You have owned your business for many years, you are thinking of retiring but you are still wavering.  Many entrepreneurs spend so much time in their business that they do not have any hobbies.  What will you do next?  Do you want to retire, enjoy life or keep going.  Do you want to sell your business?  Some people do not like change.  (more…)

You are thinking of retiring and your business is for sale.  Is it at the right price?  How was the value of your business determined?  Did you look at historical earnings?  Did you look at normalized earnings?  How did you determine normalized earnings?  Did you factor in the implementation of HST into your calculations of normalized earnings?  If you are currently paying PST for goods and services and currently are located in Ontario or British Columbia, your normalized earnings may be understated! (more…)

You are looking to buy your first business and you have just started your search.  Often it takes up to 12 months in order to buy your first business.  The business that you have found is located in Ontario.  The owner of the business wants a multiple of earnings and you have agreed to the multiple.  Is the multiple based on normalized earnings?  What is the definition of normalized earnings?  Traditionally, it is the earnings that would continue under the new business owner and would exclude any personal or unusual expenses of the previous owner.  No one every considers what happens if expenses are lower for a temporary period or permanently as a result of the implementation of HST?  Should this be factored into normalized earnings? (more…)

You have made a decision to sell your business but you have not determined the asking price of your business.  You have hired an accountant or business broker who determines what they believe to be the fair market value of your business.  You know that you never get the asking price of the business.  If you want to get as close as possible to the fair market value determined by the business broker, what should your asking price of the business be? (more…)

You have decided to sell your business but what are you selling – shares or assets?  There are many ways to own a business: these are some of the more common methods –  sole (more…)

Yesterday I spoke of an outline of what needed to be done prior to listing your business for sale.  Today, I will elaborate on these topics: (more…)

You are thinking of selling your business but want to wait until after the holidays in December.  What do you need to do before you list your business for sale?  You need to prepare (more…)

Focusing on the past.  It is common for business owners to focus on past performance when valuing a firm and (more…)

Advanced preparation.  Advanced preparation increases both the probability of selling a business and the valuation that will be achieved.  Certain things may require years of (more…)

Entrepreneurs who seek to maximize proceeds from the sale of their business need to be proactive in defining objectives, identifying options and developing a thorough (more…)