For Sale By Owner?

You’ve made the decision. You want to sell your business. Perhaps you are seeking a change in career or you’ve done your time and the golfing greens are calling your name. For whatever the reason, your business is up for a transfer in ownership and you hope to find the right buyer who will recognize the value of your business. Where do you start? With the advent of several online marketplaces, sites where you can reach a large number of buyers, do you need the assistance of an expert or can you do it yourself? Professional Business Brokers, also called business transfer agents or intermediaries, assist business owners to sell their businesses by matching screened buyers and streamlining the selling process. Sounds easy? Perhaps, if you have the time and the skill. But, consider what an effective business broker does:

- Values the business utilizing multiple methodologies, providing the most probable selling price for the current market
- Presents to prospective buyers the true value of the business through “normalization” of financials
- Assists with “presale” preparations, helping owners best position their business for sale
- Markets the business using newspaper & internet advertising, internal buyer lists, targeted solicitations and web advertising
- Adds a layer of confidentiality by advertising the business for sale without disclosing its identity
- Screens and qualifies buyers and/or strategic partners, creatively structuring the deal
- Helps keep a complex process legal—business brokers have contracts such as Letters of Intent, NDAs (Non Disclosure Agreements) and can often reduce the owners’ legal fees
- Manages the progress of “due diligence” investigation with lawyers and accountants, pivotal to a successful closing
- Negotiates with buyers and closes the deal

Sunbelt provides outstanding resources, expertise and people who are dedicated to the success of its clients. You are welcome to visit www.sunbeltnetwork.com/vancouverisland or our local website www.bcbusinessbroker.ca, or call 250-751-7917 to learn more about what our business brokers can do for you.

Our New Website Has Been Launched!

BC Business Brokers is an innovative, professional brokerage firm that specializes in the sale, transfer or merger of businesses. With affiliations worldwide our reach is global, but our real strength is in knowing our local markets.

Whether you are looking to sell your business or interested in buying a business, we encourage you to have a look through our website to discover the types of service and benefits you can expect as a BC Business Brokers client.

Please feel free to have a look around our new website. You will find all the information related to selling or buying a business, useful links and company details. And check out our businesses for sale pages featuring a diverse range of listings and other exciting investment opportunities.

Thank you for your visit and we look forward to hearing from you soon,

The BC Business Brokers Management Team

Cowichan Valley Toasts A Passionate Wine Lover

After 25 years in retail, the new owner of Wine Kitz in Duncan is no stranger to the winemaking industry.  His love for winemaking began in 2002 sparking an entrepreneurial passion for high quality wines. “I knew I fit in well in this industry,” says Mr. Ron Tanguay, who previously owned and operated two restaurants in Cambridge, Ontario. Since the inception of Wine Kitz in 1959, the franchise has been the leader in the consumer winemaking industry and today is one the world’s largest and most respected winemaking retailers. And that’s what motivated Mr. Tanguay to seriously explore a career opportunity in something he loved: wine.

BC's Economy is Looking Up

On April the 12th the government of British Columbia released a report revealing a number of interesting economic indicators. Overall the economic climate seems to be improving, below a list with some positive economic indicators can be found:

- Major construction project in B.C. hold strong

- Building permits on the rise

- 2010 first quarter housing starts doubles 2009 figure

- B.C. forecast to lead Canada in new home starts

- Conference board forecasts B.C. to lead Canada in growth in 2010

- B.C. to lead nation in job creation

- Vancouver's economic growth expected to lead Canadian cities

- Consumer confidence in B.C. up yet again

- Business confidence remains strong

- Vancouver a top city for international competitiveness

- B.C. continues to record strong population growth

- B.C.'s housing sales continue positive rebound

- B.C. remains a box office leader in film and TV production

- China grants Canada approved destination status

Source: BC Government Website, 2010

When to Sell a Business

Finding the right time to sell your business can prove to be quite a challenge. The following article shows a number of signs that indicate that it might be time to move on.

A survey of business activity nationwide shows that many sellers are taking advantage of the window of opportunity offered by today's favorable marketplace. In this recent survey, almost one-third of business owners responded that they are considering the sale of their business. The first question one might ask, given the relatively healthy financial climate, is WHY? Selling when times are good? The answer, for many sellers, can be a resounding YES! Here are some of the reasons why, followed by tips for getting the process started.

The Buyers Are Out There: The current economic upturn has depended to a great extent on trimming the corporate fat. Executives and middle managers out of work--and determined not to be "downsized" by big business again--are eyeing the advantages of being in business for themselves. Since 1990, the percentage has steadily grown of those corporate executives who leave jobs in order to become independent business owners. It isn't just the money they are dreaming of--it's the desire for more control over their lives.

The Importance of Succession Planning

Selecting an appropriate successor is crucial to the survival of a business. A good business plans today for tomorrow. The issue of succession, specifically aimed at British Columbia, is discussed in an article featured in BC Business Online:

With the majority of B.C. employers qualifying as small businesses, it’s no wonder experts such as succession-planning lawyer Don Sihota and the executive director of UBC’s Business Families Centre, Judi Cunningham, are warning small businesses about the danger of delaying succession planning.

This is “a huge issue, not only for business owners themselves, but really for the economy as a whole,” says Sihota. Cunningham points out that B.C. will see trillions of dollars passing between owners and their chosen successors within the next 15 to 20 years.

BC's Self Employment Boom

The Globe and Mail featured an article about how entrepreneurship is flourishing in British Columbia. The article states that more and more people find self employment the way to go. 

After a decade repairing helicopters in places from the Arctic to Mexico, Marc Bonin grew weary of the turbulence in B.C.'s economically sensitive aviation industry. He wanted stability, and a chance to spend more time with his young son.

 

So last June he threw open his doors as the Car Butler – a service geared toward busy Vancouver-area doctors, lawyers and executives, which picks up and oversees repairs of their cars. It was a decision forged by choice, one that he said gives him more flexible work hours, potential for higher earnings, less need to travel and a chance to start something from scratch. Mr. Bonin, 38, plans to franchise his business in the next three years.

“I see it as my own creation. Many people relate it to babies, how they grow, and I can totally see it that way,” he said.

Many others across the country can relate. More than 115,000 Canadians became self-employed in a recent one-year period, a study released Monday showed.

10 Tips for Buying a Small Business

Based on a survey conducted by Merger Network in 2009 among 350 recent buyers, a list of 10 Tips for Buying a Small Business was compiled.

1. Activate your Social Network. Friends, relatives, and business associates are the best resources to tap when it comes to looking for potential business opportunities,   according to recent buyers. Business intermediaries are another potential source for finding out about new business ventures. The majority of respondents indicated the web as the top place to start your search.

2. Get your financial house in order. One of the first things buyers suggest is to get your financing in order. Be sure you have enough money to cover costs for 12‐18 months, add 50% to your   estimates for unforeseen expenses and don’t forget about advertising and marketing budgets. Respondents cautioned prospective buyers to keep the economic downturn in mind when preparing forecasts. Be conservative and be prepared.