Most small businesses would not have succeeded without the persistent and focused attention of the owner.  But, if the owner is still seen as indispensable when it comes time to sell the business, this will have a very detrimental effect…

Whenever I’m asked this question, I invariably answer that you need to begin actively marketing your business a MINIMUM of 2-3 years before you’re ready to walk out the door for the last time. Also, to bring the best price,…

In their book, The $10 Trillion Opportunity, Richard Jackim and Peter Christman note that: “…Within the next 20 years, more than 90 million people in the US and Canada will be retiring.  These are the “baby boomers,” the generation born…

Sometimes in the process of acquiring a business, buyers – and sellers – get caught up in negotiating the best possible deal for themselves and lose sight of their ultimate objective, which is presumably to buy – or sell –…

This month’s column features the 10 Most Common M&A Transaction Mistakes, as published by the Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors. We’ll address these in future issues, but for now here’s AMAA Top Ten. The owners do not understand the…

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) have been around for over 25 years, and many well known, national companies have them, but many misconceptions still exist, such as: (1) Employees will directly own the company’s stock [FALSE], or (2) Employees will…

Many prospective business buyers, who may be very sophisticated in other aspects of acquiring a business, are unaware that in certain circumstances they may use some or all of their IRA, 401k, 403b, or other tax-favored retirement savings accounts to…

Oftentimes as a Buyer, a critical component of your success in acquiring and prospering in a new business venture can be the continued cooperation and goodwill of the Seller. But IF you don’t need the Seller’s continuing cooperation after closing…

In many cases the answer is “No.”  There is no legal requirement that a business must be sold through an intermediary, and indeed, many thousands of businesses are sold every year without one. If the buyer is a family member…

There is probably no greater truth in all M&A activities – for Buyers, Sellers and M&A Advisors alike – than “Time Kills All Deals.” In my experience, no other factor has caused more potentially good deals to go bad than…