When To Sell Your Business

The question is often asked:  When is the best time to sell my business? The answer is simple:  the best time to sell your business is when both your business and market conditions are strong. Selling your business at this time will allow you to realize the greatest value from the sale. Market conditions are considered strong when there are more buyers than sellers actively pursuing businesses similar to yours.  Despite occasional negative conditions, it is often the case that market conditions are strong for the green industries. Two of the factors that most influence market conditions are availability of financing to business … Read more

Adding Retail Garden Center Component to Landscaping Business Can Makes Lots of Sense

From Garden Center Magazine  Read it all here. Brian Benson, the 32-year-old owner of Urban Thickets & Landscaping in Madison Township, Ohio, has moved his landscaping design and maintenance company into a former car dealership building, JournalNews.com reported. After investing $300,000 to purchase the building and new equipment there, he plans to open a garden center April 16. Due to some cutbacks from customers who can’t afford to do as much landscaping in this economy, Benson and his team of Sutton landscaping experts said they figured a new garden center in an area where there is not a lot of competition … Read more

Seller Financing in Business Sales: Don’t Rule It Out Completely if You Want to Get your Deal Done

Hardly any business sellers start out planning on providing part or all of the financing for the sale of a business.  However, seller financing is very common among green industry and other small businesses today. Despite most sellers’ hesitance to provide seller financing, it is very common.   In a recent survey of business brokers, brokers reported that sellers provided over half of the financing in 40% of the transactions closed in the last year. One reason that seller financing must be considered is that it may affect  the price that a business will sell for as well as the length … Read more

SBA Stimulus Program Extended Again on a Short-Term Basis

The fee waiver and expanded guaranty levels for SBA 7(a) loans have once again been extended, this time until March 28.  New approvals begin March 10.  Efforts continue to extend the stimulus benefits through the end of 2010. Here is the full release: WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama signed legislation Tuesday extending until March 28 the U.S. Small Business Administration’s ability to provide small business loans that are enhanced with special provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), including a higher guarantee of SBA-backed loans and a waiver of loan fees normally paid by borrowers. SBA estimates the … Read more