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Communicate your Brand
Tactical communication for your brand
A Great Brand Means Nothing if No One Knows about It By Karen Post
All right, you’ve spent time, money and resources on developing your brand. You clearly know who you are, you’ve decided on your brand...
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Business Exit Strategy
After a few years, you might find yourself with a successful
home business. After a few more, you might find yourself sick of
it and ready to retire, only to realise that you have no idea
what to do with the business and all the customers who rely on
you if you take that course of action. Here's what you need to
do to get out of your business without destroying it, and come
away with a good nest egg.
Exit Strategy refers to how you will leave your business. Some
business people plan to take their companies public and sell
their shares when they retire. Others plan to sell their
businesses to individuals or other companies without going
public. Some expect their children to assume control of the
company. Other business people don't think about an exit
strategy at all, and, someday, just die. So, if you don't plan
an exit strategy, don't worry, a default strategy will be
provided for you!
Selling Your Business
A business has more value than you might expect. As a rule,
businesses are bought and sold for somewhere between one and two
years' worth of their profits. If you wonder why, consider that
the person buying a business gets not only a proven business
model, but also all the marketing materials and other
intellectual property (trademarks, copyrights, patents), an
existing customer base, and years of built-up goodwill.
Home businesses, however, can be more problematic to sell than
other businesses, for the simple reason that they do not come
with business premises. You might have the best luck allowing
one of your larger competitors to do a 'takeover' of your
business, in which they are mostly paying for your name,
branding and customers. This can be lucrative for them, as they
get to both eliminate a competitor and expand their own business
at the same time.
You will need to put some effort in to make your business
attractive to potential buyers -- do some analysis on what each
element of the business is worth. Show that you have made lots
of sales in the past and will make many more in the future.
Above all else, buyers are looking at your balance sheet, and
the business' potential for growth. They're in this because they
want their future earnings to be more than the amount they pay,
and if you can demonstrate that they could make that happen
quickly then they'll have no reason not to buy.
Getting the Right Price
Don't sell your business to the
first person who offers, however
good their offer might sound -- you need to get offers on the
table from everyone you can think of who might be interested.
You may even find that they're quite willing to have a meeting
with you as a group, and get into a little bidding war.
Alternatively, if you already have staff, you may wish to offer
them the option to bid too, providing them with a finance
agreement. Before you do anything like this, though, it's good
to get your lawyer and your accountant to advise you on the best
course of action.
You will do better on the price of your business if you've
planned your sale in advance, instead of waiting to the last
minute. The people who get the best prices are the ones who take
years to sell their business, and are always prepared to walk
away from the negotiating table.
Time to Skim
One thing you need to remember when you sell your business is
that if there are any shareholders other than yourself, they
need to receive their percentage of the business' final sale
price. Depending on the terms of the agreement, you may have to
buy their part of the business before you can sell it, or give
them the option to buy your part before you offer it on the open
market.
On top of that, you will also have to pay tax on the sale of
your business. Always consider how much an offer is going to be
worth to you after tax, not before.
Starting from a Powerful Position
Once you've sold your business, there's one thing left that you
can do. With the lump sum you just got from the sale, you're in
a great position to start a new business! If the sale didn't
include your equipment, then it shouldn't be too hard to get
started again -- and this time, you'll have a lot of money to
invest. Not only that, but you've proven yourself to be good to
lend to, so any finance you need should be far easier to obtain.
Keep building businesses and selling them every few years, and
you can quickly get hold of the resources to build something
truly great. Good luck!
About the author:
Original Source: Articles-Galore.com
Information supplied and written by Lee Asher of CyberTech SoftShop
Suppliers of the DeadEasy
Ebook Maker and Publishing Wizard.
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