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Use the following criteria to separate the serious buyers from window-shoppers. (Add up plus points, subtract minus points. The serious buyer will rate a 6 or above.) Minus Point Factors -4 needs outside financing (excluding home equity) -4 been looking for 6 months or more -3 no available cash -3...

It has always been the American Dream to be independent and in control of one’s own destiny. Owning your own business is the best way to meet that goal.  Many people dream about owning their own business, but when it gets right down to it,...

Deals fall apart for many reasons – some reasonable, others unreasonable. For example: • The seller doesn’t have all his financials up to date. • The seller doesn’t have his legal/environmental/administrative affairs up to date. • The buyer can’t come up with the necessary financing. • The well known “surprise” surfaces causing the deal...

Your first question may be, “Just what is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?” We see CSR demonstrated in a variety of ways in areas such as: THE COMMUNITY: o Contributing to local community programs through financial support and personal involvement THE ENVIRONMENT: o Using packaging and containers that are environmentally-friendly o Recycling o Using...

Personal Goodwill has always been a fascinating subject, impacting the sale of many small to medium-sized businesses – and possibly even larger companies. How is personal goodwill developed? An individual starts a business and, during the process, builds one or more of the following: • A positive...

Mass Mutual Life Insurance Company provided the following survey results based on family-owned businesses. Although the survey was conducted several years ago, the results are still quite revealing, and still applicable. • Four out of five companies are still controlled by the founders. • 30% of family-owned companies will...

New accounting rules may require that acquirers and acquiring companies report earnout agreements as liabilities. Joel Johnson, president of Orchard Partners Inc., in his article, “Earnouts,” published by Valuation Strategies, states: "In a given year, 2% - 3% of announced mergers and acquisition agreements involve earnouts. ...