Tips Tidbits & Trivia. History may repeat itself! Interesting tidbits that can help you buy better businesses.
While the first question a business owner asks is, "What kind of price can I expect in the marketplace if I sell my business," the real question is not the price paid for the business, but how much will you take home. The Federal Tax Laws determine how much money you will actually be able to put in the bank. How your business is legally formed can be important in determining your tax status when selling your business. For example: Is your business a corporation, partnership or proprietorship? If you are incorporated, is the business a C corporation or a sub-chapter S corporation? There are some tax rules that impact certain businesses on seller financing. The point of this tip is that before you consider price or even selling your business, it is important that you discuss the tax implications of a sale of your business with a tax advisor that is experienced in business transfer transactions. A business broker will be able to recognize potential problems and can refer you to ...
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Some people are just born with it! These are traits that successful business owners commonly share. Above all, however, business owners need to have strategic thinking skills, time management skills, and know the job. No one can embody all these traits if they are part of the human species, but varying degrees of these characteristics is the stuff that success is made of.
Many business owners have operated their companies for too long and have lost their interest or drive. As a result, the business may flounder or stop growing. Not only will revenues and profits suffer, the value of the company will as well. And it only gets worse in a down economy. When a business owner hits burnout, he or she must overcome or take steps to sell the company. Click here for "Inc. Magazine Article - Overcoming Burnout."
The most popular method of valuing a business uses a multiple of earnings over a period of years. Business owners should be aware of that while attempting to reduce the bottom line with personal expenses to minimize taxes. Though there are a number of deductions that may be added back to determine true cash flow, not all add-backs are considered legitimate by buyers or lenders. Being too aggressive in minimizing taxes today may cost a business owner big dollars at closing.
Not all businesses need to have cutting edge technology, but a company can't fall too far behind. Buyers will be concerned if they must make a large investment in the latest technology to get the company to a competitive level. A business owner should do the research and purchase the necessary technology to keep the company on par in its industry or be prepared to accept a lesser value for the business. Also see: A Strong Online Presence Adds Value
Many companies have a few large customers that dominate their overall sales. After all, nobody wants to turn down business! But when it comes time to sell the company, this becomes a huge problem. Most buyers won't look at a business whose revenues could drop dramatically from the possible loss of one or more of those customers. Business owners have to find a way to diversify their customer base before they ever decide to sell their business.
Small business owners often run their companies and treat their employees like a family — which has cultural meaning. A successful small business 'family' has clear core principles and goals that directly impact growth. When we talk of a strong "corporate culture," that’s what we’re talking about, shared values, shared goals, and a single vision directed from the top. If the culture fosters revenue generation that is repeatable under new ownership, the business is more valuable and will bring a higher price when it is time to sell. According to a new Bain & Company 10-year study of more than 2,000 companies, there are five key principles that the most successful companies had in common. These principles help companies create a repeatable formula to stay focused on what really makes them profitable: Principle #1—having a well-defined core to your business, and understanding how you have made it work for you Principle #2—having up to 10 non-negotiable principl ...
Setting goals and achieving them are so important in every aspect of business, but many businesspeople and entrepreneurs do not pay enough attention to the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Gap analysis is the process of looking at the difference between your goal and where you currently are. Typically, when entrepreneurs look at the various goals they want to achieve, they often evaluate them incorrectly. If the strategic goal of a firm is to have sales of $15 million for 2010, the focus is on the wrong metric. Rather than focusing on total sales, the emphasis should be on the gap between the $12 million in sales they had in 2009 and the $15 million in sales they want to achieve in 2010. The $3 million shortfall is the performance gap, and gap analysis focuses on that amount as opposed to the total $15 million, presenting a much clearer picture of what must be done to achieve the goal. This approach assumes that everything required to maintain the current $12 million sales level is als ...
"My Business could be a Gold Mine for a New Owner!"
Fortune Small Business scoured the country for the 100 Best Towns To Live and Launch a Business for 2008, as published in April. They looked for towns that combine a great business environment with alluring leisure offerings. They looked at economic conditions such as local taxes rates alongside natural beauty and easy access to museums, and more. Of the 100 Best Places to Live and Launch, the four major cities in Texas were represented: Georgetown, a suburb of Austin (No. 2), Dallas / Fort Worth (No. 9), San Antonio (No. 34), Stafford, a suburb of Houston (No. 36) Fortune further spells out some of the benefits of the cities chosen. 7 tax-free havens Texas was selected as one of the best tax-free havens with business-friendly policies that can save a proprietor big bucks: Texas No personal income tax, low business gross receipts tax. Although petroleum refining is one of Texas' primary industries, the state's economy relies on a wide variety of fields, including manufacturing, agricu ...
I found this post by Chicago Addick interesting and comical as he describes the wonders of Houston from a Northerner's point of view. The writer seemed amused, amazed, appreciative, and condescending all at the same time: Houstonians spend more time in their cars than their homes and perhaps then understandably spend more money on their car loan repayments than their mortgages! Houston sprawls for over 600 miles and is connected by a spaghetti of freeways and highways. Two million people live in America's fourth biggest city that grew from wilderness to a booming economic centre. Only New York is home to more Fortune 500 company headquarters. In 1901, a year after displaced Texans from coastal Galveston moved inland to Houston following a deadly hurricane, oil was discovered at the Spindletop oil field near Beaumont. Much money was then invested in the ship canals and later into the formation of the Port of Houston, now the largest in foreign imports in the US, which includes nearly all European cars ...
I thought this story on WashingtonPost.com was humorous and not surprising. While I am not pleading guilty, I am sure most fellow business owners will relate. I certainly hope we don't start getting profiled and arrested for driving while BBO. Survey Reveals Work Habits of Business Owners Anyone who's ever been irritated by an erratic driver take heed - it could be a small business owner. According to a new study, about half of U.S. small business managers admit to making business calls and checking e-mail while driving. For most of the managers surveyed by International Communications Research at the request of office supply giant Staples, the standard 40-hour work week doesn't apply. Nearly two-thirds of the 300 small business owners and executives surveyed said they work well beyond 40 hours per week. One in five, or 21 percent, work while eating dinner at least four to five times a week and 66 percent said they work after hours and at night. About 18 percent said they read work-related e- ...
Watch out, Florida! Texas has emerged as the No. 2 retirement mecca in the country. The Lone Star State has vaulted over Arizona and California and is gaining on the Sunshine State. The North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement, which is nationally known for tracking retirement migration trends, studied 2005 data from the U.S. Census Bureau on the number of Americans who move out of state to enjoy their golden years. "Older Americans who are looking to relocate upon retirement continue to move to sunny climes, but Texas has gained an edge over other Sun Belt states," said Bill Haas, the study's author. "Texas' lower living costs give it a distinct advantage." Texas' economy is among the better state economies in the country. In fact, Houston is No. 3 Business-Friendly City in the Nation. It has benefitted from the State's pro-growth policies, including no state income tax. Texas' natural attributes also appeal to boomers who plan to move when their first careers are over. Boomers are looking for war ...
The International Business Brokers Association is having its 45th Semi-Annual Conference this week, June 3 through June 9, at the Memphis Cook Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee. The International Business Brokers Association® (IBBA®) is the largest international non-profit association operating exclusively for the benefit of people and firms engaged in the various aspects of business brokerage and mergers and acquisitions. Today, the IBBA has more than 1,800 cooperative business brokers and intermediaries across Canada, Mexico, Asia, Europe, Australia and the United States. The association represents professional, ethical and practice standards by which its members operate. This semi-annual event is seven days of professional development and top-notch education and networking. Educational and Workshop courses number close to 100 and include such topics as: Up-to-date legal and tax issues that impact business transfer transactions Analyzing and recasting financial statem ...