Posted on March 23rd, 2016
If you’re one of the several million baby boomers thinking about selling their company in the near future, you might be wondering how long the whole process will take and what to expect along the way.
If you have a focused advisor who is working the deal, expect two months of initial prep, 30 to 120 days for marketing, one month for negotiations, and roughly 60-90 days to handle due diligence, financing, and legal. Here’s the process in more detail:
By Scott Bushkie, Cornerstone Business Services, Inc. | March 23, 2016
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Posted on March 3rd, 2016
When it comes to selling your business, you hang some of those stars in the sky on your own, by building up sales, minimizing risk, and developing a strong leadership team. But other stars must line up on their own, due to market forces you can’t control.
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Posted on February 17th, 2016
When buying a company, one key factor in your success is the transition that happens immediately afterwards. You need time with the previous owner to understand how and why they operated the business the way they did. And you need their support to transition customer relationships.
By Scott Bushkie, Cornerstone Business Services, Inc. | February 17, 2016
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Posted on February 16th, 2016
Last year set new records for M&A activity. Big corporations drove the market, and that momentum was also reflected in the lower middle market and Main Street. But not everyone got a deal done last year. Let’s review why some business transitions go sour:
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Posted on February 8th, 2016
If your business has $10 million in annual revenue, who do you turn to help sell your business? After all, you are still technically a small business but are worth more than many small business broker’s are used to handling. One place to turn is Cornerstone Business Services. The company specializes in selling companies with $2 million to $100 million in revenue or $500K to $10 million + in EBITDA. In 2015, the company was involved in 12 completed transactions.
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Posted on February 6th, 2016
The Small Business Administration had a record year, distributing more than $23.6 billion in loans in FY 2015. There was also significant private capital and traditional lending for the Main Street market in 2015 as 71% of Market Pulse study respondents who closed deals under $2MM in value reported that the businesses utilized financing other than SBA funds. The SBA record year, coupled with the traditional lending, demonstrates how incredibly active the Main Street market was in 2015
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Posted on January 25th, 2016
When a business owner says it’s time to sell, one of the first questions I ask is, “What’s your timeframe? When do you want to be out?” And the answer I hear most often is, “Yesterday.”
That is a problem. Most business owners underestimate the time it takes to sell and exit their business. It’s not like selling a house, and you don’t get to hand over the keys and walk away on closing day.
by Scott Bushkie, CBI, M&AMI
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Posted on January 6th, 2016
Timing is everything in the M&A market, and in many cases things you can’t control will impact your value more than those you can. Here’s what I mean:
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Posted on January 6th, 2016
As the new year begins, I want to comment on the M&A year behind us and the one ahead. As expected, the market was strong in 2015. Deal volume hit a new global record by early December, reaching $4.304 trillion, ahead of the previous record set in 2007.
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Posted on December 9th, 2015
We’re in the process of an office remodel at Cornerstone. As part of that project, we’re pulling down all the pictures of businesses we’ve sold and helping our clients envision the future instead. To do that, we’re asking past clients to tell us what they’ve done with their time and money after their sale.
As you’re thinking about selling your business, it’s time to plan your own bucket list. Because if you don’t spend time looking ahead, you’ll let fear of the unknown get in the way of a sale.
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