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Florida’s Emerald Coast Offers More Than a Great Tourist Destination

There is no doubt that the Emerald Coast of Florida is a beautiful place to visit and enjoy a vacation. The area continually wins major travel accolades for Best Beaches/Parks, Best Family Vacations, Best Inns/Hotels and Emerging Destinations. The area is also the home to several top military bases as well as defense and cybersecurity businesses. A lot of retiring and separating military members choose to live in the area for the beauty as well as a vast array of employment opportunities.

In the last few years, the Panhandle counties and cities have been developing several new commerce and business parks. The exciting growth includes a new business park development in Walton County. The NW Florida Commerce Park is one mile south of DeFuniak Springs. The Walton County Economic Development Agency has already contracted with three businesses to be located in the park. One business is a truss manufacturer, the second is a manufactured home business, and the third is a drone manufacturer.

Milton, FL in Santa Rosa County, has a new aviation park that is almost finished with phase one construction. The Whiting Aviation Park, which is adjacent to Naval Air Station Whiting Field, has announced that its first official tenant will be the international aerospace company, Leonardo. Leonardo will be building a 100,000 SF customer support center.

In Bay County, outside of Panama City, Latitude Margaritaville Watersound’s 55+ retirement community has just opened its sales center and 13 model homes. The community will have a town center with sports areas, pool, a community service center, amphitheater and a restaurant. Other future businesses will be developed outside the main entrance. The NW Florida Beaches International Airport is an easy ride from the community allowing easy access for travel for both locals and visitors.

Come visit the Emerald Coast and see what we have to offer for living, working and playing. Be your own boss!

Positive Happenings for the Emerald Coast in 2020 and the Future!

2020 has been a tough year to navigate, but the Emerald Coast of Florida has had numerous opportunities, developments and accolades of which to be proud of. The Florida Panhandle is not only known as a beautiful paradise that has become a huge tourist destination, it is also the home to top defense and cybersecurity businesses. The area has also worked to develop advanced educational and leadership institutes for school-aged children through working adults.

These are just a few of the developments and accolades that the Emerald Coast has achieved recently.

Educational Opportunities & Accolades

  1.  3 in the top 9 of “Best Florida School Districts” named by Niche.com

2. Continued Advancement in Innovative Education and STEM/STEAM Education with:

Hsu Educational Foundation in Okaloosa County

Magnet Innovation Center in Walton County

STEM Institute FSU Panama City

Studer Community Institute in Pensacola  (just to name a few)

  1. Future Parks near Eglin Air Force Base will provide internships for future graduates in the defense industry.
  2. Walton Work Center of Excellence will be the home to 10 new workforce programs at the DeFuniak Springs NW Florida State College campus. Programs will include cybersecurity, drone technology, public safety and building trades.

Defense Developments

Eglin Air Force Base is building a new multi-facility that will include an advanced munitions complex, research workspace and a cybersecurity test group facility.

Tourism Accolades and new Excursion

  1. 3 in the top 13 of “Top 25 US Beaches” named by Trip Advisor
  2. Panama City will be a new Port of Call for Viking Cruises in the future

Cares Act 2 (Updated Information)

SBA 7(a) New Acquisition Loans-

The SBA will:

*increase the loan guarantee to lenders from 75% to 90%.

*waive guarantee fees to all borrowers until Sept. 30, 2021.

*pay principal and interest payments on behalf of borrowers for 3 months, capping the payments at $9,000/month on loans approved between Feb. 1, 2021 and Sept. 30, 2021

Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Round 2

*Loan amounts are still 2.5x monthly payroll costs, but capped at $2 million.

*Eligibility for a second loan – the business must have experienced a 25% or more drop in revenue in Q1, Q2, or Q3 of 2020 over the same period in 2019.

*PPP loans are not taxable and not considered income.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What You Need to Know About Small Business Loans

Consumersadvocate.org has a great article that discusses the 3 types of small business lenders and then analyzes their top picks for online lenders.

SBA-Backed Loans are considered the safest type of small business loans since they are government-backed. The SBA provides a guarantee of up to 85% for loans under $150,000 and 75% for loans over $150,000. This reduces the risk for lenders and raises the borrower’s chances of getting approved for lower interest rates and longer repayment terms. These loans can be very hard to get approved.

Brick-and-Mortar Lenders generally have the lowest interest rates. They do have more strict qualifications regarding a business’ credit score, time in business, and annual revenue. The funding time is often longer.

Online Lenders offer a simpler application system. They fund the loan itself, usually with an underwriting financial institution that backs the loan. Their interest rates may be higher. Some online lenders do offer SBA-backed loans.

Read the following article: Best Small Business Loans Based on In-Depth Reviews to see consumersadvocate.org’s top 13 online lenders (after researching dozens of lenders) and the types of loans that these lenders serve:

*Short-term Loans

*Long-term loans

*Line of Credit

*Accounts Receivable Financing

*Merchant Cash Advance

*Equipment Financing

Once a business owner decides the type of loan that they will need, it is best to write out a business plan or loan proposal and review your credit score and history before you select lenders that you want to approach.

Consumersadvocate.org recommends that you always compare a minimum of 3 different lenders to get the best loan offer. Besides looking at the loan offer’s interest rate, look at the origination fee, factor rates, guarantee fee, underwriting fee and application fee.

This article is full of great information regarding types of lenders, types of loans and research on many online lenders that is invaluable for the small business owner!

 

Business Intermediaries in Panama City, Mobile, Pensacola and surrounding areas. Earn what you are worth!

Commissioned Salespeople/Business Sales.

Emerald Coast Business Intermediaries is providing a new level of service for those looking to sell and buy businesses on the Florida and Alabama Gulf Coast and throughout South Alabama and the Florida panhandle area. We work both Main Street and Lower Middle Market M&A Deals. Those selected for career training should be located within two hours of our Destin, Florida corporate office, and must have, or be able to quickly obtain a Florida or Alabama real estate sales license. Training will be a combination of live, online and follow up mentoring from our manager/broker with 25 years of experience. He is one of 2 Certified Business Intermediaries in our market. The next closest ones are in New Orleans and Jacksonville.

Helping people sell their business (and getting paid very well to do it)….

Helping people sell and buy businesses is a REAL career with the opportunity for unlimited income. With millions of baby boomers approaching retirement age, the United States is in the initial stage of what is expected to be the greatest wave of business transitions in American history. This is creating a growing demand for dedicated, professional business intermediaries.

Intermediary positions are available for mature professionals willing to learn the exciting and challenging field of business sales, mergers and acquisitions.

ECBI Team members are provided with superior training, an attractive compensation schedule, strong administrative support and extraordinary opportunities to reap the rewards of a professional financial career.

When selecting new members for our team (and we are very team oriented), we look for the traditional indicators of successful business intermediaries:

  • Maturity- at least 5 years of business experience
  • Initiative- a well-organized, well-planned self-starter
  • Creativity- development of solutions for complex business problems
  • Selling experience- prospecting for, qualifying and closing customers and sales
  • Business management or ownership- past entrepreneurial and management experience a plus
  • Education- college degree strongly preferred.
  • Background- management or financial consulting, or commercial/industrial real estate may be a plus.

No prior experience in mergers or business brokerage is required. The ECBI Team offers the resources and training to help our intermediaries succeed in what is for many a very lucrative career.

No phone calls please. Please reply with resume to **@ec*******.com

Federal Reserve’s Main Street Lending Will Be More Attractive

The Federal Reserve announced their new “sweeter” loan terms for Main Street Lending on June 8. This program will support up to $600 billion in new loans. A business that applies must show that it was in “good order” before the Covid-19 pandemic. Even if business owners received PPP loans, they are able to apply for these programs. The Fed will still support 3 lending facilities (one for new borrowers, a 2nd for borrowers that may have existing debt but lower fiscal needs, and the 3rd for borrowers with an existing loan/credit line with outsize fiscal needs). The Federal Reserve chair, Jerome H. Powell, wants to support small and midsize businesses as they reopen and rehire workers to aid America’s broad-based economic recovery.

The following are some of the new important changes to the Main Street Lending Program.

*Increased maximum loan size: Banks can now lend up to $35M or $50M in new loans. Up to $300M can be refinanced from an existing loan if a business’s total debt is below the threshold established from 2019 earnings. A business needs a minimum EBITDA of just under $42,000 from 2019 and no debt.

*Lowered minimum loan amounts: Minimum loan is now $250,000 (down from $500K) for 2 programs. The 3rd program has loans that begin at $10M.

*Repayment period is extended to 5 years (from 4 years). There will be 1 year with no interest and new rules will allow up to 2 years of deferred payments. Repayment terms will be standard across all 3 facilities.

*The Fed’s participation is raised to 95% for all loans and banks will only have 5% of a loan’s value on their books.

Main Street Loans also restrict executive compensation and businesses need to make every effort to retain their employees during the term of the loan. The Main Street Lending Program is funded with $75 billion in aid from the CARES Act.

The new loan terms will allow more creditworthy small and midsize businesses to receive funds to survive the pandemic challenges. This is great news for America’s businesses and will allow them to remain the backbone of America.

For more information:

The Fed’s Loan Program Just Got Sweeter

Virtual Due Diligence

One of the webinars from Business Brokerage Press on May 7, 2020 was Structuring Transactions Post-Coronavirus — COVID-19 Virtual Roundtable.  https://www.axial.net/forum/structuring-transactions-post-coronavirus-covid-19-virtual-roundtable/

The roundtable was led by Axial CEO, Peter Lehrman, and included 10 middle market deal professionals. Kristina Mayne, Director of Events for Axial, has written up notes from the webinar.

Here are a few questions and answers from the panel regarding virtual due diligence that are helpful for business sellers and buyers.

 How are perspectives on virtual diligence evolving?

  • It can be challenging but you can still check the four C’s of credit (capacity, character, collateral, cash flow) in a virtual environment.
  • It comes back to knowing the sponsor and spending enough time with management on the phone or video call and expanding your breadth of contact — you can still validate integrity in an old school way through a virtual format. Background checks are also imperative.

 How much diligence can be done virtually? Will you close a deal without meeting in person?

  • In person is critical — won’t submit any bid without meeting the management team several times.
  • Will perform diligence but not close without multiple in-person meetings. The assumption when submitting LOIs is that there will be multiple visits in person in June or July. Sitting across the table is a key part of relationship building and making sure everyone is aligned.
  • Sellers are offering virtual tours of plants in order to try to get deals done.
  • Most are assuming that it will be weeks before travel opens up, and counting on that to be able to get deals done.
  • It’s all about relationships right now — going back to people you know who you’ve worked with before rather than entertaining new vendors.

 New standards for environmental health and safety due diligence post-COVID   

  • SRP Environmental (an environmental, health and safety consultant) is being brought in to verify that manufacturing facilities are providing training and doing deep industrial cleaning for COVID. This has held up deals.
  • This work has replaced a lot of work they historically did in the oil and gas space.
  • This work will be a fundamental addition to due diligence for buyers of manufacturing facilities; also doing the work for office buildings, stadiums, and other facilities as everyone looks to open the economy. All the work has to be done on site.

Jeff Moody, CBI and managing intermediary for ECBI had this to add:

“While we have seen that many things can be accomplished virtually, the nature of a business transfer will require several in-person meetings. It is not like buying something online.”

 

10 Reasons Why You Should Hire a Broker When Selling Your Business

Transferring ownership of a business is complicated. If you go it alone, you can expect to spend a lot of time and energy on the process, or you can hire a business broker who will work alongside you to make sure the entire experience is well-executed. While every broker offers slightly different services, at Emerald Coast Business Intermediaries we work to make the business sale easy. Here are 10 benefits of hiring a broker when selling a business.

You Should Hire a Business Broker When Selling a Business Because…

  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.
So there you have it – a whopping 10 reasons why you should hire a broker when selling a business! So are you ready to contact one of our experienced advisors? If you’re ready to sell your business, let’s set up a confidential consultation today!Contact the Emerald Coast Teamto find you the perfect buyer for your business.

Florida is a Leader with Women Owned Businesses

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/