pandemic is over. His recommendation is to divide your plan and thinking into four distinct categories: Facilities, Personnel, Manufacturing, and Marketing.
Each of these categories has three key questions that business owners should be asking themselves so that their businesses are ready to hit the ground running when COVID-19 is over. Below are a few of the key questions James recommends asking.
- How can we create the most sanitary and disease-free workplace possible?
- Which employees will continue to work from home?
- When there’s a spike in demand, how will we ramp-up?
- What will be our “We’re Back!” marketing message?
The pandemic caught everyone except the experts off guard. Therefore business leaders, think tanks, and politicians alike need to work to develop and implement robust plans to minimize the damage caused by pandemics. Humans and businesses have been “lucky” several times in recent years as we dodged bullets ranging from Ebola to SARS.
As James points out: “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Businesses need to plan for the recovery, and they need to plan for another pandemic because another economic disaster is possible especially if better planning and decision making are not put in place.
Almost everything about this economic downturn is unique. Take, for example, the fact that the U.S. has just seen its largest-ever economic expansion. The gears and wheels of the economy were spinning along quite quickly before the pandemic hit. This could help restart the economy faster than in past severe economic downturns. In short, many experts feel that this particular economic downturn could be short, but of course, this is speculation. There is no way to know for sure until COVID-19 is in the rearview mirror.
Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.
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