Tag Archives: Sell a Business

Unique Businesses Are A Force For Good

The best businesses are not just about making money.  It is necessary to make money to stay in business, but it is not sufficient for the business to be worth your time.  That is why the strongest businesses, in my opinion, are the ones that… Continue reading

Investment Returns of Venture Capital vs Greybull Stewardship

Investment returns in venture capital as an asset class have not been good for a long time.  To me, that result is somewhat predictable.  Great investment returns are not going to come from anything where you have to swing for the fences with every investment… Continue reading

BCG Study: Superior Investment Returns From Family Business

Deep wisdom exists in how family businesses are managed for the long-term.  In fact, the financial returns for closely held businesses outperform their peer groups across business cycles according to a recent study by the Boston Consulting Group and Sophie Mignon of Ecole Polytechnique.  While… Continue reading

Financial Audit Helpful for Financing, Funding, and Selling Your Business

My first financial audit was intimidating.  My company, Student Advantage, was preparing for its IPO in 1999 and the audit firm, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, needed to audit all of the material entities that had merged with Student Advantage during the prior few years.  My little start-up company,… Continue reading

Long-term Investment Value the Clif Bar Way

On a plane last week, I read the book Raising the Bar by the founder of Clif Bar, Gary Erickson.  Great book — particularly good at ideas around long-term investment. Erickson wanted to manage his company in a way that was not aligned with traditional… Continue reading

Buying a Business: Raise Money for the Search or Not?

Search Funds Last week I had a nice conversation with a mid-career person looking to buy a business.  He was contemplating using the “search fund” model to find and buy a business.  As a brief background, a search fund is a model where an entrepreneur… Continue reading

“Strategy Follows Structure” — John Bogle on Investment Funds

Investment Fund Structures “You are what you eat” is the common phrase about nutrition.  With investing, I think a corollary should be “you are where & how you get your capital”.  This is particularly true with any type of investment fund as John Bogle, the… Continue reading

The Best Business Deals Die Three Times: Wisdom from Buying & Selling Businesses

Business Deal Reality Check “The best business deals die three times,” is sometimes said with the reverence of having been spoken by a person of great wisdom.  This week, I spent days in full-time discussions with a company where we are far along in the… Continue reading

Bad Accounting is Bad Business and Bad for Your Personal Credibility

Don’t Like Accounting? You will never be an integral participant of a community when you do not know the language of the community.  Accounting is the language of business.  If you are in business, you have a responsibility to become competent and conversational in accounting.… Continue reading

Asset Sale Versus Stock Sale (Purchase & Sale Agreements – a series)

Asset Sale = LLC and S Corporation If you are a business owner considering the sale of your business, please put yourself in a position for an asset sale rather than a stock sale by holding your business in a Limited Liability Company (LLC) or… Continue reading