Guides & Articles on Business Opportunities
Alabama Business for Sale
How to find and buy companies for sale in Alabama
Buying an Alabama business for sale can represent a great opportunity for investment. Buying an established business usually is much safer financially and more profitable than starting a new business because an existing business already has an established customer base, source of revenue and business operations. An existing business also may own valuable patents or copyrights.It...
Business Brokers and Mergers and Acquisition Firms
Do You Need a Business Broker or a Mergers and Acquisition Firm to Sell Your Business?
A business intermediary is a company or person that facilitates the transfer of business ownership from one party to another. Under this catch-all umbrella are real-estate agents, business brokers and Merger and Acquisition (M&A) firms."Main Street" business brokerage can generally be regarded as working with companies that are valued under $500,000, or with fairly...
California Business for Sale
Finding and purchasing a business for sale in California
California businesses for sale offer several advantages over starting a new business. When you buy a California business it will already have a client base, an established name and a source of revenue. It will also have trained employees, established relationships with vendors and an existing business plan. You will likely need to make many changes, but purchasing a preexisting...
Evaluating a Small Business for Sale
Buying a business? Make sure you're striking a good deal
Determining the value of a privately held small business for sale is far trickier than figuring out the value of a new home. One reason why: Business owners have every reason to keep profits looking low at tax time and many reasons to inflate the value when it comes time to sell. Here are a few keys to valuing a small business for sale: Know the selling prices of similar...
Expanding through Acquisition
How to get more customers by buying them
The usual roadblock for any successful small business is scale: How do I grow once the model is working?Of course, some small businesses scale naturally through franchising or by adding sales territories. But many simply reach a natural ceiling. It would be hard -- and probably uncompetitive -- to start a nationwide roofing or plumbing company, for instance.That doesn't mean...
Franchising a Business
Expand your business without having to take on all the risk yourself
Do you have a successful small business you'd like to expand or a new concept that you think is ripe for franchising? These days, franchising is being used by more businesses and more types of businesses than ever before. Almost any product or service can be franchised. Developing a franchise concept allows you to expand your business without personally funding the growth. To...
Free Small Business Counseling
Is there any value to free advice? More often than you might think
Free small-business counseling: It sounds too good to be true, right? Well, if you know where to look, there's plenty of free advice available, much of it extremely high quality. Using the right networks, you can find seasoned professionals who will help you get your business off the ground or take it to the next level. Keep in mind that: Some focus on particular groups...
Free Web Site Submitting Services
Improve your web site's page ranking with free web site submitting services
Free web site submissions disprove the old axiom that you get what you pay for. It's important to optimize your site for search engines. Using free web site submitting services is one step in bringing in web traffic.Take advantage of free URL registration/web site submission and and start with the following basic steps:1. Edit your content for your target keywords in the meta...
Management of a Small Business
How to handle the challenges of small business management
Time management. Change management. Managing employees. As a business owner, you face the dreaded "M" word at every turn. And if you're like most entrepreneurs, you want to run in the opposite direction. But don't. Learning business management is not as daunting as it seems, and the consequences of ignoring the day-to-day running of your company can be...
Merger and Acquisition Analysis
How to approach due diligence in a Merger & Acquisition
You've decided that it's time to grow your business and the best way to do that is through a merger and acquisition. Before taking any definitive steps, though, you'll need to do an acquisitions analysis. Only through an M&A analysis can you determine whether a business merger and acquisition is the way to go.A key component to any merger acquisition analysis is...
Merger and Acquisition Announcements
Track industry trends and changes through M&A announcements
One way to track aggregate changes in your industry is through merger and acquisition announcements. M&A announcements inform of market shifts, changes in stock values and accretion or dilutions of certain economic sectors. They can also alert you to how the market will eventually affect the valuation of your own company's stock. If you are considering engineering your own...
Merger and Acquisition Organizations
Stay abreast of industry issues, news and trends by joining merger and acquisition organizations
If you own a company in the mergers and acquisitions industry, you would do well to partner with mergers and acquisitions associations to strengthen your business expertise and credibility. Industry organizations bring together professionals with similar goals and challenges. Members of industry organizations come from across company divisions, but all share the same objective of...
Nondisclosure Agreements
Get it in writing to protect your business ideas and assets
When it comes to protecting proprietary information, "Don't ask, don't tell" simply doesn't fly. That's where a nondisclosure agreement (NDA), or confidentiality agreement, comes in. Whether your company needs one depends on a variety of factors, including the nature of your products and business relationships. Nondisclosure agreements can exist between...
Obtaining Proper Licenses and Permits
Start off on the right foot with the requisite authorization and documentation
Most small business owners strike out on their own hoping to answer only to themselves. Many, however, fail to remember that they have to answer to someone else, too: their government. Before you open for business, you must get the green light from your local, state and federal governments. The necessary licenses and permits won't just get you the go-ahead, though; they'll...
Oregon Businesses for Sale
Find the perfect business for sale in Oregon
Purchasing a business for sale in Oregon can be as easy as contacting a broker in the area you want to live. In reality, finding the right business to purchase is usually a long and drawn out affair. You will likely need to visit the area a few times, as well hire a lawyer and develop a relationship with a local bank.Potential buyers should have a good idea of what they want to do...
Protect Yourself with Noncompete Agreements
Protect company knowledge and prevent future litigation
Company secrets and valuable business knowledge can be protected by noncompete agreements between employers and their employees. These contracts or clauses are legal agreements that dictate what company information can and can't be used by current or former employees. Non-compete agreements are more necessary today than ever because of advancing technology. Client information,...
Ratios and Relative Value Analysis Technique for Valuing Firms
Use ratios and relative valuation technique to price your business and investments
The ratios and relative value analysis technique for valuing firms enables a business to determine the value of potential investments and the worth of its own business. These ratios provide a basis for relative valuation techniques that compare one firm to another and to industry averages and norms. You cannot conduct a proper valuation in a vacuum or without a benchmark, and...
Restaurant Business Valuation
Here's what you need to know about restaurant business valuation
A business valuation of a restaurant is an excellent tool if you are looking to buy or sell or if you just want to determine the market value of a restaurant for tax or loan purposes. This valuation of a restaurant is different from a normal business valuation because the restaurant industry valuation is subjective. This subjectivity derives from the high failure rates in the...
Restaurant Business for Sale
Knowing what to do when you want to buy a restaurant business
Before you buy, restaurant business purchases require that you make several decisions, such as where do you want to open the business, whether to buy an independent business or a corporate franchise and how much capital you have available for the purchase. Restaurant business location is important to investigate so that you know your competition. You won't want to open a small...
Small Business Advice
Find startup, financial, legal and other helpful advice for small business owners
Small business owners need specific small business help. Although you won't have as many clients and employees as larger businesses, you will still have many things to keep track of, such as business expenses, tax forms, employee information and clients.Some business owners find business startup advice with some of the many software programs and Internet sites available. These...
Small Business Buyers' Groups
How small businesses can pool purchases for volume discounts
Big businesses, it seems, get volume discounts on just about everything, and until recently, small businesses couldn't compete. But today, small business buyers' groups allow the "little guys" to pool their purchases to earn volume discounts they couldn't get on their own. The top three top tips to small business buyers' groups are: Find local and national small business...
Solutions for Work-At-Home Parents
Can kids and work mix? Definitely if you follow some guidelines.
You love your at-home business. You love your kids. How do you do right by both? To work successfully from home, you need: Dedicated space and time for your business Help with other household tasks Support and ideas from other work-at-home parents
Structuring a Business Purchase Agreement
Attention to detail is needed to ensure a fair, thorough and smooth transaction
Whether you're buying or selling a business, it's critical that every commercial element of that company is accounted for in the purchase agreement. Fitting it all into a single document is a real challenge, and taking the time to get it right on paper will help make the deal a successful venture for both parties long after the ink has dried. The basics of setting up a...
Valuing a Business
You can boost your valuation if you know what counts
Placing an accurate value on a small business is a tricky affair. But it's also an exercise that may be necessary for a variety of reasons. Valuations (or appraisals) are a must, of course, for anyone buying or selling a business. But they are also vital for partnership deals such as yours, as well as buy/sell agreements, family business succession planning, personal and estate...
Veterans at Work
Returning Veterans to the Workplace
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat.For the...
