Some of you might remember the commercial for one of the major airlines in which a business lost a major client, because they never saw anyone from the company. The president handed out airline tickets to the entire sales staff…

In the day-to-day activity of making a business work, many owners overlook the importance of the buy-sell agreement. This document (also referred to as a business continuity agreement) is like a will; no one thinks about it until it’s too…

For every reason that a pending sale of a business collapses, there is a positive reason why the sale closed successfully. What does it take for the sale of a business to close successfully? Certainly there are reasons that a…

There are several things to consider when buying or selling a business. The most important is to listen to the other side. There are always reasons why someone wants something – even if you don’t agree at first. Find out…

The buyer and seller have both agreed on the sale price and the terms of the transaction. Everyone appears satisfied. As the day of closing approaches, the seller seems less cooperative and more apprehensive about selling the business. Ultimately, the…

If you are considering selling your business, remember that there are positive factors that influence value and those that detract from it. Looking at your business from a buyer’s perspective is important since a prudent buyer will be adding and…

Experienced buyers of large businesses have tended to spurn the smaller business, citing traditional “negatives” involved in this type of transaction. Now big-time buyers are throwing away the don’t-buy-small book; or at least, they are beginning to read between the…

If you are an independent business owner, you are most likely also an independent business seller–if not now, you will be somewhere down the road. The Small Business Administration reports that three to five years is a long enough stretch…

It’s easy to be negative about cost-cutting. “Everything just costs more,” a business owner will say; the subtext being, “What’s the use?” Don’t give up! There are ways to cut costs. The first step is to identify where the money…

Strong Points Flexible and positive attitude Creative and comfortable with risk-taking Goal-focused and committed to success Organized Energetic Weak Points Impatient with achieving goals Distractible; tolerant of interruptions Distrustful of “the new” (especially technology) Tendency to stray from business plan…

Now that we crossed that much-heralded bridge to the 21st century and once on the other side, there will be new challenges, but many of the secrets of succeeding in independent business will remain the same. Ask yourself the following…

You’ve make the big decision to sell. Your books are in order, you’ve spiffed up the premises. What are you waiting for? Many sellers get to this threshold and then become concerned about confidentiality. They do not want the news…