Articles - Selling Your Business

Greenwood Advisors is most interested in helping you, as a business owner, understand the process of selling your business. An educated client helps us complete a successful sale transaction. As an exclusive sale advisor to business owners, we want you to understand how to plan and prepare your business for sale , how we can help you maximize your sale proceeds and how to minimize the risks associated with complex business sale transactions. Below are some sample articles that should be helpful to you. We don't expect you to be the expert on business sales, that's our responsibility at Greenwood Advisors:

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10 Tips for a Successful Sale

1.Sellers should find out the loan value of the fixtures, equipment and machinery prior to a sale. Many buyers will count on using it for loan or collateral purposes. No one wants to find out at the last minute that the value of the machinery won't support the debt needed to put the deal together. Read full article on 10 Tips for a Successful Sale.

Adding Value to Your Business

If you are considering selling your business, remember that there are positive factors that enhance 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 subtracting these various factors when arriving at an asking price. It is perhaps more important to recognize when the buyer arrives at a price at which he or she will leave the negotiations. Read full article on Adding Value to Your Business.

When Selling Your Business: Confidentiality Is Key

Many sellers get to this threshold and then become concerned about confidentiality. They do not want the news of their decision to reach their customers, competitors, employees, or creditors. After all, they figure, customers may lose confidence in the business and go elsewhere, competitors might use this opportunity to spread rumors, employees might fear for their future security, and creditors might push for earlier payment. Read full article, When Selling your Business: Confidentiality Is Key

Ten Mistakes That Sellers Make!

One of the most costly errors a business owner can make is not knowing the approximate price of his or her business prior to entering the selling process. Although the marketplace ultimately determines the final price, an owner needs to know what the approximate price his or her business is prior to placing the business on the market. Read full article: Ten Mistakes That Sellers Make!

What Is a Company Worth?

From the perspective of the owner, prospective buyers, the IRS, lenders and divorce & bankruptcy courts, the value of a business for purposes of a sale, estate planning, orderly or forced liquidation, gifting, divorce, etc, can be vastly different. Read full article: What Is a Company Worth.

The Time To Sell Might Be Right Now

The first question one might ask, given the relatively healthy financial climate, is WHY? Selling when times are good? The answer, for many sellers, can be a resounding YES! Here are some of the reasons why, followed by tips for getting the process started. Read full article: The Time To Sell Might Be Right Now.

The Selling Memorandum

A sellers memorandum includes all those points one would normally expect to see in any business plan, to wit: an executive summary, a business description, financial requirements, target market niche, identification of top management, an operations review, analysis of strengths and weaknesses, and current financial statements and projections. Read full article: The Selling Memorandum

What Makes Your Company Unique?

There are unique attributes of a company that make it more attractive to a possible acquirer and/or more valuable. Certainly, the numbers are important, but potential buyers will also look beyond them. Factors that make your company special or unique can often not only make the difference in a possible sale or merger, but also can dramatically increase value. Review the following to see if any of them apply to your company and if they are transferable to new ownership. Read full article: What Makes Your Company Unique