Selling A Business

The decision to sell a business is often a difficult one because of the profound personal and financial impact. There are many influences which bring business owners to this decision, including:

• Worrisome exposure to business risks often aggravated by personal guarantee on loans.
• Possible failure of the business if one or more owners become seriously ill or disabled.
• Personal preference of the owners to retire.
• Divorce or dissolution of partnership.
• Owner's desire to pursue other business interests which may be more challenging or less stressful.
• Lack of sufficient working capital.
• A need within the company for new skills, new resources, or a new philosophy to cope with ever changing economic forces, government regulations, and competition.

A business enterprise, like any asset, is worth what a buyer is willing to pay.

Buyers ask countless questions, but they are primarily concerned with a fair return on their total investment. In addition, prospective buyers make many judgments about market position, proprietary know-how, competitive strengths, quality of the assets, growth potential, and risks of the business.

To accurately determine the true worth of a business, the company's accounting reports, prepared primarily for tax purposes, must be restated to reflect the true financial performance of the business.

Certified Business Brokers helps the business owner determine the true value of the business and, most importantly, can help prospective buyers understand the reasons for such value, which allows a transaction to be structured for the maximum benefit of buyer and seller.

Sound working relations with employees, customers, suppliers, and bankers are important factors to a company. Any premature indication of a possible change in ownership could disrupt these relations and weaken the company's competitive position. For these reasons, and many others, confidentiality is critically important at all stages. With the proper procedures, it is possible to minimize the risk of an untimely disclosure.

In every transaction, there is an appropriate time to reveal that a sale may be imminent. Proper timing of these sensitive announcements can contribute to a smooth transaction and reinforce the buyer's willingness to proceed to a closing.

Certified Business Brokers helps to ensure that information is kept confidential throughout the entire selling process until it is appropriate to reveal that a sale is forthcoming.

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO SELL?

Usually the best time to obtain the highest price occurs when sales and earnings are good and trending upward. A solid earnings trend will enable a buyer to pay a higher price and still meet his return of investment criteria. A history of good performance also gives the buyer confidence in projected future earnings.

However; market conditions for business sales also signicantly affect the salability of a business. Today's market is the best we have seen in the last five years due to a large number of serious buyers looking in Houston due to its top economic status in the country; readily available bank financing for business acquisitions; and the historically low capital gains tax rate we currently enjoy, which nets the owner more cash at closing.

WHO WOULD BUY IT?

For most companies, there are several categories of prospective buyers. The most obvious are other companies in the same business for whom the acquisition would be a logical expansion with potential economies of scale. Consideration should also be given to suppliers and customers of the business.

However, based on our experience in selling over a thousand businesses, approximately 80% of the prospective buyers are individuals who want to control their own future. Many of them will be moving into the area from other states and countries.

Certified Business Brokers is in continuous contact with all categories of buyers. We utilize effective search procedures to find and screen those who are best qualified to buy.

HOW CAN CERTIFIED BUSINESS BROKERS HELP?

Certified Business Brokers can help by using their experience and know-how gained from several thousand business sales. We guide the client through all of the complex steps required to sell a business. The first step will be our review of the company's history and the client's objectives to make sure that a sale is the best course of action. This review includes an opinion of a range of selling prices of the business in today's market.

If the client decides to proceed with the sale of the business, Certified Business Brokers then prepares custom-tailored presentation documents, develops buyer prospect lists from its contact files and other resources, makes the proper approaches, screens the buyer prospects, and introduces only serious, qualified buyers to the client.

Certified Business Brokers will handle the entire transaction from the initial introduction of the buyer through closing, including coordination with attorneys, accountants, landlords, leasing and utility companies, and title companies.

An owner may ask: "Why can't I sell it myself?" There are several reasons why most owners choose not to:

• An owner representing himself cannot maintain anonymity and the lost confidentiality could seriously hurt the business.
• An owner may not be knowledgeable in current areas of law, accounting, taxes, and marketing of businesses.
• An owner typically does not have the ability or time to contact, screen and qualify a large group of prospects to find a qualified buyer who is serious and will offer a fair price.
• An owner's talents are much more effectively utilized in running the business than in trying to sell the company.
• An owner generally would not have the experience, knowledge, and negotiating skills needed to sell his company efficiently and for the best price, particularly in a highly emotional negotiation such as the sale of a business where the buyer's objectives are totally opposite of the owner's.

Certified Business Brokers has a trained professional staff knowledgeable and skilled in business transfers and they can make the sale of the business a reasonably pleasant experience. Call us to find out how we can help.

WHY USE CERTIFIED BUSINESS BROKERS?

All of our previous clients and customers selected Certified Business Brokers to assist them in the sale or purchase of their business for the same reasons: Expertise and Proven Results!

Who are we?

• A leader in the field of business brokerage.
• The largest business brokerage company in the Southwest.
• Experienced in completing several thousand business transactions.
• A respected company who has been successfully satisfying the needs of our clients in the sale of their business' for over three decades.
• A full service broker who provides all of the services required from the initial appraisal to the final closing.

Certified Business Brokers is a multifaceted firm, specializing in the following:

• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Small-to-Midsize Business Sales
• Business Valuations
• Buyer Representation and Acquisition Searches

CBB professionals have many years of experience in operating, appraising and selling businesses. The following are some of the organizations in which CBB professionals are qualified members and actively support:

• M&A Source - The world's largest organization of Middle Market Intermediaries
• Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) - Global association for professionals
  involved in middle-market mergers and acquisitions
• Texas Association of Business Brokers (TABB)
• International Business Brokers Association (IBBA)
• Institute of Business Appraisers (IBA)
• Active Corps of Executives
• Texas Licensed Real Estate Broker
• Texas Licensed Securities Dealer
• Greater Houston Direct Business Assistance
• Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE)