How do consulting agreements work in selling a business? I get this question a lot in M&A. The purchase price of a business can have a number elements: 1. down payment (cash equity from the buyer) 2. bank financing 3. seller's note 4. installment sale 5. earn-out 6. commissions on future sales 7. consulting...
Read MoreThe "buyer-seller mismatch”is a phrase some in the business broker/M&A community use when a business for sale struggles to attract buyers. Buyers hunt for a business, often with limited criteria for the “right business”, but at a minimum, they want a business with good systems...
Read MoreIf you work in M&A, you will know these stages well. If you are a business owner, you better get used to them: SHOCK: What they feel when their advisor says their baby is worth a LOT less than they thought (more like hoped). DENIAL: When they...
Read MoreMany people in Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) talk about "the deal" as the ultimate prize. In part that is true, but if you think about it more deeply, I think it is far more than that. The deal (the sale of the business) represents an ending...
Read MoreIf you are a business owner, rather like card players, sometimes you need to know when to fold 'em. Susan was an owner in the 1980's who built a fabulous big box children's clothing store. Huge selection, deep discounts. She made millions of dollars and people...
Read Moreby Paul Cronin Have you ever started a sentence that way? Selling a business is the goal (or dream) of many business owners, but then what? In other words, what is the purpose of selling your business? I read a great article in the...
Read More"Business Sucks", is what a client told me in early 2008. I was perplexed since the general economy then was still good. But the client served the restaurant and banking industries and they started feeling the 2007-09 recession early. At that moment,...
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