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Performance Business Brokers Facilitates the Sale of Grizzly Disposal Solution

March 13, 2014 10:30 ET

Performance Business Brokers Facilitates the Sale of Grizzly Disposal Solution by Way of Controlled Auction in Edmonton, Alberta

EDMONTON, ALBERTA–(Marketwired – March 13, 2014) – Performance Business Brokers (www.performancebusinessbrokers.ca) of Edmonton, AB has completed the sale of Grizzly Disposal Solutions in Lac La Biche, Alberta. Grizzly Disposal is a full service Waste Disposal Solutions company specializing in front load, roll-off and curbside waste service. Their customers range from residential, commercial and oil field servicing, including many in the oils sands field.

Dwight Lester, President of Performance Business Brokers in Edmonton AB comments, “With the type of business being sold and knowing that there were multiple possible suitors we concluded the best process for selling the business was through a controlled auction. Our objective was to create a competitive market among multiple buyers for the sale of this business.” Norman Charest, the Sellers commented, “Working with Performance Business Brokers was the right choice for us. Dwight provided great guidance throughout the whole process from the first day in listing the business for sale and throughout the process including closing.”

About Performance Business Brokers, Edmonton

Performance Business Brokers is a full service Edmonton Business Brokerage Company that sells businesses across Alberta. We specialize in business valuations, packaging, listing and the selling of existing businesses and new business opportunities.

Selling your business is one of the most important financial decisions you will ever make and it can involve high levels of stress and anxiety. Working with a professional can reduce the stress by determining the optimal selling price and terms for the seller. The majority of a business owners’ wealth is often tied to the business so a properly executed exit from it is paramount. It is important to ensure you have the right team to guide you when selling your business.

Selling Businesses is our ONLY Business

 Contact Information

Fast Growing Security Company for Sale

Performance Business Brokers Presents

For sale is a Security Company that is halfway through their fourth year of operation and has had a huge revenue increase over this time. Current year’s revenue is tracking to be higher than $1,600,000. Great profit margins.

Most of the revenue comes from businesses in and around the Edmonton area. The business is currently operated by an out of province owner.

All required licensing is in place for the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia.

This is a perfect addition to a business already in the security industry which is looking to grow through acquisition or for an individual looking to enter the security industry for the first time.

For more information on this business contact Dwight Lester at 780-756-2990 or at info@performancebb.ca

5 Core Tenets of Exit Planning

5 Core Tenets of Exit Planning

Takeaway: Business owners: prepare for the single largest financial transaction in your lifetime.

The succession or exit by a business owner is usually the single largest financial transaction in their lifetime with a lot at risk as typically a majority of an owner’s net worth is tied up in their company (normally greater than 70%). Accordingly, an owner needs to prepare and begin two to five years prior as business value enhancements, tax planning, market timing and the sale or transition process all need to be strategically mapped out, implemented and aligned. Unfortunately, owners typically skip this planning phase resulting in post-exit remorse with significant wealth left on the table.

A true and properly prepared exit plan offers the following five core tenets for an owner:

1. Aligning an owner’s personal, business, and individual long-term financial goals

Determining the success or failure of an owner’s exit is defined and measured differently by every business owner. Accordingly, the first step of any exit or succession plan should always be the articulation and alignment of an owner’s goals. This exercise creates the necessary foundation of the plan and equips the owner and his or her advisors with a compass to proficiently navigate a successful exit.

To begin, an owner needs to answer the following goal questions:
• Business goals – What do you want your business to accomplish prior to your exit?
• Personal goals – When do you want to exit? How do you want to exit – over time or in one event? Who do you want to exit to? What do you want to accomplish as part of your eventual exit?
• Financial goals – What are your long-term personal financial needs and what is the amount you need from your business to accomplish?

The next step is to reconcile all the goals into alignment. This is necessary because typically the timing and or the financial aspects of each of the individual goals do not match with one another (i.e., if an owner’s business goal prior to exiting is reaching $50MM in sales which will take five years but one of the owner’s personal goals is to exit the company within the next two years). The key to reconciling all the goals into alignment is to prioritize and adjust those goals that are flexible, either from a timing or financial standpoint. Typically long-term personal financial needs have limited flexibility and this usually drives adjustment to the other goals. This is often an iterative process and requires sound financial data including the amount required to meet your personal long-term financial needs and the amount your ownership is worth under your goal scenarios and other what-if scenarios. When completing this process, owners need to be aware there are outside market influences they have no control over and the timing aspect of certain goals should be set with some flexibility.

2. Empowering an owner with an in depth knowledge of all their succession or exit options

In order to satisfy an owner’s business, personal and financial goals, a sound exit plan evaluates all the options and alternatives and vets each to determine the optimal solution for the owner. This process is normally completed in conjunction with the reconciliation of an owner’s goals process as just explained above. As presented below, there are typically six major exit channels available to middle market business owners with the timing on how an owner exits (in one event or over time) available for each option with advance planning. Determining the availability of the different exit channels for an owner is dependent upon the motivations and goals of the owner and on the underlying company’s profile (size, profitability, maturity, outlook, etc.). Thus, the breadth or narrowness of options will vary by owner.

External Exit Channels
• Financial buyer
• Strategic buyer (vertical/horizontal) Internal Exit Channels
• Recapitalization
• Family
• Co-owner(s) or Management
• Employees (ESOP)
Pros
• Generally highest available value
• Diversification of family’s wealth
• Post-sell financial and leadership resources Pros
• Greater control over legacy, timing and terms
• Income and estate tax saving opportunities
• Limited due diligence and time required to close
Cons
• Time and cost of marketing, due diligence and closing transaction
• Limited control over post-legacy value Cons
• CRA and tax courts are value authority for family and ESOP transfers
• Value received often less than actual market value
• Buyer’s financial resources usually limited

3. Maximizing the fundamental or underlying value of the business
Buyers look at numerous aspects of a company to determine value. To maximize value, owners must be able to view their company from a buyer’s perspective…what would you expect or look for if you were doing an acquisition? Often times, discovering the value differences occurs too late, reducing the company’s sellable value with a lack of ample time to correct.

Thus, a sound exit plan should evaluate the company from a buyer’s perspective and identify opportunities to increase the underlying company’s value and implement action plans to capture the full value prior to going to market. Assessing the opportunities is often hard to do from an insider’s perspective and especially so if an owner doesn’t have experience with buying or selling companies.

In line with maximizing the fundamental value of a business is an equal if not greater opportunity to maximize the value by identifying strategic value drivers. Strategic value drivers are elements that both reduce risk and improve returns for buyers. In practical terms, value is in the proverbial eye of the beholder and greater value is available over normal industry standards if an owner can position their company to make it the most attractive to likely buyers. This is accomplished as part of a sound exit plan by identifying the value drivers that buyers are seeking and ensure the goals of the company are focused on growing these drives.

Examples of strategic value drivers (partial list):
• Specific market presence
• Specific customer base
• Geographic footprint
• Market share
• Technology or licenses
• Trademarks or patents
• Niche products or services
• Advantageous systems or processes
• Sales distribution network
• Vendor channels and relationships
• Strategic relationships
• Reputation or brands
• Scalability of your products or services
• Management team or skilled workforce

Owners should start working on the value building processes two to five years in advance as implementation of enhancements take time with the worst case scenario being that an owner has created a stronger and smoother running company and would like to stay engaged with the business longer.

4. Eliminating, minimizing or deferring income and estate taxes
The actual value realized by an owner is always less than the company’s selling price; it is the culmination of the price, structure, terms and the corresponding tax consequences of the sale. The amount of the tax component continues to shock owners. Without advanced planning prior to exiting, owners will leave significant wealth on the table. There are multiple tax saving opportunities a good exit plan addresses.

• Company entity level
• Personal level
• Estate level
• Transaction level

At the transaction level, the structure of the deal can mean a difference of up to 20% in net proceeds for an owner and so thought and analysis need to be completed prior to going to market to determine the best structure and deal strategy available for the owner.
5. Maximize what the market is willing to pay for the business.

The last core tenet of a good exit plan is for those owners that have elected an external transfer channel (which is typically 80% to 90% of all owners) and it consists of four components.

Sell side due diligence – this is a process of conducting the same intensive review as a buyer would and compiling and organizing the associated documentation so it is ready for the buyer (typically in an online data room). Sell side due diligence provides owners two benefits. First it expedites the actual due diligence a buyer will conduct which helps prevent confidentiality issues, minimizes operating distractions, helps assure the deal will close, and just gets the deal closed sooner. Secondly, and more importantly, it prevents the deal from going sideways or getting cancelled all together. Too often the skeletons come out of the closet during due diligence and if the seller isn’t aware or hasn’t made the buyer aware of these skeletons then it positions the buyer with instant negotiating leverage. By conducting due diligence prior to going to market, issues that would otherwise slow or kill the sale are identified upfront so that corrective measures can be implemented.

Market timing – As all business owners know, timing is everything. In order to realize and maximize ownership value, all of the critical market, company, personal, and tax elements must be aligned. This is a dynamic process with the critical market elements outside an owner’s control. The windows of sale opportunities open and close based on economic conditions and the cycles of industries and market segments. For that reason, the goal of a good exit plan is to complete all the value enhancements, tax planning, individual wealth planning, preparedness, etc. so the owner is in a state of readiness and agility – equipped to capitalize on the market windows of opportunities as they present themselves.

Competing buyers As part of an exit plan, owners should create an ideal buyer profile and begin compiling a list of potential buyers that match the profile. The list should contain both financial and strategic buyers with candidates typically pre-indentified as part of the strategic value drivers process explained earlier.

The chosen sale/marketing approach can also create a competitive market for a company. There are two basic approaches available to middle market companies; a negotiated sale and a controlled auction. In simplified terms, the negotiated sale is where the seller performs limited marketing of the company and directly solicits interest from a few known potential buyers. The seller talks with each interested buyer on a first come, first served basis and attempts to negotiate the best deal. The controlled auction process casts a much wider net in its marketing process and follows a much more formal and structured process. The process begins with sending a Teaser to a large list of potential interested buyers followed by an Offering Memorandum detailing the company for those interested with a deadline to submit bids. Based on the qualifying bids, the seller invites a handful of buyers for face-to-face meetings touring the company and providing an opportunity to vet each other. After the visit, buyers have a deadline to submit final offers to purchase and the best purchase offer is chosen by the seller. The controlled auction is the preferred method to create the competing buyers environment but it is an intensive and costly process and isn’t appropriate for all companies. It works best for companies with at least $1MM in EBITDA or certain sought out intellectual property or other synergies.

Edmonton Business Broker Sells Flower Shop

October 02, 2013

Performance Business Brokers Facilitates the sale of Flowers By Merle in Edmonton Alberta

EDMONTON, ALBERTA – Performance Business Brokers (www.performancebusinessbrokers.ca) of Edmonton, AB has completed the sale of Flowers By Merle on Stony Plain road.  Flowers By Merle was a family owned fixture in the Edmonton flower industry for 47 years. The new owners acknowledge the Flower Shops time in the market place as being a key factor in purchasing the business. The shop is renowned for their amazing selection of fresh cut flowers and flowering plants. Outstanding exotic varieties and interesting foliages arrive directly from growers in South America, Hawaii, California and British Columbia.

 

Dwight Lester, President of Performance Business Brokers in Edmonton AB comments “In a short 90 days we listed the business to sell, presented multiple offers, and completed the sales transaction. Both the seller and the buyer were happy with the efficiency of the sale”. The new owners commented, “Working with Performance Business Brokers was exceptional. Dwight provided great guidance with the due diligence process and assistance during the transition to the new owners”.

 

About Performance Business Brokers, Edmonton

Performance Business Brokers is a full service Edmonton Business Brokerage Company that sells businesses across Alberta. We specialize in business valuations, packaging, listing and the selling of existing businesses and new business opportunities.

Selling your business is one of the most important financial decisions you will ever make and it can involve high levels of stress and anxiety. Working with a professional can reduce the stress by determining the optimal selling price and terms for the seller.  The majority of a business owners’ wealth is often tied to the business so a properly executed exit from it is paramount. It is important to ensure you have the right team to guide you when selling your business.

 

Selling Businesses is our ONLY Business

 

Contact us today at 780-756-2990, or by email at info@performancebb.ca  Suite 220 – 11717 – 42 St. Edmonton AB.  www.performancebusinessbrokers.ca

Edmonton Business Broker Presents – Why you shouldn’t hire a real estate agent to sell your business

Why you shouldn’t hire a real estate agent to sell your business

Chris Griffiths

Published Tuesday, Apr. 30, 2013 05:00AM EDT

While I have benefited greatly from the services of real estate agents for the sale of personal and commercial properties, I would never use one to broker the sale of my business. Here’s why and some ideas for alternative approaches.

If you are selling your business and your business includes a real estate asset or assets, by all means, use a real estate agent for those transactions. I have done several real estate transactions over the years and in 100 per cent of the cases, the real agents I dealt with added tremendous value and an obvious return on investment from their commissions and fees.

Most businesses who own real estate acquire those properties under separate holding companies, so it’s easy to treat the sale of the property (retail store, repair shop, manufacturing facility) differently than the sale of the operating company. Many buyers looking to purchase a business may prefer to rent, so even if your operating company owns a property, you may find yourself selling it separately or as an option.

A real estate agent is a valuable contributor, whether it be on a commission basis during a sale offering, or on a fee-for-service basis as a consultant on how to approach the sale or your business property. However, when it comes to preparing a operating business for sale, and managing the transaction process to closing, hiring a real estate agent is not your best approach.

You see, an operating business is far more complex than a structure and land. Your business has many dynamics that influence its performance and valuing your business fairly, for both you and your buyer, is extremely complex – at least when it’s done correctly.

I often look in the real estate sections of my local paper and see businesses listed and wonder how an owner and the real estate agent could attract me to buy. As a buyer, I want to see:

  • Detailed income statements, balance sheets and cash flows for the past three years as well as a prospectus on the business that covers the history and the future, including detailed financial projections;
  • Non-tangible assets; for example, customer lists and subscription retention rates, and I want to see industry information and a competitive analysis;
  • A list of owner benefits; costs that the business absorbs, but benefits the owner on a personal level as well, such as vehicles or other;
  • Employee performance histories and compensation levels.

I’d also want to discuss terms, an asset sale versus a share sale, and explore areas where there may be risks for future litigation. I’d want to discuss representations and warranties so I know there is some fall back if it turns out I was sold a lemon through misrepresentations of the facts.

But above all, I want to talk to someone who can answer all the questions above, and more, with confidence. As an owner, you may not be prepared to answer these if you haven’t been coached through the process in advance.

Besides running ads, most real estate agents don’t have the background to help a small business owner prepare all the aforementioned information. The bigger the business, the more important this information becomes. After all, you are not just selling a business, you are selling money – future money. An acquirer will value your business based on the profitability and free cash flow that your business is currently generating and will generate many years into the future. Sure, some small businesses are acquired as “lifestyle” businesses, where high growth and free cash flow are not prioritized as much as a steady income and the involvement in an industry that the buyer may be passionate about – looking for little more than a decent salary. Control over his or her own destiny and some fun may be what some buyers are after.

This is why you need to hire a business broker. He or she can help you position your business for all different types of buyers. Whether on commission or fee-for-service, business brokers can identify these and other ways that you need to prepare your business for sale.

While the broker may guide you, you should want to play a proactive role in the creation of your prospectus — a detailed document, like a business plan, that outlines all key aspects of the business. After all the years you’ve spent selling on behalf of your business, this may be the most important sale of your life and only you can portray all the value your business can bring to a new owner.

With the guidance of a business broker, you will be challenged to take nothing for granted and look at business value from many, many angles that may not be top of mind for you. A business broker will help position the business for sale and help negotiate the terms – which can get complicated with earn outs, escrows, hold backs and owner financing options.

So don’t let what may be the biggest transaction of your life turn into something you think will be “obvious” to a new owner based on an ad in the paper. Do your homework and ask for help from experts so you maximize your sale and have no regrets.

Special to The Globe and Mail

FOr all your Business Sale needs contact, Dwight Lester Performance Business Brokers

SOLD – Spruce Grove Wok Box Restaurant for sale

Performance Business Brokers Presents –

Established Spruce Grove Wok Box is being offered for sale. This location is operated with an absentee owner group

The tenant improvements at this Wok Box restaurant are state of the art and exclusively designed by Wok Box Canada. Located in strip mall next door to Star Bucks it has lots of parking and high visibility in the shopping power center. They have multiple signage including being on the power centers pylon sign for exposure. Equipment is in top condition.

Be your own boss as an owner-operator or add it to your growing empire with great employees already in place! The owner group have a Labour Market Opinion in place are employee 5 foreign workers, thus staffing is not an issue.

This Wok Box location is part of a well-known, strong franchise with stores across Canada. Avoid the tiring and time consuming process of searching for the right location, negotiating a lease, applying for permits, construction stress and license inspection. It’s all done for you.

This restaurant offers high-quality, healthy meals at a reasonable price. Once anyone has tried Wok Box, they’re addicted.

There are plenty of lunch and dinner choices to make when you’re looking for Chinese food, Japanese dishes and other Asian food specialties. Wok Box Fresh Asian Kitchen has put together a delicious variety of flavorful and healthy meal choices from popular Asian regions all in one menu. Expect favorites from Thailand, Malaysia, China, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan and many more. Their lunch and dinner selections are made to order with fresh ingredients and unique sauces made exclusively for the Wok Box in our test kitchen.

The Wok Box pioneered the concept of fresh made pan-Asian food in Canada and packaged it in a quick serve restaurant model that fits into 1,200 to 1,500 square feet. Our growth has attracted abundant interest from would-be franchisees across Canada resulting in more than 70 stores opening in three years.

No experience is required as the Franchisor will provide training which is included in the purchase price.

Asking price is $325,000.

For full information, email us today.

Edmonton Business Broker – Restaurant for Sale

This is a great opportunity to buy all the assets of a fully fixtured restaurant in the Edmonton area. Buyer must also assume a very good lease (6 years left + 2 – 5 yr options).

 This restaurant is a turnkey opportunity for any restaurant operator or anyone looking to get into the restaurant or pub business.  Bring your own restaurant name and menu and you can walk into a complete fully fixtured and staffed restaurant.

 The restaurant is 3000 sq ft on the main floor and also has an 800 sq ft mezzanine that is open to the main floor.  Seating can be configured for 170 per the fire capacity permit.  Current layout is set up for 40 seats on the mezzanine and 100 on the main floor.  The space also has the ability to have a 30 ft X 23 ft patio with an addition seating for 40.

 There is so much equipment included in the sale you will need nothing to start operating. Built new just 4 years ago some of major equipment is:

 36’ char broiler                      10 burner double oven range

6 burner range                      4 well steam table

5’ cold table                           6’ cold table  

4’ cold table                           2 – 2 basket deep fryer

Low temp dish washer with dirty and clean tabling

3 door cooler             8 X 8 walk-in cooler with raking

Prep tables                            upright freezer

2 chest freezers                    on demand hot water

16’ hood with full fire suppression system

Make up Air and Exhaust system

75 chairs                                20 tables

20 bar stools                          5 bar tables

2 tower keg cooler                stereo and installed speakers

3 flat panel TVs and satellite system

250 lb Scott ice machine      Bar top glass washer

8 sets of racking

 The list goes on and on and it does not even go into all the small wares and such.

 This won’t last long at the price it is being sold for!!! Assume the favorable lease and receive all the assets for $90K.

 For full information, please give us a call today at 780-756-2990 or email us at info@performancebb.ca

Performance Business Brokers Facilitates the Sale of Chenoa`s K9 Club

Edmonton Alberta (PRWEB) January 31, 2013

Performance Business Brokers of Edmonton, AB (www.performancebusinessbrokers.ca) has completed the business sale of Chenoa`s K9 Club, (www.chenoask9club.net) a business that provides a true open concept/pack environment dog daycare. Chenoa`s offers dog daycare, grooming services and overnight boarding along with a fully stocked retail food section.

The Company was purchased by Dean & Leah Walsh of Waggytails. The Buyer, Mr. Dean Walsh commented “Performance Business Brokers assisted us through all steps of the business acquisition. They made the transaction seamless from the start with the offer to purchase right through to closing”.

Mr. Walsh goes on to state “Waggytails’ goal is to focus on quality care for our daily dog daycare attendees. We pride our facility and staff on producing a mentally and physically healthy environment for your beloved pooch to spend the day. We adhere to a strict daily limit of dogs at the daycare. This ensures each dog receives the highest level of care and attention they deserve. The dog to staff ratio is lower so we can focus on truly getting to know each dog individually. To us, your pooch is not just another dog; we will take the time to familiarize ourselves with their special needs and personalities in order to care for them to the best of our abilities.”

About Performance Business Brokers, Edmonton

Performance Business Brokers is a full service Business Brokerage company that sells businesses across Alberta and is based in Edmonton Alberta, Canada. We specialize in business valuations, packaging, listing and the selling of existing businesses and new business opportunities.

Dwight Lester, President of Performance Business Brokers notes, “Selling your business is one of the most important financial decisions you will ever make and it can involve high levels of stress and anxiety. Working with a professional can reduce the stress by determining the optimal selling price and terms for the seller. The majority of a business owners’ wealth is often tied to the business so a properly executed exit from is paramount. It is important to ensure you have the right team to guide you when selling your business. Performance Business Brokers in Edmonton Alberta is your right team!”

Contact us today to sell your business at 780-756-2990, or by email at info@performancebb.ca Suite 220 – 11717 – 42 St. Edmonton AB. http://www.performancebusinessbrokers.ca/businesses-for-sale-edmonton.html

Edmonton Business Broker Presents

This is your opportunity to acquire a growing Purified Water store in Bonnyville Alberta.

Purified Water Store is a full service retail outlet that sell Purified Water by the gallon, purified ice and various other bottled water related products and services. The store is equipped with state of the art water purification system which dispenses Superior quality drinking water for approximately 30% – 70% less than retail supermarkets or private water delivery services. 

Customers bring in their own containers or purchase one of the many quality bottles and dispensers available from the Purified Water Store. The store also sells a tremendous amount of water related products such as lead free porcelain water crocks and stands, water coolers, water pump, filters, reverse osmoses systems and filters of all sorts.

 The Purified Water Store has been in business since 2000 and has shown growth every year. The store operates out of a 2500 sq. ft. store in the same building as Lakeland Arctic Spas.

 Bonnyville is the centre of oil field activity and is expanding rapidly. Due to the influx of people there are ample opportunities for growth in the above mentioned product lines.

The Town of Bonnyville is located in northeastern Alberta, approximately 240 kilometers (150 miles) from the provincial capital of Edmonton. The Town’s motto – “it’s Multi-Natural” – refers to the town’s celebration of its diverse cultural heritage and rich natural resources.

The economy is growing and expanding faster that the provincial average creating employment opportunities in construction, oil and gas, as well as retail sales. As a major service area, the Town serves more than 10,000 people. The Bonnyville market area is strong with a population of 27,000 within 30 minutes driving time, 49,500 within 60 minutes, and 56,500 within 90 minutes. Bonnyville is the HUB for the oil and gas industry with over 60 national and international companies setting up head offices within the Town.

Additional community information can be viewed at: www.town.bonnyville.ab.ca

This business can also be purchased with a complementing business that operates out of the same building. Please see our Lakeland Arctic Spas listing as well.

For full information, please give us a call today 780-756-2990, or email us at Dwight@performancebb.ca

Edmonton Business Broker – Make your Financial Statements Available

Many prospective business buyers express concern when a seller or business broker asks them to provide their personal financials. Personally, I’ve never understood this apprehension. There are a number of issues buyers note specifically as being worrisome, but the truth is their reasoning is based more on opinion than fact.

In my experience, those buyers that are unwilling to provide their financials are generally the ones who are either not serious about buying a business, they are often completely misinformed about the business-buying process, or they are simply not in any position to acquire the size businesses they are investigating.

There are two main buyer misconceptions that you need to understand so that you can gain comfort with this matter.

Myth # 1 – Disclosing the Buyer’s Financials Will Reduce Their Bargaining Power

I’ve heard buyers claim that once they divulge their financials they will be at a disadvantage in any negotiation. The fear often cited is that the broker/seller will now know exactly how much money they have, and will then push harder to get hold of all of their cash in a down payment or force them to secure a loan with all of their assets.

While I do understand this assumption, in fact, the opposite holds true. A financially strong buyer will actually improve their negotiating position.

  • The other side will recognize their ability to get the deal done.
  • The buyer will immediately establish credibility by having achieved a certain level of net worth.

On the other hand, if you do not have the financial strength to execute a certain deal size, it will force you to adjust your thinking and focus your time on businesses that make sense for you. Here again, you will be in a better position when you provide them to parties for the reasons noted above.

Myth # 2 – The Seller/Broker Has No Reason To See a Buyer’s Financials

To me, it simply shows good faith and honestly to be willing to provide your financial statement. After all, if you want to see the seller’s books and records, shouldn’t they be entitled to see yours? This is especially true if you want to negotiate any seller financing.

Further, throughout the transaction, the seller will provide you with infinitely more confidential information than your personal financial statement will disclose.

Now, I know all the skeptics are saying: “I signed a confidentiality agreement but they didn’t”. Good point, However, the seller/broker has absolutely no interest or reason to disclose your financials to any other parties. Additionally, even in a worse case scenario, let’s say they did tell someone, what possible negative impact could it have on you? If you want added assurance, have the seller/broker sign a non-disclosure attesting to the fact that they will hold the information in confidence (your attorney can draft a simple agreement).

The Biggest Reasons to Complete a Personal Financial Statement

It blows my mind every time I ask a buyer “How much are you willing to invest personally to buy a business” and they reply: “I haven’t really thought of it.” Well guess what, if you haven’t thought of it, you should put a complete halt on any additional looking, at start to think of it now.

First, it is critically important that you get a handle on your personal financial situation. Yes, it is true that there are some wonderfully creative ways to finance a business purchase regardless of your financial position, however, in smaller deals these generally play less of a role.

Second, if there is someone else who shares your financial picture (i.e. a spouse or partner), you need to have them completely on board so that when the time comes for you to write a check together, there won’t be any surprises.

Third, and most importantly, by completing this simple task, you will put yourself in a much better position against other interested buyers on those businesses that you can afford to acquire.

Presented By Dwight Lester, Performance Business Brokers, Edmonton Alberta