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Showing posts from February, 2018

Buying A Business and Getting Past the Gate Keeper

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Buying A Business and Getting Past the Gate Keeper / Business Broker February 16, 2018  by  Michael Shea PA   (Edit) Would you believe that less than 10% of all buyers who inquire on a business sale or into the process of buying a business ever get to the closing table. Well, it is true…sadly. The reasons for such a miserable number are many: lack of knowledge, lack of funds, financing and capital issues, frustrations, and sometimes road blocks from “advisors” of both buyers and sellers. Many times I have been asked what is the most important element to successfully buying or selling a business and it all comes down to one thing “Education”. That includes education on finance, accounting, business management, roles of the parties to the transaction, and of course the process. Buyers have to keep in mind that regardless of market conditions, unlike real estate where the market switches between a “buyer’s” or “seller’s” market, in the business sale sector, it is always a

What is my business worth? Don't be the Fisherman

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What is my business worth in Florida? Get Real and Don’t be the Fisherman February 12, 2018  by  Michael Shea PA   (Edit) Just the other day I was in my CPA’s office and one of the partners saw me and took me to the break room. Seems one of his clients was paying a outside firm a fee to tell him what his business was worth. I’m sure if you are a business owner of any duration of time that you have gotten: direct mail, faxes (yes there are still faxes), email, and cold calls all soliciting you for the opportunity to tell you what your business was worth and to “oh by the way” receive a handsome fee. In this particular case the CPA was asking me if I ever saw a 5 multiple…..in honesty I had to tell him no. Further qualifying it I said….”5 multiples are for businesses getting netting well over 1 million dollars in ebitda and even then that is rare indeed”. What was so funny about the conversation was that by this time 3 other CPA’s had joined in and we actually went to my data

Impact of the new tax law on business sales

Impact of the New Tax Law When Selling Your Business February 8, 2018  by  Michael Shea PA Starting in 2018, the New Tax Law will have a enormous impact on middle market businesses. This is true whether you are at the point in life where it’s time to sell or if you want to grow your business by acquiring other companies. Sell-Side Let’s talk first about those who want to sell their company. If this is you and you want to stop reading, all you need to know is that selling now will cost you substantially less in income taxes. You get to take more home after tax. Deductions (depreciation) that have sheltered income for you in the past at 35% to 39.5% tax rates will now be taxable (recaptured) at rates as low as 21% to 29%. Most transactions are structured as a sale of assets which places the seller and buyer in the frustrating process of making an allocation of purchase price among the depreciable assets, working capital and intangible assets such as goodwill. This allocatio

Who is Todays Business Buyer

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Who is Today’s Business Buyer February 2, 2018  by  Michael Shea PA Who is Today’s Business Buyer American buying trends reveal a lot about who we are and what’s happening in the country. Not only is it important to understand the trends but also the people that are driving the trends. Just as American demographics are changing, so is today’s business buyer.  Transworld brokers  consistently keep their finger on the pulse of today’s business market to help our clients become better positioned when buying or selling a business. The “small business-for-sale” market shows few signs of slowing down so it’s more important than ever to gain insight into potential buyers’ backgrounds, preferences, and motivations. Today’s Buyer Community Today’s small business sellers are a mix of soon to be retirees and serial entrepreneurs. Across the country, small business owners are cashing out in order to retire, relax, and, in some cases, move on to their next business adventure. But who will