To leave work after thirty-five or forty years may sound like a great idea. You may be ready to go. But when you begin to consider the reality of what life will be like after retirement, the uncertainty can be pretty intimidating. If you haven’t planned, you may be dragging your heels. You may have…
The secret to a successful next generation transfer is to create a structured plan as a guide prior to the changeover. The plan needs to be specific to the business and to the family’s circumstances. Once potential trouble spots are identified, proper succession and transition plans can be put into place to overcome them. The goal…
When integrity is lost, it’s almost impossible to get it back. Sellers who have misrepresented their company are dishonest. They are no longer trusted. Any potential purchaser will lose confidence in the seller and walk away from the deal, or try to buy it at a very low price. The following is an excerpt from Doug’s book…
A professional practice is a business, just like any other, and partnerships are prone to fail. The cost of setting up the correct structure for operating and ultimately terminating the partnership is relatively inexpensive compared with the cost of unraveling a relationship that no longer meets the original needs, not to mention the emotional cost.…
An owner, Jackson, approached us to sell his small machine shop. It was absolutely pristine, located in a brand new 10,000-square-foot building, situated in a farmer’s green ten-acre field. It also featured a paved driveway and parking lot and was well landscaped. We recommended that a phase one Environmental Impact Study be done prior to…
Owners can’t really see their business objectively. Let’s think of your business as being housed in a giant Coke bottle, which in days of olde was a sculpted green glass bottle. Remember how light coming into these bottles was distorted? First it had a tinge of green and second, everything was out of focus. All…
How to Fill Those Sixty Hours? Selling the business isn’t an end. It’s a beginning. But the beginning of what? If business owners fail to see what’s out there for them if they sell, they will prefer to stay in that protective trench of their business. It’s important for such owners to have a clear…