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Why Your Business Needs Google Reviews
July 15, 2020 / in Business Strategy / by Exit Strategies
For many businesses today, online reviews are a differentiator. In the past, people asked for references to vet a product or service. Today, they are more likely to conduct their own research and read online reviews. Google reviews can give businesses a credibility boost, for free. Let’s look at some of the key benefits. Increased Credibility & Trust According to statistics, approximately 91% of consumers read reviews to determine credibility of a local business, and …
Use Equity Incentive Plans to Boost Exit Value
July 13, 2020 / in Business Strategy, Exit Planning / by Al Statz
Closely-held business owners often use equity and equity-like programs to attract and retain key employees and incentivize them to boost profits and build enterprise value. These plans provide value to the employees through current profit sharing and/or future equity appreciation. I am a strong proponent of utilizing these types of incentive plans as part of an exit strategy. Let’s break this down. Why profit sharing for key contributors? Sharing company profits with key employees incentivizes …
Methods of Selling Distressed Businesses
July 6, 2020 / in Acquire a Business, Sell a Business / by Al Statz
As most companies transition from survival to rebuild mode in the second half of this year, some will become financially distressed and the owners will want to move on. Fortunately, for the shareholders and creditors of these companies, there is an active market for distressed business assets. Distressed businesses can be attractive acquisition targets for strategic buyers, and sellers can optimize financial outcomes through a proactive M&A sale process. Financial distress is a term in …
M&A Advisor Tip: M&A in a Virtual Environment
June 29, 2020 / in Sell a Business / by Exit Strategies
Due to ongoing concerns over coronavirus, virtual meetings will continue to replace most of the in-person meetings typically held between a buyer and a seller at some stage in the business sale/acquisition process. When selecting an M&A advisor, be sure that they can help you best present your business in a virtual environment and run effective remote team meetings. And ask about their investment in virtual deal room technology. Virtual deal rooms store sensitive information, …
Selling to Competitor Not Only Option
June 29, 2020 / in Exit Planning / by Exit Strategies
Many business owners have preconceived ideas about who will buy their business. A lot of owners think their most likely buyer is the competitor down the street. Maybe that was true, once upon a time. But the M&A world has changed dramatically-and continues to evolve. Today, when we talk about selling your business, we’re really talking about a wide breadth of options. This is not an all or nothing scenario — you can sell all …
Business Values May Not Decline
June 17, 2020 / in Acquire a Business, News, Sell a Business / by Al Statz
A recent survey of M&A advisors and business brokers showed that of all small and medium businesses on the market at the end of Q1, about 35% had closed (temporarily at least), 40% were operating at partial capacity, 4% had benefited, and 21% remained unaffected by COVID-19. Not surprisingly, advisors indicated that 46% of lower middle market deals were delayed at the end of Q1 and 11% had been cancelled altogether. For deal cancellations, 25% …
M&A Advisor Tip: Management Cross-Training
June 17, 2020 / in Exit Planning / by Al Statz
Management Cross-training and Succession Planning A strong and committed management team has long been one of the attributes buyers look for in a business. And now, in the era of COVID-19, buyers will be increasingly interested in issues of cross-training, management succession, and leadership development. Buyers will be looking at how the business could be impacted if health issues or quarantine requirements prevent certain team members from working. Review your management succession plans, leadership development …
M&A Advisor Tip: SBA debt relief incentivizes buyers
June 2, 2020 / in Acquire a Business, News, Sell a Business / by Exit Strategies
SBA debt relief is is a big incentive for buyers to move ahead with small business acquisitions right now. The SBA will pay six months of principal, interest, and any associated fees that borrowers owe for all current … as well as new 7(a), 504, and microloans disbursed prior to September 27, 2020. As an added incentive, SBA lenders have the authority to defer loan payments for six months. That means some buyers could acquire …
Is COVID-19 the ultimate cure for one-more-year-itis?
June 2, 2020 / in Exit Planning / by Exit Strategies
I was talking to a business owner who shared how her teenage kids remember the Great Recession and the financial impact it had on their household. Now they’re seeing their own economic upheaval, in the form of lost summer job (income) opportunities. In good times and lean, money issues have always weighed heavily on her mind. So, she can’t help but wonder how this will impact her children’s financial mindset. I have similar thoughts, but …
Hard Times: Great Opportunities
May 30, 2020 / in Business Strategy, News / by Don Ross
The effects of the Covid -19 Pandemic have been real and apparent. GDP in the first quarter declined by 4.8% according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis and economists are predicting the American economy to contract by as much as 30% in fiscal year 2020. Brutal. So what is there to get excited about? Opportunities are laying in the weeds – that’s what. Entrepreneurs of newly acquired businesses are aggressively moving forward in their business …
Exit Strategies Group, Inc. is a leading provider of business sales and acquisitions, business valuations, and exit planning services for family owned and closely-held companies since 2002.
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