Small Business Guide - Small Business Resources
    (Add to Favorites  |  View All Articles  |  Resource Directory)

Eight Key Steps to Selling Your Business and Cashing In


This year, some 700,000 American businesses will be sold. Most will be small and mid-sized businesses like yours. If you, too, are thinking of selling, consider these practical steps for making the process go smoothly.

Determine a Realistic Price Range

Understand the Tax Consequences

Prepare for a Sale

Seek Potential Buyers

Negotiate Your Deal

Sign a Sales Agreement

Plan for the Closing

File Paperwork With the IRS

Now for the GOOD STUFF!

Getting the Cash Out of your Business Note, known more specifically as seller carryback business notes, are created when the buyer of a business can not or will not pay all cash. Frequently, banks and similar lending institutions are hesitant to loan money to new business owners who have minimal track records and where hard assets make up a small percentage of the total purchase price.

In the case where a buyer cannot obtain a loan, the seller is left with two choices (1) hold off until he/she find a buyer who can pay all cash or (2) carry back a note in order to collect future payments. The first option is often not realistic. In the second case, the seller is hopefully able to at least extract a large down payment to make extra sure that the buyer has some "skin in the game". However, even then the seller is usually in a position that he prefers not to be in - he has no lump sum of money to either invest in other opportunities or to retire. Unlike a real estate note, where is there is a hard asset that is fairly easy to appraise; the business note is relatively risky to hold.

So, what is a business seller to do when he didn't want to be in the lending business to start with and now has a need for immediate cash? What many people don't realize is that the business note can be sold. The former owner can sell all or part of the note to get a lump sum of cash. In this way, both the goals of selling the business and getting the cash out of it are met.

In summary, selling a business note is an excellent way for the former owner of a business to get his cash out of the business. Whether the reason for selling the note is that the seller would have preferred all cash all along, that he now has large debts to pay, or that he has the opportunity to pursue other investments, the sale of a business note is a tool of which you should always be aware.

Afra AmirSanjari is the Principal for Peacock Capital. Peacock Capital specializes in solving the cash flow challenges of Small/Medium Businesses, Government Vendors and Individuals with innovative financial solutions by providing a network for securing operating capital.

http://www.peacockcapital.com; info@peacockcapital.com


MORE RESOURCES:

News provided by Yahoo! News and Google News

Video: Are small business credit cards worth it?
Small business credit cards generally have higher credit limits, richer rewards and better tracking systems, but they don't offer the same protections as consumer credit cards. Sumi Das from CBS Moneywatch.com has the details.

You’re the Boss Blog: A Weekly Roundup of Small-Business News
Plus: Do you plan to attend a trade show this year?

Airport restaurant... small biz corner - The Jackson Citizen Patriot - MLive.com

Airport restaurant... small biz corner
The Jackson Citizen Patriot - MLive.com
By Sara Scott | sscott2@mlive.com When Don Gaddes started the Airport Restaurant and Spirits in the 1950's, it was called Don's Airport Restaurant. Gaddes continued to run the restaurant until his niece, Dianne Weems, purchased the business in 1995.

Corning-based Small Business Development Center opens location in Hornell
With the help of almost $100,000 in federal grant money, the Small Business Development Center is now operating part-time offices out of the Hornell Chamber of Commerce building on Main Street and the Steuben County IDA building in Bath.

5 tax tips for small biz - El Paso Inc.

5 tax tips for small biz
El Paso Inc.
It's that time again. As Jan. 31 passed, I'm sure your employees were asking you or your accountant when they could expect their W2s. CPAs nationwide have gone into lockdown, and coffee will be in short supply as we gear up for another tax season.

and more »

Home | Site Map | Privacy Statement | More Articles
© 2006