Insights
Straight answers, page 49
Confidentiality
Confidentiality Agreements: What are the Most Important Elements?The clauses that make a confidentiality agreement protect a seller, what each one does, and what to watch for when buyers push back.
Buying a business
Goodwill and Its Importance to Your BusinessWhy goodwill drives much of a sale price, which goodwill a buyer can take over and which leaves with you, and how to build the right kind.
Selling a business
The Sale of a Business May Actually Excite EmployeesWhy many employees gain from a sale, and how to tell them so the news lands as an opportunity rather than a threat.
Valuation
The Myth of Fair Business Valuation: Why Buyers Set the PriceWhy there is no single fair value for a private company, and how the type of buyer and the way you sell move the final price.
Offers & due diligence
5 Big Questions to Consider when Financing a Business SaleThe five financing questions a seller should answer before going to market, so offers can be judged quickly and on what you keep.
Valuation
Obtaining a Fair Market Value for Your BusinessHow to close the gap between what you expect and what buyers pay, and which characteristics move a buyer's price most.
Buying a business
Determining Your Company’s Undocumented ValueWhere the value buyers pay for hides outside your financial statements, and how to document it so it shows up in the price.
Selling a business
Considering All of Your Business Real Estate OptionsThe three ways to handle the property your business uses when you sell: include it, lease it to the buyer, or sell it separately, and how to choose.
Selling a business
Four Significant Issues You Need to Consider When Selling Your BusinessFour process issues that decide whether a sale runs smoothly: your time, your price anchor, unqualified buyers and your co-owners.
Buying a business
Winning a Deal Without the Top Bid: What Sellers Weigh Besides PriceThe terms owners weigh besides price, from certainty and cash at closing to fit and discretion, and how a buyer can use them to win.
Selling a business
What Sellers Don’t Expect When Selling Their CompaniesThe surprises that catch most owners, from the time a sale takes to a first offer below their number, and how to prepare for each.
Buying a business
The Importance of Understanding LeasesThe three ways a lease passes to a buyer, what each one means, and how to confirm the location is secure before closing.