Today’s independent business marketplace attracts a wide variety of buyers eager for a piece of ownership action. Buyers of small businesses are most likely replacing lost jobs or searching for a happier alternative to corporate life. Buyers of mid-sized and…
In many cases, the buyer and seller reach a tentative agreement on the sale of the business, only to have it fall apart. There are reasons this happens, and, once understood, many of the worst deal-smashers can be avoided. Understanding…
“Deep-pocketed investors often set aside money to buy into private equity funds. Such investments tend to be riskier but can generate higher returns than stocks or bonds. Here are some of the key players and terms in the world of…
If there were any doubt that women owners are an ever-growing force on the independent business scene, new studies of leading female entrepreneurs around the world supplies incontrovertible proof. The National Foundation for Women Business Owners (NFWBO) has been hard…
The telephone rings, the caller receives a message welcoming them, then she is asked to dial the extension of the person she wants to talk to. Since she doesn’t know the extension, she has to wait and listen to the…
The following appeared in a study, Financial Difficulties of Small Businesses and Reasons for Their Failure, prepared for the Small Business Administration (SBA). They are statements made by individuals whose business was in financial difficulty and subsequently failed. Their comments…
As the federal government and the state governments look for more ways to bring in money, the independent contractor status is a likely place for them to look. After all, by using independent contractors rather than employees, employers don’t have…
A recent article in the Boston Globe reported that although more attention is on the large, primarily publicly held companies, more and more people are making their living by operating their own businesses. In fact, nationally, over 500,000 new businesses…
Small companies are the innovators. The need for large companies to acquire small companies is necessary in order for the former to capture new products and services. According to Fortune magazine, “Big companies almost never innovate. This is unfortunate because…
The median sales of a company going public has gone from an average $15 million in 1999 and 2000 to $164 million in 2004. Smaller companies have decided not to go public as often as in years past, and they…
In most jurisdictions, a board of directors is not required for privately held companies. However, many of these companies have appointed what might be termed advisory boards. Although they may not have any legal authority, owners of these privately owned…
The deal is getting down to the wire, the price differential is close, but the parties are not yet in agreement. Following are some ideas that might get the ball rolling and help bring the parties together. Let the seller…