Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 8A
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY
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Steps to making the biggest sale of your career
When it comes time to sell
your business, take as much
care as when you were build
ing it; Here’s how to craft a
plan to help increase your
chances of coming out on top.
Anyone who has ever gone
through the arduous task of
building a business from
scratch knows how trying it
can be. But given how difficult
it can be to create a thriving
business — not to mention the
fact that much of an owner’s
wealth may be tied up in the
company — it is surprising
how little time many people
devote to selling it.
' it You can’t look it like
at
jiQu’re selling a stock,” said
fvennetb A. Preston, Clinical
Rrofessor of Management and
Entrepreneurship at New York
University’s Stern School of
Business. “You can’t decide in
the morning that you want to
sell and in 10 minutes have it
sold.
Preston and other experts
counsel taking anywhere from
six months to two years to set
up the sale of your business,
Crafting a plan that makes sure
your financial and other objec
fives are met by the time you
actually sell could make a big
difference in your long-term
financial health.
What’s it worth?
The plan’s complexity
depends on a wide array of
factors, among them the type
and size of your business. A
software company with 100
employees is very different
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS — Sunday, August 10,2008
from an import-export opera
tion run by three family mem
bers. That said, there are cer
tain steps that can help any
business owner prepare for a
successful sale.
,
Be the buyer
Put yourself in the buyer’s
position. What are buyers
looking for? “Is there some
continuation of management?
Do the books look good? Does
the cash flow look good? Is it
low-risk and not highly lever
aged?” says Tom Ogburn Jr.,
the director of the Family
Business Center at Wake
Forest University’s Babcock
School of Management. “Does
it have curb appeal? A lot of
times it’s like selling a house. »■>
Look inward
Next, get a realistic valua
tion of your business, prefer
ably from a respected outside
source. Understanding what
your company is worth well
before starting a search for
potential buyers will put you
in a stronger position to evalu
ate offers when they do come
in.
Your presale strategy also
should include answering
important personal questions,
such as how much involve
ment you’d like to have in the
business after the sale. This
can be a particularly vexing
issue for the founders of corn
panies, who have so much per
sonally invested in the busi
ness. Keep in mind that attach
ing strings can lower the sale
STOCK MARKET UPDATE
MARKET IN BRIEF At the close of Aug. 8,2008 Branch John PIM M. Weaver Portfolio Manager
Manager,
DOW S&P 500 NASDAQ 210 Dahlonega St., Wachovia
-302.89 Close: +30.25 Close; Close: Cuttiming, GA Securities
11,734.32 1,296.32 +58.37 2,414.10 (678) 455-0016
Financial Network
Stocks of local interest
Sign Stock Last Change
ATG AGL Resources 33.14 + 0.12
DELL Dell Computer 25.00 + 0.01
DAL Delta Air Lines 9.12 +0.33
F Ford Motor Co. 5.26 -0.40
GM General Motors 10.03 - 0.86
HD Home Depot 27.98 +0.28
1NTC Intel Corp. 24.23 +0.56
KO Coca-Cola Co. 55.41 +1.40
MCD McDonald’s Corp. 65.67 +3.81
price or even scuttle the deal.
“The cleanest thing is just
to sell and walk away. Chances
are, if you want to maintain
control, you’re not going to sell
the business,” says Stan
Mandel, Executive Director of
the Angell Center for
Entrepreneurship at Babcock,
... Nobody wants a minority
interest in a closely held com
"
pany.
A clean break isn’t always
possible, especially if it’s a
family-owned business and
other family members want to
keep working at the company.
On the other hand, the buyers
of a company often want man
agement to stay on indefinitely
— it may be what attracted
them to the company in the
first place — or at least for a
period of time after the sale,
“Planning to stay on for six
months to a year is not unusu
al,” said Preston. Business
founders should be well aware
of this possibility because it
may put them in the position of
running their company without
having full control, which is a
difficult proposition for some,
Ask for help
Ultimately, many business
owners sell because they’re
reaching retirement age and
want to use their company to
secure their financial future.
Getting a good price is certain¬
ly part of that equation — but
so, too, is preparing for the tax
and estate planning issues that
arise from a sale. That’s why
Ogburn strongly suggests
involving an accountant,
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Sign Stock Last Change
MSFT Microsoft 28.13 +0.74
PEP Pepsico Inc. 69.35 +1.40
RF Regions Financial 9.64 +0.17
SGMS Scientific Games 31.80 +1.23
SO Southern Co. 36.57 +1.24
T AT&T 30.97 + 0.66
TSN Tyson Foods 16.31 +0.48
UPS United Parcel Service 65.70 +2.44
WMT Wal-Mart Stores Inc. 57.86 +0.90
Information has been obtained from sources believed to be
reliable, but its accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed.
lawyer, and your financial
advisor early in the process.
With the help of your team,
you can establish a plan for
selling the business on the
most favorable terms.
Given the effort you’ve
made to build the business, it is
worth making an equally seri¬
ous effort when the time
-sjk.
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with Installation!
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Yard
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All About
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comes to sell it.
Provided by John M.
Weaver, senior financial advi¬
sor, and PIM portfolio manager
with Wachovia Securities
Financial Network, located at
210 Dahlonega St., Suite 103
A, Cumming, GA. For more
information, call John Weaver
at (678) 455-0016.
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