Greg Kells is the Founder and President of Sunbelt Canada, the number one business brokerage in the country. He has directly facilitated the sale of over 1,000 businesses and is a two-time winner of Businessperson of the Year in Ottawa. Greg is passionate about mentoring and teaching, with experience as a guest lecturer at Harvard, Yale, Duke, and various colleges across Canada. He is active in numerous community organizations and advocates for economic empowerment, the environment, science, and technology.
Across North America, baby boomers have been known as both money makers and spenders. And more of them are now “making or spending” by selling or buying a business. The evidence comes from the Q1 Market Pulse survey done with business brokers across North America by Pepperdine University for the IBBA and M&A Source. Business brokers reported that in the first quarter of 2014.
As we move into spring a good many of us get that restless feeling prompting us to seek change in our lives. For many business owners the change involves selling their business.
Hiring the right people for your business is hard. And often, costly. But having the wrong person in a job costs a lot more. The real cost of a bad hire depends on what you take into account.
Buying a business? Use the right lawyer at the right time. Even Thomas Jefferson, a lawyer himself, said that "It is the trade of lawyers to question everything, yield nothing, and talk by the hour." I speak to a lawyer every day. And it doesn’t cost me anything. He has the office next to mine!
As far as grammar goes, "lawyer" is just a noun. In practice, though, the word comes with heavy baggage and associations that go way back in time, as seen in this quote in Voyager, by Diane Gabaldon.
Buyers and sellers sometimes overstate, understate or "forget" to state. Like teachers and the proverbial "dog ate my homework" cover story, seasoned business brokers have also heard it all. Only our tall-tale tellers are taller. And they often don’t realize what they’re telling us is untrue.
Much of our success as business owners and buyers depends upon our ability to anticipate changes that will affect our business. Failing to do so can cost us dearly. When we correctly forecast the shifts and trends, we are able to see and act on great opportunities. I have done both.
Much of a business’s profitability comes from the contributions of its employees. In fact, usually client relationships are with the individual employee rather than with the owner, the brand or the firm. As a consequence, it is important to remember that the business would not be worth the asking price if the staff were not part of the package.
Business owners will be selling into a very competitive marketplace, which means it's likely that only the most attractive and well-prepared businesses will sell for what they're worth. You'll want your business to be one of them. Here are our top 10 tips to sell your business AND protect its value, increase your personal wealth and reduce the taxes you will need to pay on the proceeds.
The Process of Selling a Business