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ARTICLES
Selling Texas Businesses
Since 1974
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Selling Texas Companies Since 1974.
Our monthly newsletters provide information about buying or selling a business, current economic conditions, and highlight some of our newest business-for-sale opportunities. Our record of professionalism and reputation as a top firm in the nation has a lot to do with our people -- a knowledgeable long-term administrative staff and a very experienced team of professional brokers. We are headquartered in Houston and have offices in Austin.
Check Out our Archives, "The best library of articles about how to sell your business." - The New York Times
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Learn From Other Peoples Mistakes: 9 Sure-Fire Lessons Before Selling Your Business
Selling your business is the most important transaction you will ever make. It would be a shame to spend 20 years building your business like a pro, only to exit like an amateur.
By avoiding these nine common novice mistakes you'll have a more profitable and satisfying experience.
1. Selling Because Of An Unsolicited Offer To Buy
Got an offer from a competitor? Or, perhaps a Chinese company looking to buy a customer base in the U.S. These are not unusual occurrences these days. If you previously were not considering this business sale, you probably have not taken some important steps to improve business value and optimize your exit. You may not have prepared for an identity and lifestyle to replace the void that will be left by the separation from your company. Wouldn't you rather be prepared and exit on your own terms....better terms.
2. Poor Books And Records
Business owners wear many hats, but usually lack that one hat that that doesn't fit so well. More likely than not, financial record keeping is simmering on the back burner. A buyer is going to do a comprehensive look into your financial records. If they look a little scrubby, the buyer's confidence in the business takes a nose dive while his perception of risk increases. The transaction value is often attacked well beyond the economic impact of any uncertainties in the numbers. Get a good accountant to do your books.
3. Going It Alone
The business owner may be the foremost expert in his industry, but it is likely that he's a novice in business-for-sale know-how. Since the sale of a business is a once-in a-lifetime occurrence for most owners, mistakes at this juncture have a huge impact. He possibly can leave a lot of money on the table. For instance, is it a better deal to structure some of the transaction value as an earn out based on post acquisition sales performance? Do you understand the difference in after tax proceeds between an asset sale and a stock sale? Your everyday bookkeeper may not, but a tax accountant surely does. Is your business attorney familiar with business transfer legal work? Would he advise you properly on Reps and Warranties that will be in the purchase agreement? Your buyer's team will have this experience. Your team should match that experience or it may cost you way more than professional fees.
4. Skeletons In the Closet
If your company has skeletons, the due diligence process will surely dig them up. Are there environmental issues, regulatory violations, or employment contract issues, for instance. Air out the closet and brush away the cobwebs. The best scenario would be that warts can be taken care of before the sale. If a problem is not resolvable immediately, but is fixable within a reasonable period of time, the buyer may leverage the issue to attack the price for an amount far in excess of the actual impact of the issue. The worst case scenario is that a complicated, unresolved problem is discovered late in the process and the buyer walks away.
5. Mum's The Word
Confidentiality in the business sale process is crucial. If your competitors find out, they can cause a lot of damage to your customers. Human capital is a significant portion of your company's value. What if your best employees get skittish and leave for greener pastures? What if bankers get nervous and decide to limit lines of credit? What if suppliers feel uneasy and demand cash on delivery that impacts your cash flow? There is a right time to communicate your sale to those who have a stake in your company, but mum's the word until that time.
6. Contracts
Are your day-to-day contracts in place with employees, customers, contractors, suppliers, landlord? Is your office lease transferable, can it be renegotiated? If your company has patents or trademarks, are they properly licensed or registered? Are your customer agreements assignable? Contracts or Agreements can kill deals, they can also cause issues after the sale that can come back to bite you.
7. Not Understanding The Value Of Your Business
Business valuation is a tricky thing. It takes finesse and lots of experience. A good business broker or M & A advisor is your best bet. Business valuation firms are great for appraising partner dissolution, divorce, or gift and estate tax situations. However, they tend to be very conservative and their results could vary significantly from the value your business could fetch in the competitive open market.
8. The Unsolicited Offer
There are countless stories about a competitor coming in with a spontaneous, unexpected offer and after a little light negotiating the owner sells. Another common story is the owner tells his banker, lawyer, or accountant that he is considering selling. His well-meaning professional says, "I have another client that is in your business. I will introduce you." The next thing you know the business is sold. Believe me, these folks are buying your business at a big discount.
9. Getting Beat Up In Negotiations And Due Diligence
Your objective is to get the best price and terms. I know this is a shocker, but the buyer is trying to pay as little as possible and get contractual terms favorable to him. These goals are not compatible with yours. The buyer is going to fight hard on issues like total price, cash at close, earn outs, seller notes, reps and warranties, escrow and holdbacks, and post closing adjustments. If this is not the buyer's first rodeo, you can get trampled during negotiations. And, before you know it, your appetizing Whopper-of-a-deal turns into a Cheeseburger,
Due diligence has a dual purpose for the buyer. The first is obviously to insure that the he knows exactly what he is paying for. The second is to reduce purchase price. If you don't have a good team of advisors, you could be getting the short end of the stick.
There is an old proverb that says when a man with money and no experience meets a man with experience, the man with the experience walks away with the money and the man with the money walks away with some experience. Keep in mind when contemplating the sale of your business that it will likely be your first and only experience. Avoid these mistakes and make that experience a profitable one.
Read The Article On Our Blog Here..
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Flower Mound Pool Care & Maintenance
Mike and Jennifer Williams started their pool maintenance, service and repair company in 2004 in a small, upscale suburb of Dallas, called Flower Mound. Over the next 10 years, that small town experienced explosive growth and Flower Mound Pool Care & Maintenance became the most successful and well-known pool service company in the area with an established, solid base of recurring revenue.
But the tropical breezes of Florida were calling to the Williams, so they chose CBB to sell their business to free them up to move to their dream home on the ocean. CBB found numerous buyers that were interested in this great opportunity and ultimately the Williams decided to sell the business to Keith Kirchner, an engineer/MBA in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. His son, Kyle, will be running the business on a day-to-day basis and will focus on expanding into new surrounding subdivisions.
As for the Williams, we wish them all the best in their house by the sea!
Frank Stabler listed and sold the business.
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Serious HP
| Left to right: Jerry & Kathryn Stuesser (Buyers), Tom Pence & Ron Consolino (CBB Brokers), Isabelle & Stephan Courcelle (Sellers) |
Serious HP, an automotive performance business specializing in upgrades, parts, fabrication services, and engine programming operating from a state-of-the-art 12,000 square foot facility in Houston, was sold to Jerry & Kathryn Stuesser by owners, Stephan & Isabelle Courcelle, who will be returning to corporate America.
Planning to move to H-Town from Rockport, the Stuessers had been searching for a business for about six months and looked at four businesses before they hit on Serious HP. Jerry, an I.T. specialist and Kathryn a CPA, plan on taking advantage of the huge Houston market and growing the business to one of the largest Auto Performance Shops around.
Ron Consolino listed the business and Tom Pence sold the business.
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Ask The Experts
Question:
When I buy a business, how will I know that an owner will not go into the same kind of business and take some of my customers with him?
Answer:
A Non-compete agreement is typically included as part of the terms of a business sale transaction to protect the buyer from direct or indirect competition from the seller. A buyer would not want to purchase a business if the seller could relocate down the street. For this reason, buyers usually require that this threat be eliminated.
There are two main issues about which buyers and sellers should be aware. First, a non-compete agreement has limitations on time, industry, and geographic range of competition if it is to be enforceable, and, second, there are tax implications for both the buyer and the seller.
Read The Rest Of The Article Here...
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Texas Economic News
We watch economic and market conditions compared to the rest of the country because these factors affect business value. The following articles were all published since our last newsletter.
Why Has The Texas Economy Outperformed? | A Surprising Answer From Paul Krugman - Forbes
Houston Among The Top U.S. Cities Booming With Industrial Construction Projects
Houston's Biggest Energy Staffing Company Ready For M&A
Texas Medical Center To Open Largest Incubator For Start-Up Life-Sciences Companies In The Nation
Turning The Astrodome Into The 'World's Largest Indoor Park?'
Texas Is A Real Model For Economic Opportunity
Mergers & Acquisitions Hit 7-Year High
Inc Magazine's 10 Top Cities For Fast-Growth Companies | Texas Takes 3 -- Austin #4 Houston #6 Dallas #8
Texas Economy Still Booming, All Industries Growing
Texas Led Payroll Increases In U.S. In July - Bloomberg News
Texas Ranks As Fastest-Growing State For Tech Jobs For 2014
Sorry, Homebuyers. Houston Is Out Of Houses
The Winds Of Change Are Blowing Through Texas | Texas Becomes Ground Zero For Surge In Wind Power - USA Today
Fed Report Shows Texas Outpaced U.S. In Growth Of Per Capita Consumer Spending - Fox Business
Texas' economy continues to outpace the country as a whole - in job growth, in employment and in personal income, resulting in the possibility of a tax decrease for businesses
TransCanada And Houston Is More Than Just Keystone
CVE Technology, A High-Tech After-Market Service Provider For Consumer Electronics, Moves New Jersey HQ To Texas
Texas Is Leading The Nation In Tech Job Creation
Texas, The Greenest State | Texans Choose, And, Texas Produces More Green Energy Than Any Other State - "Take that, Yankees," Says Newsweek
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