How To Buy And/Or Sell a Small Business for MaximuM Profit
A Step-by-Step Guide
REVISED 2nd Edition
By Ren V. Richards
Updated by Constance H. Marse
HOW TO BUY AND/OR SELL A SMALL BUSINESS FOR MAXIMUM PROFIT A Step-by-Step Guide REVISED 2ND EDITION
Copyright 2013 by Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
1210 SW 23rd Place Ocala, Florida 34474
800-814-1132 Fax: 352-622-5836
Web site: www.atlantic-pub.com
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SAN Number: 268-1250
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be sent to Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc., 1210 SW 23rd Place, Ocala, Florida 34474.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Richards, Ren V., 1965-
How to buy and or sell a small business for maximum profit : a
step-by-step guide / Ren V. Richards.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-60138-932-9 (alk. paper)
1. Sale of small businesses. 2. Business enterprises--Purchasing. 3.
Small business. I. Title.
HD62.7.R535 2006
658.164--dc22
2006013810
LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.
A few years back we lost our beloved pet dog Bear, who was not only our best and dearest friend but also the Vice President of Sunshine here at Atlantic Publishing. He did not receive a salary but worked tirelessly 24 hours a day to please his parents.
Bear was a rescue dog who turned around and showered myself, my wife, Sherri, his grandparents Jean, Bob, and Nancy, and every person and animal he met (well, maybe not rabbits) with friendship and love. He made a lot of people smile every day.
We wanted you to know a portion of the profits of this book will be donated in Bears memory to local animal shelters, parks, conservation organizations, and other individuals and nonprofit organizations in need of assistance.
Douglas and Sherri Brown
PS: We have since adopted two more rescue dogs: first Scout, and the following year, Ginger. They were both mixed golden retrievers who needed a home.
Want to help animals and the world? Here are a dozen easy suggestions you and your family can implement today:
- Adopt and rescue a pet from a local shelter.
- Support local and no-kill animal shelters.
- Plant a tree to honor someone you love.
- Be a developer put up some birdhouses.
- Buy live, potted Christmas trees and replant them.
- Make sure you spend time with your animals each day.
- Save natural resources by recycling and buying recycled products.
- Drink tap water, or filter your own water at home.
- Whenever possible, limit your use of or do not use pesticides.
- If you eat seafood, make sustainable choices.
- Support your local farmers market.
- Get outside. Visit a park, volunteer, walk your dog, or ride your bike.
Five years ago, Atlantic Publishing signed the Green Press Initiative. These guidelines promote environmentally friendly practices, such as using recycled stock and vegetable-based inks, avoiding waste, choosing energy-efficient resources, and promoting a no-pulping policy. We now use 100-percent recycled stock on all our books. The results: in one year, switching to post-consumer recycled stock saved 24 mature trees, 5,000 gallons of water, the equivalent of the total energy used for one home in a year, and the equivalent of the greenhouse gases from one car driven for a year.
Preface
Business owners invariably will tell you that owning your own business is one of the most challenging and rewarding positions you will ever hold. Would they do it again? Some would. Some would not.
As for me, I now delight in occupying the spectators chair. Just as the athlete retires to the role of sports commentator and no longer actively participates in the sport, I have found an undeniable satisfaction in watching from the sidelines, evaluating, discussing, and analyzing. There is no greater joy
for me than to observe a beginner in the game.
The zeal for success and the gleam of desire are always a part of a beginning players attire.
I have participated in more business ventures than I care to recount; and at the end of the day, I was as much in love with the idea of the business as I had been at the beginning. I hope this book will serve as inspiration as well as guidance for the novice entrepreneur who is embarking on the journey of a lifetime.
Foreword
One of the most challenging and rewarding steps that an individual can take towards fulfilling the dream of financial and creative freedom is to start, buy, or operate their own business. The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, but that first step can be an overwhelming challenge without the knowledge you need to complete the journey.
Business ownership is one of those tremendously rewarding, yet often overwhelming journeys. Locating the information you will need to make the journey a success is often quite difficult and time consuming. This book provides the reader with the information necessary to take an idea from conception to completion in a successful and self-satisfying journey.
One of the most important steps an individual will take begins with an examination of self; readers that use the information in this publication will find that they already have taken the first step to success and have the necessary tools at their fingertips to successfully finish.
In my position as vice president of human resources, I am in contact with individuals of every description and within every discipline that cause me to address the following issues most frequently. How does the organization:
1.Implement and manage change,
2.Design the organization to be the most efficient,
3.Develop people in order to achieve business goals, and
4.Determine the metrics by which success should be measured.
These issues are essential to achieve sustained business growth and plan for future expansion. This publication provides one of the most effective methods for managing not only the business, but the resources necessary for success and evaluating the business for potential profitability.
Denise Starcher, MBA, SPHR, is currently the vice president of human resources for the Latin American division of U.S.-based global leader that protects and optimizes critical infrastructure for data centers, communications networks, health care, and industrial facilities. An innovative HR professional with expertise in change management, organizational effectiveness, employee relations, compensation and benefits, and training and development, for the past 18 years, she has focused on enabling organizations to achieve sustained business growth while embracing change. She holds an MBA in general management from Georgia State University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.
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