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.
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.
Few realtors are business brokers, but a large number of business brokers are realtors. It's an important distinction—especially if you want to successfully sell your business.
On Valentines' Day, I posted my Top 7 reasons to love Canada's small businesses, a short by-the-numbers post along the lines of what the Small Business Administration had just published in the United States. Clearly, small business owners are critical to our economic success.
Let's show our small businesses some love. They deserve it. As I've said here before, Canada’s small business owners take the risks and provide the imagination, the capital and the energy that drives the economy, jobs and wealth in Canada.
We have just published our first book - Insider Tips on Selling a Business in Canada, and what a great feeling! I believe that we cannot be successful until we have made the people around us successful. Likewise, if we can help enough other people to achieve their goals we will achieve ours.
With all that we try to fit into every day, setting aside the time for the truly important and meaningful activities can be/is difficult. Planning and good intentions go by the wayside. Yet not preparing for the sale of our business could cost us the very lifestyle we have worked so hard to build. Isn't it time you start thinking about the life you want when you leave your business?
The Process of Selling a Business