One reason small business owners do better than an employee is they accumulate assets with PRE-tax dollars. When you own a business you enjoy tax loopholes designed to give you an advantage over the wage earner. And when you sell your company you can arrange for it to continue to pay for your health and [...]

“Death” from business buyer fever occurs when a buyer wants a particular business so badly that common sense goes out the window. Even people who know what to do sometimes do the wrong thing, especially if they have a bad case of buyer fever.

Don’t hire an attorney who cannot prove dealmaking (versus deal-killing) achievements for the size of business you want to buy (or sell).

Contender or pretender? Look for a better business to buy if the business does not match your acquisition criteria. You may not know this until you begin to verify the seller’s representations. It pays to expedite the seller’s production of documents for your review.

“Most small business deals are made without a go-between.” Changing Times magazine. Business brokers ultimately list some of these firms for sale. Meanwhile, you can buy for less if you access the hidden market of businesses quietly for sale by-owner. You will learn more about the industry you are shopping; you will discover more sellers; [...]

Acquisitions, which were financed by the seller, sold for a 15% (median) higher price than all-cash transactions. The average down payment was 37%. This difference is more pronounced if we compare the all-cash transaction to those selling with seller financing of 70% or more. In these deals, the median sale price was 27% higher price [...]

Prudent buyers are aware of the pricing multiples that pertain to comparable buy/sell transactions, but street smart buyers demand a reasonable return on their investment (purchase) despite what the statistics say other buyers have paid for similar companies.

He who has the gold makes the rules. Unless the seller can attract multiple buyers and create an auction, the buyer determines the purchase price and terms of sale. The seller may or may not accept the buyer’s offer.

I want to buy a manufacturing (metal products) business in the Chicago area that reports $250,000 to $300,000 annual profit including owner’s pay.