253.851.8525
Serving Western Washington Business Since 1990
Start Here
Most decisions to sell your business start with "What is my business worth?" We offer an affordable approach to providing an opinion of value on your business. A benchmark in order to know where you are in the marketplace and to assist in future whether planning for sale, retirement or transition to a family member or employee.
Phase 1. Valuation & Strategy
As a business owner you know every aspect of how to run your business but when it comes time to think about selling where to begin? The first questions is often "What is my business worth"? Since every party to a transaction looks at value differently, we use proven methods of valuing your business. You, the seller one way, the buyer another way and the bank another. Determining business value is an art not a science and can be very subjective. We help you arrive at a value that is defensible to all parties. Once we set our asking price we then we go about determining who that buyer might be. A strategic buyer - one who might bolt on you business to what they are already doing. Or a financial buyer who is buying your business strictly for income and other financial benefits. Together we talk about who your buyer might be. You may even have someone in mind that we can discreetly approach. In addition, with discretion, we will submit blind internet advertising approved by you before going out into the business world.
Phase 2. Marketing & Qualifying
Marketing a business opportunity is much more sensitive than trying to sell real estate of other capital assets. Most business owners want to be discreet and for good reason. No need for the employees, customers or vendors to know you are planning to sell. At least not at this stage of the process. Our potential buyers come from several resources. Many leads come from internet advertising, some from business referrals and some from our in-house stable of buyers who have responded to other business opportunities. These are not just names and phone numbers. These candidates have completed a non-disclosure agreement, a buyer profile which establishes what geographic area and industry they want to me in as well as what kind of experience they have and what type and amount of initial investment they are ready to make. If they don't meet this minimum qualifying criteria we don't get them in front of you, the seller. Experience n the industry is key to most successful acquisitions. You keep operating your business as we go through the Phase 2 process of finding a qualified buyer.
Phase 3. Negotiation & Escrow
This is truly where years of experience pays off. With business value being subjective often times the transaction is as much or more about the terms of the offer than the price. We incorporate all aspects of the offer into the negotiation. Any one of these details can make or break the final outcome. Things like consulting agreements, closing dates, owner financing, earnest money, due diligence period, bank financing, working capital and asset allocation are all part of the negotiation. Our job is to improve the odds of getting a qualified buyer and a qualified business to the finish line....the closing table. We insist on legal and tax counsel for all parties and highly recommend a third party Escrow Attorney to close our transactions. This assures us that all the legal aspects of a transaction are handled in a professional manner and the proper documents are prepared, recorded when needed and costs are itemized for filing future tax returns etc. This legal process benefits both parties and these fees are typically split between the buyer and the seller.