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1. Brokers know the local market. Business brokers assist in numerous business sales, typically in one particular area. A broker will help you with your valuation so that you’re competitive, and they will position your business as unique in the local market.
2. Brokers find the right buyer. One of the most important aspects of selling a business involves finding someone who wants to buy it. A broker is familiar with local business owners who may be interested in diversifying by adding your business. They also work to promote your business to those who are best suited to run a business like yours.
3. Brokers can devote their time to selling your business. If you try to sell your business on your own, you’ll be working to sell it while running your business. Hiring a business broker allows you to devote the proper amount of time to the business sale.
4. Brokers offer a database of many businesses. These databases draw potential buyers, exposing your business to a wider range of buyers than you could on your own.
5. Brokers pre-screen buyers. Through a series of interviews and screenings, a broker will help ensure that you don’t waste your time with unqualified buyers. A broker will interview a buyer to make sure funding is available and that their interests align with your business.
6. Brokers maintain confidentiality. During a business sale, a broker will provide a confidentiality agreement to protect your business. In most cases, you don’t want employees, customers, suppliers, or vendors knowing about the sale before the time is right. Confidentiality ensures that your day-to-day operations are not affected by listing your business for sale.
7. Brokers work as the buffer during negotiations. As you go back and forth on terms with the buyer, a broker will be your buffer. You’ll likely have to work with the buyer after the sale for a period of training, so you’ll want to keep that relationship intact and let your broker do the negotiating.
8. Brokers help with paperwork. The paperwork can be overwhelming during a business sale. A broker will work to make sure the right paperwork is completed on time.
9. Brokers will get you the most profitable price. Along with properly valuing your business, a broker will make sure you get the most profitable selling price by working with qualified interested buyers and making the most of the negotiations.
10. Brokers coordinate closing requirements. During a business sale, there are many interested parties, from attorneys, title companies, lenders, insurance companies, and more. A broker will work to coordinate this process.

Women-owned businesses have had a major impact on the U.S. economic recovery since the recession of 2007 – 2009. A report from Womanable and American Express OPEN’s 2016 State of Women-Owned Businesses shows that there have been 1,072 net women-owned businesses started each day in the U.S. since 2007. Women-owned businesses have grown at a rate that is five times the national average for the last 9 years (9% increase of total businesses vs. 45% of women-owned businesses). Florida ranks first among the top 10 states to show the quickest rate of growth in women-owned businesses!

Additional information can be found in the article by Heidi Travis:

http://www.ballingerpublishing.com/the-economic-impact-of-women-run-businesses-in-escambia-county/

Many know that Walton County is the fastest growing county in Florida right now. What many people may not know is that the rural area of Freeport could become the hotspot of Walton County. State Rep. Brad Drake, state Senator George Gainer and Freeport Mayor Russ Barley have discussed the town’s future and believe that the area could nearly triple in size in 10 years from 6,000 to 15,000.

In the article “Officials Foresee Economic Boom in Freeport”, Rep. Drake says, “South Walton is a very attractive choice because of the beaches, and Freeport is equally as attractive with the pristine waterways, the Choctawhatchee Bay and all the special tributaries that we have that make our area uniquely beautiful.” Many South Walton visitors learn about the area when they travel through the gateway of Freeport on the newly expanded 4 lanes of Hwy. 331.

Freeport’s master-planned community of Hammock Bay continues to grow. They house almost 4,000 of Freeport’s 6,000 residents. The development of three new subdivisions and an apartment complex are also underway. Several national stores and restaurants have opened in Freeport in the last 2 years. Freeport’s infrastructure is also growing and improving. Freeport is upgrading its wastewater treatment plant with 14 million dollars in grant money. The future definitely looks bright for Freeport and Walton County.

For more information, read the article by Nathan Cobb.

https://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/20190623/officials-foresee-economic-boom-in-freeport

If you are a business owner and you are considering selling your business, what are you looking for in a business intermediary? Interview your candidates and have them walk you through their process and approach. Ask about their experience in selling businesses, and about the businesses in your industry. How do they target the buyers for your business? Will you be comfortable working through the marketing and due diligence process with them?

When selling your business consider who will be answering the following questions that Brent Beshore asks in his article, “Should You Hire an M&A Advisor to Sell Your Business?”

• Who will source and vet potential buyers? (phone calls, buyer/seller meetings & site visits)
• Who will gather the history of my business including detailed financials, customer and vendor contracts, employment and real estate agreements and legal actions.
• Who will negotiate the deal? (the letter of intent, due diligence and final paperwork.)
• Who will keep me emotionally in check during this whole process?
• Who will be proactively pushing the deal forward on my side?

If you’ve never completed a transaction like this from the selling side, you might want to consider engaging an experienced and knowledgeable intermediary. Emerald Coast Business Intermediaries would like to sit down and discuss an exit strategy with you.

For more information, click on the following article:

Should You Hire an M&A Advisor to Sell Your Business?

Brian Mazar, from Louisville, Kentucky and a friend of our Manager/Broker, Jeff Moody, discusses the key points that business owners need to address before selling their business. In his article for Divestopedia titled “When is the Best Time to Sell My Business?”, Brian recommends how to prepare for the sale of your business by building market value and improving cash flow.

Even in a strong national economy, owners need to build market value by doing the following:
     * Have clean and verifiable financial statements for the last 3 years
     * Have SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) documented and in place
     * Resolve and eliminate liabilities or liens
     * Make sure company equipment and the facility are maintained and in good operating
       condition              
     * Secure key employees with employment agreements
     * Eliminate non-contributing employees
     * Have a management team that can operate without the current owner
     * Add more customers to your base if you are relying on 1-2 large customers
Improve cash flow:
     * Reduce unnecessary inventory
     * Collect outstanding receivables
     * Renegotiate key supply contracts with more favorable terms
     * Reduce personal adjustments on income statements
     * Make sure financial controls are established

These recommendations are vital to allow potential buyers to see your business in the best possible light and help you to get the sale price you want.

For more information: https://www.divestopedia.com/2/4648/pre-sale/preparation/when-is-the-best-time-to-sell-my-business

We wanted to let you know that all of our team is safe, and our offices were undamaged in the largest hurricane to ever make landfall in the Florida Panhandle. At the same time we are asking for your prayers and support of our friends to the East in Panama City, Mexico Beach, Apalachicola and inland up through the panhandle and into Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas and beyond. Hurricane Michael was a tremendously powerful storm that caused massive destruction all along its track. Our area is strong, already helping with Hurricane Michael relief, and will come back stronger than ever. Please join us in helping the rebuilding efforts on the Northern Florida Gulf Coast and beyond.

Let us know if we can help you find or sell a business in this wonderful area.

The value of a business is not solely based on the accumulation of its tangible assets that can include equipment, machinery or buildings (a physical property with value). Many times, more than 50% of the value of a business is attributed to intangible assets and goodwill (not physical by nature). A business is valued by its ability to produce cash flow steadily. The goodwill value reduces the risk that a business’ profitability will stumble if the ownership changes hands.

Some important contributors to goodwill are:

Reputation                                        Brand name recognition

Websites & domain names            Trade Secrets & recipes

Customer & supplier lists               Copyrights, trademarks & patents

Licenses & permits                          Contracts

Production/Order Backlog             Accreditations

Developed processes                      Proprietary designs & know-how

Customized software                      Step-by-step training systems

Customized databases                    Publishes articles

Employee skills & experience

All of these powerful assets of goodwill add to the revenue producing ability of a business. Sometimes buyers don’t understand the value of goodwill because it is not an asset that they can always put their hands on. It is important to define the goodwill of a business when determining its value.

For more detailed information on Goodwill, please read the following article:

https://www.divestopedia.com/how-goodwill-impacts-business-value/2/1090?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_medium=best&utm_source=08082018