Crisis Averted: 11 Steps to Help Your Business Survive and Thrive
Russ Hall, Action CoachExperienced business brokers know that there’s sometimes a gap between when a business owner wants to sell their business and actually having a business prepared to sell.
The Georgia Association of Business Brokers held its March 31 meeting online with more than 60 participants.
If you missed the meeting, you can view the recording here.
Business coach Russ Hall, our guest speaker, came to us using the Zoom virtual meeting platform. Mr. Hall offered advice on how small business owners can weather the current economic and health crisis. GABB affiliate and attorney Wendy Kraby talked about how loan closings are happening online, and SBA lenders discussed SBA loans available during the crisis and loan extension options.
The presentation from Russ’s excellent webinar, Crisis Averted,: 11 Steps To Help Your Business Survive and Thrive, is linked here: CRISIS AVERTED Webinar by Russ Hall for GABB
Since 2003, Mr. Hall has been a part of ActionCOACH, a global organization that helps the owners and teams of small businesses improve performance so that they can improve their lives. He spent his first seven years after university as a US Naval Aviator, and he piloted SH-3 Sea King anti-submarine warfare helicopters. He also spent 21 years with a Fortune 100 company in the Healthcare Technology sector, leading and managing national award-winning teams in Sales and Customer Service for most of that time. As a part of his development as a coach, he earned a Master’s in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University of Georgia.
Joining a Zoom Meeting
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Can I Use Bluetooth Headset?
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Do I have to have a webcam to join on Zoom?
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For more information about the GABB, contact GABB President Dean Burnette at dean@b3brokers.com or (912) 247-3209; or contact GABB Executive Director Diane Loupe at georgiabusinessbrokers@gmail.
Great Tips for Selling Your Business
It takes preparation and focus to sell most businesses. It can take years to sell a business. Partnering with a business broker or M&A Advisor is a smart step towards selling any business, as these pros know the very best tips. Let’s take a look at some great tips for selling your business.
Preparing your business to sell means carefully evaluating the foundation. Any significant problem can send buyers “running for the hills,” so be sure that you work out any problems well before placing your business on the market. If you have any litigation or environmental issues, you definitely want to address those issues before it is time to sell. Nothing will scare away prospective buyers quicker than pending litigation or the specter of a potentially costly environmental clean-up.
A second key issue you’ll want to address is determining who exactly has the legal authority to sell the business. If a board of directors or majority stockholder situation is in place, then selling a business can become more complex than it would be if you were dealing with a sole proprietorship or partnership. Again, the last thing you want is for “legal surprises” to occur when you get ready to sell a business.
If you have non-negotiable items, be certain that those items are discussed upfront. Revealing your non-negotiable items at the very beginning of negotiations will save everyone involved a great deal of trouble.
Tip three involves maintaining a flexible mindset. In most circumstances, you simply can’t have everything that you want. Both buyers and sellers need to be flexible. Sellers will want to be flexible about any real estate. Buyers may not want real estate associated with a given business, and you need to be prepared for this. Sellers should also be prepared to accept valuation multiples for lack of management depth and other factors, such as reliance on a small number of customers.
At the end of the day, sellers should partner with experienced professionals such as attorneys and business brokers. You’ve put a lot of time, energy and resources into building your business. When it comes time to sell, it is only prudent to put together the best team in order to achieve optimal results.