Category Archives: Selling a business

Too Busy to Do Business

Posted on April 24, 2016 by John F. Dini

Another tax filing season has passed, and the entire US accounting profession comes up for air. Of course, thousands of businesses and individuals have filed for extensions, thereby postponing the pain of calculating their final numbers for anywhere from a … Continue Reading →

Posted in Exit Options, Exit Planning, Leadership, Life After, Politics and Regulation, Selling a business, Strategy and Planning | Tagged business, business brokerage, business ownership, business strategy, economy, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, financial, management, politics, selling a business, small business, small business advice | 4 Comments

What is the Right Price?

Posted on March 20, 2016 by John F. Dini

Of all the misconceptions by business owners, the ones surrounding their company’s value are both the most common and often wildly inaccurate. I’ve been working for the last couple of months on the training videos for advisors in our new product, The ExitMap®. … Continue Reading →

Posted in Building Value, Exit Options, Exit Planning, Exit Strategies, Selling a business, Strategy and Planning | Tagged Baby Boomers, Boomer Bust, business, business brokerage, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, exit planning, exit strategies, financial, management, sales, selling a business, small business, small business advice | Leave a comment

The Seventh Entrepreneurial Sin — Pride

Posted on March 6, 2016 by John F. Dini

Every business owner should be proud of his or her business. If you are the founder, you built every system, and probably landed the biggest customers. If you bought the business, you took what was in place and made it … Continue Reading →

Posted in Building Value, Customer Relations, Entrepreneurship, Exit Planning, Leadership, Managing Employees, Marketing and Sales, Selling a business, Strategy and Planning | Tagged business ownership, business strategy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, exit planning, exit strategies, hiring, leadership, management, new business, small business, small business advice | Leave a comment

Is Your Business in the “Neutral Zone?”

Posted on November 22, 2015 by John F. Dini

As Baby Boomers business owners approach retirement (the youngest of them turned 50 this year) they face a unique challenge. The market for small businesses is increasingly a buyer’s smorgasbord A shrinking middle-aged population, corporate competition for talent and less interest … Continue Reading →

Posted in Building Value, Entrepreneurship, Exit Options, Exit Planning, Exit Strategies, Leadership, Selling a business, Strategy and Planning | Tagged Baby Boomers, Boomer Bust, business brokerage, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, economy, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, exit planning, exit strategies, leadership, selling a business, small business, small business advice | 2 Comments

Companies Sell for a Multiple of…What?

Posted on September 6, 2015 by John F. Dini

Last week we discussed the difference between Main Street and Mid-market companies regarding their prospects for finding a buyer. You can read it here, but the short analysis is that the market is tightening for Main Street businesses, while the … Continue Reading →

Posted in Economic Trends, Entrepreneurship, Exit Planning, Selling a business, Strategy and Planning | Tagged Baby Boomers, Boomer Bust, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, employee performance, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, exit planning, exit strategies, financial, leadership, management, selling a business, small business advice | 5 Comments

Owners Live in Two Different Worlds

Posted on August 30, 2015 by John F. Dini

Business owners live in two different worlds. If you are a Baby Boomer, the title of this column might bring memories of any one of the many covers of the song by the same name. (Everyone from Nat King Cole to … Continue Reading →

Posted in Building Value, Economic Trends, Entrepreneurship, Exit Options, Exit Planning, Exit Strategies, Selling a business, Strategy and Planning, Top Blog Posts | Tagged Baby Boomers, Boomer Bust, business, business brokerage, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, economy, entrepreneurship, exit planning, exit strategies, leadership, management, selling a business, small business, small business advice | 1 Comment

Selling Your Business in a Buyer’s Market

Posted on June 7, 2015 by John F. Dini

For almost ten years I’ve been writing and speaking about the issues facing Baby Boomer business owners as they begin a flood of small business sales. This recent article was syndicated in 16 trade and professional magazines. I reprint it … Continue Reading →

Posted in Business Perspectives, Economic Trends, Entrepreneurship, Exit Options, Exit Planning, Selling a business, Strategy and Planning | Tagged Baby Boomers, Boomer Bust, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, exit planning, exit strategies, management, selling a business, small business, small business advice | 3 Comments

Money is Only Money

Posted on April 19, 2015 by John F. Dini

Last week I discussed the general parameters of the private equity market for small and midsized businesses. A rational look at the number of “funds” active in the market, measured against the number of legitimate candidates for investment or acquisition, … Continue Reading →

Posted in Building Value, Entrepreneurship, Exit Options, Exit Planning, Selling a business, Strategy and Planning | Tagged business ownership, business planning, business strategy, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, exit planning, exit strategies, small business, small business advice | Leave a comment

Does Investment Capital Make Sense for Your Business?

Posted on April 12, 2015 by John F. Dini

In the business acquisition world, deals where a seller keeps some equity for a future round of merger or acquisition activity is generally known as getting a “second bite of the apple.” Private Equity Groups (PEG), of which some 5,000 currently operate … Continue Reading →

Posted in Business Perspectives, Economic Trends, Exit Planning, Selling a business, Strategy and Planning | Tagged business, business brokerage, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, economy, entrepreneurship, exit planning, exit strategies, selling a business, small business advice | Leave a comment

Investing in Your Own Business: Will It Pay Off?

Posted on January 11, 2015 by John F. Dini

A few months ago a business owner asked me to evaluate an acquisition offer for his small business. It was from a larger company headquartered in a different region of the country. They had a branch operation in his city, and wanted to expand … Continue Reading →

Posted in Building Value, Business Perspectives, Economic Trends, Entrepreneurship, Exit Options, Exit Planning, Life After, Selling a business, Strategy and Planning | Tagged Boomer Bust, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, exit planning, exit strategies, financial, selling a business, small business, small business advice | Leave a comment

How Can You Sell a Business to a Buyer Who’s Broke?

Posted on November 23, 2014 by John F. Dini

According to a recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank, over half (52%) of Americans could not pay for a $400 car repair without borrowing. We can assume that most of these folks would not be legitimate prospects to purchase … Continue Reading →

Posted in Business Perspectives, Economic Trends, Exit Planning, Selling a business, Strategy and Planning | Tagged Baby Boomers, banks, Boomer Bust, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, entrepreneurship, exit planning, exit strategies, small business advice | 3 Comments

The Luxury of No Resources

Posted on November 9, 2014 by John F. Dini

Among the Baby Boomer business owners who are beginning to plan their retirement, there are millions who founded the companies they plan to sell. Many of these were technicians when they started. They began as employees, and then used their … Continue Reading →

Posted in Business Perspectives, Exit Planning, Selling a business, Strategy and Planning | Tagged Baby Boomers, Boomer Bust, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, entrepreneurship, exit planning, exit strategies, hiring, management, selling a business, small business advice | Leave a comment