Ronald Greeley présente des informations utiles à tous ceux qui vendent leur entreprise. Se qualifie pour 1 PDU de crédit (en général) avec le CSF.

1. Sunbelt Seminars Presents:
The Secrets of Buying, and
Valuing a Business
352 Dorval Ave, suite 207
Les Jardins Dorval,
Dorval , Quebec
H9S1C5

2. Thank you for attending
WELCOME!
Thank you for attending our seminar “Buying , Selling and Valuing Your Privately Held Business”. W will
e
share some ideas and experiences that we hope will be beneficial in your understanding of the “Real World” of privately
owned businesses and the factors that affect their value.
That Sunbelt is the largest business brokerage network in the world with over 300 offices in 14 countries is
not particularly important to this presentation. However the source of this presentation comes from the experience pool of
a large network of professional business brokers.
In this seminar Ronald Greeley will convey awareness of areas that drive the value of a business, confidentiality
in the sale or transfer of the business, finance issues , how we help protect all parties throughout the process with a goal to
arriving at a win-win scenario for everyone involved.
Ronald Greeley CMSBB Business Intermediary CLU EPC
Sunbelt W Island 514-694-0554 poste 9
est
www.Sunbeltwestisland.com

3. Seminar Presenter
Ronald Greeley CMSBB CLU EPC is a retired financial planner with
Over 25 years experience in the financial services sector.
• Born in Toronto and living in Montreal for many years Ron has extensive
experience in management within small, medium and large privately held
companies in addition to having successfully operated and sold his own
business before joining the Sunbelt office on the West Island of Montreal.
• He is trained in the intricacies of pricing businesses, bringing buyers and
sellers together and negotiating long term solutions.

4. Is buying a business the right
decision.
What are your alternatives.
• Finding a job?
• If you find another job will they let you sell it when you
leave?

5. Options
Keeping the job you have?
• How confident are you that your job is secure?
• Do you like your job?
• Can you build wealth based directly on your efforts?
Buy an existing Business or a Franchise!

6. More Options
Retiring?
• Trends are against retirement - evidence is mounting
that people who retire are not as happy as they thought
they would be.
• Many people who want to “Retire” realize they simply
want a change and a new challenge.

7. The Fact
We sell many businesses to people who leave the
corporate world…..
We rarely sell a business for someone who wants
to go back into the corporate world.

8. The Decision
A well known saying among business
owners:
“The worst day of owning your own business is
better than the best day working
for someone else .”

9. First Basic Rule
“Never confuse a business that
doesn’t show a profit for tax
purposes, with a business that isn’t
Profitable”

10. Understanding Why?
• Public Companies do their accounting to Maximize
reported profits profits.
• Private Businesses prepare their tax returns to
Minimize taxable income.

11. The Reality
• Minimizing Taxable income is part of the normal
activities of private business.
• Private businesses rarely have audited financial
statements.
• Private business owners are very concerned with
Confidentiality.

12. You can see, only what is there.
• Small businesses don’t have (or want) the level of
detailed record keeping usually seen in larger
companies.
• Small businesses all have a system although often it is
an inadequate system.
• There are no perfect businesses.

13. Will you thrive?
Must be a business that you will enjoy.
• Dealing with clients, staff , suppliers.
• Hours, location , product or service.
• Image
• Your role.
• Will you have a vision.

14. Suggestions on how to approach your
investigation
• Be persistant, don’t be easily discouraged.
• Recognize the limitations of the available information
and analyze what is available.

15. Strengths and Weaknesses
• Have a clear understanding of your own strengths and
weaknesses.
• View weaknesses in a business as an opportunity.
Remember the profits of the business are being
generated with those weaknesses present. Fixing the
weaknesses should improve the profits for the buyer.

16. Most Important
Determine how much is the minimum you need to
make from the business and determine what is the
investment level you are willing to make.
Typically the higher your investment the higher the
business profitability

17. Financing the Purchase
• 90% of businesses sold have Vendor financing
(10 to 50% is typical)
• Other sources – BDC, SBL, etc.

18. The News
Good News is:
You get to make all the decisions.
Bad News is:
You get to make all the decisions.

19. Owner compensation/benefits that are often identified:
• Salary, vehicle costs, personal insurance,
entertainment not directly related to the business,
some charitable contributions, travel, maintenance
costs for non-business items, rent costs in excess
of normal market rent or rent paid to an entity that
the seller controls, etc.

20. Conclusion
• The taxable income reported on a small business
tax return is rarely an indicator of the true earnings
realized by the business owner.

21. Dealing with sellers
• Confidentiality
This is critically important
• Customers
• Employees
• Vendors
A confidentiality agreement usually grants you the
opportunity to share the confidential information
with your financial advisors.

22. Buyer seller meetings
• Keep a good relationship, you want the seller to help
you after buying the business.
• Focus on determining the skills you will need to
replace.
• Try to ascertain the weaknesses of the current owner
and determine if your skills can add value to the
business.

23. Negotiations
• Don’t confuse the desire to win with what is a fair price.
• Understand how you arrived at the business value before
you start negotiations.
• All negotiations through the broker, it will give both
parties a chance to test the reasonableness of their
requests

24. Due Diligence
• Get everything you need (limited to what is available), move quickly
and be persistent.
• Never lose sight of the characteristics of small business record
keeping. When you own the business you can keep the books any way
you like.

25. Key Points
• Be willing to spend some money in the process to do it
right.
• Always respect the need for confidentiality
• Don’t worry if you’re nervous, it’s natural

26. Headed in the Right Direction
Steps taken by successful buyers of an operating business or
a new franchise:
• Take time to decide if buying a business is best
• If yes, commit the time necessary to accomplish the many
tasks
• Minimize risk

27. Minimize Risk
• VTB with right of offset
• Training and transition program
• Due diligence
– Contracts, financials, operations, staff, systems, equipment, exposure,
customer relationships, supplier relationships, inventory, reputation
• Legal Counsel
– Structure
– Tax planning
– Protection from misrepresentation or failure to disclose
– Title

28. Goal Line
• Keep moving toward the goal, not every deal works out. You may need
to find more than one business to pursue.
• No matter how thoroughly you try to prepare when the day comes to
sign you will still have some unanswered questions.
• There is no such thing as a risk free transaction for a buyer or a seller.

29. Things to Do
• Use a Good Broker
• Be responsive to your broker
• Keep an open mind
• Be forceful and determined…but be reasonable
• Get appropriate legal and accounting advice

30. Thank you!
• Thank you for attending our seminar
• If you feel you have any questions please call!
• I will be pleased to set up a confidential meeting.
Ronald Greeley CMSBB CLU EPC
Business Intermediary-Sunbelt West Island
514-694-0554 x9
ronald.greeley@sunbeltnetwork.com
www.Sunbeltwestisland.com