Sell Your Business Without Losing Your Shirt
Prepare to Sell Your Business on Great Terms with Less Stress

In his forthcoming book, Rex Cattanach shares a time-tested process for selling your privately-owned business on great terms. This book will reveal: Why Many Businesses are Undervalued, Surprising Ways You Can Increase Value Before You Sell, The Heart of Great Deals, How to Negotiate a Sale on Great Terms, Working with Advisors and Brokers

Sell Your Business WIthout Losing Your Shirt

Why does one profitable manufacturing company sell for 5 times multiple of earnings and another company with similar revenue and products sell for 40 percent less? Can the difference in value be explained only by differences in operating profit or product segment?

Why do most businesses offered for sale not sell and most buyers never close on a purchase? Are the unsuccessful offerings overpriced, as many buyers insist, or are other causes at work?

Answers to these questions are more predicable, and the results more manageable, than most business owners realize.

Having participated in hundreds of business negotiations, performance evaluations and operating systems improvement projects over 25 years, I've learned many brokers and authors advising on small and lower middle-market business sales have missed key elements of what it takes to value, position and sell a company on good terms. For example:

  • Many businesses and professional practices have much higher value than financial statements indicate, yet owners can't support this higher value;

  • Selling a business is a process with predictable phases and checkpoints. The better the process, the better the result for sellers;

  • Basing selling values only on financial results (sales and profit) discounts the importance of having transferable operating methods in the business;

  • There has been a dearth of ideas for using seller financing in ways that give confidence to buyer, sellers and lenders. Many lending practices, such as SBA loan restrictions on seller earn-out provisions, are misguided;

  • Business owners resist selling during periods of growth and seldom use phase-out exit strategies that might be beneficial;

  • Business sales are, of course, situational. Transactions always come down to people situations, and the better the owner is prepared the better you will define your market and price when selling.

    My purpose in writing this book is to describe in easy-to-read terms techniques and tips that, if applied, will give you an edge in your deal and lessen or eliminate weaknesses in your business that will insulate you from selling too low or not being able to sell at all (the fate of most small businesses).

    I hope to prepare you for what should be a satisfying and rewarding exit from your business.

    • INBUSINESS® is a bi-weekly publication written for small business owners and their advisors.

    It features expert advice for valuing, selling or buying a privately-owned business or professional practice, and for positioning your business to sell on great terms with less risk.

    INBUSINESS® is written in an easy-to-read style and presents some of the most forward-thinking ideas in business by successful entrepreneurs.

    Our goal is to be among the most recognized, respected sources for continuous learning in small and lower middle-market business sales.