Strategized Your 2012 Marketing Yet?

2011 is almost over – already!

In between the rush of holiday parties and family activities, did you sit down and do the business planning you promised yourself that you would do? If not, it’s not too late to make sure that 2012 gets off to a fabulous start!

The first key to a successful, long-term marketing strategy is to be flexible, but any plan is better than no plan at all, so here are a few tips to help you get started on your 2012 Marketing Campaign.

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Born to Own a Business?

You may not think to ask potential buyers about other business owners in their family or about their interest in extreme sports or other thrill-seeking activities, but it could be useful information.  In Scott Shane's opinion piece for Entrepreneur.com, Are You a Born Entrepreneur?, Shane discusses the impact of genes, experience and personality on entrepreneurship.

In particular, he briefly discusses the genetics of people who are more likely to engage in sensation seeking activities and points out that starting a business is just such an activity. Interesting information for ideas of where to market for potential buyers; where might brokers find those sensation seekers? Also helpful for some additional questions to ask potential buyers to possibly separate tire-kickers from those ready and even thirsting for the adventure of business ownership.

Section 338(h)(10) Election - Both a Stock and an Asset Purchase (Part 3 of 3)

This is a continuation from Tuesday's posting and Wednesday's posting on H-10 Election Requirements.

 
H-10 Election - Tips and Traps     
  • As stated in yesterday's posting, a C Corp cannot own an S Corp. But if Purchaser (P) is an S Corp and acquires 100% of Target's (T's) stock, it can make a Qualified Subchapter S Subsidiary (QSub) Election. The QSub Election is done by filing IRS Form 8869. Both P and T then become pass through entities thereby eliminating tax at the corporate level.
  • Because of potential ordinary income recapture in a deemed asset purchase, T's S Corp sellers - who agree to the H-10 Election - are likely to pay more taxes than they would have paid in a stock purchase (for tax purposes). The parties will often negotiate a higher price to compensate for this additional tax cost borne by the seller.
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Section 338(h)(10) Election - Both a Stock and an Asset Purchase (Part 2 of 3)

 This is a continuation of yesterday's posting which gave an overview of H-10 Election Requirements. 

 
Exhibit 1: S Corp Target - Stock Purchase (Actual) 
P may want to purchase T's stock for the following non tax reasons:
  • T has several assets that require title transfer that would be burdensome in an asset purchase.
  • T has contracts that are difficult to transfer.
  • T has favorable workers compensation and/or unemployment ratings that P wants to preserve.
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Section 338(h)(10) Election - Both a Stock and an Asset Purchase (Part 1 of 3)

Purchasers in a business transaction generally prefer an asset purchase in order to step up the basis of acquired assets. Yet, a stock purchase may be preferable for a variety of non tax reasons. Normally in a stock purchase, the consideration paid becomes the tax basis of the stock from the purchaser's standpoint.

However, in certain circumstances, the Internal Revenue Code gives the purchaser and the seller the ability to make a joint election where the actual transaction is a stock purchase, but for tax purposes it is treated as an asset purchase. This is accomplished by making a Section 338(h)(10) Election (H-10 Election) - the subject of this article.

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Sandwich Shops

 The data below is from the 2012 Business Reference Guide (coming January 2012). Sandwich shops represent a big opportunity for the business broker. If you want to start your business off on the right foot in January, send a letter, postcard, or newsletter to all of the sandwich shops in your area. You should be able to compile a list for mailing, phone calls and perhaps even personal visits. You should be planning this for all of the business types that are perfect for the first time buyer, etc.


Sandwich Shops 

SIC 5812-19   .   NAICS 722211   .   Number of Businesses/Units 37,000

Rules of Thumb

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Who Are The Business Buyers and What Are They Looking For? (Part 2 of 2)

Comment from Tom West

Two comments on the information in yesterday's posting. First, some additional information on what businesses are in demand in today’s market. In addition to the top 20 posted yesterday, here is the October 2011 list of businesses that buyers searched for on businessesforsale.com, a leading site for businesses listed for sale.

1. Nightclubs
2. Miscellaneous Restaurants
3. Bars
4. E-Commerce Businesses
5. Websites

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Who Are The Business Buyers and What Are They Looking For? (Part 1 of 2)

 Bloomburg Businessweek and BizBuySell, the leading business for sale web site, recently conducted surveys answering the questions in the title above.

First, why do people want to own or start their own business?

According to Businessweek, when prospective buyers were asked, "Why do you prefer working independently?" the responses were:

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Why Branding and Documented Systems Add Value to a Business When it's Time to Sell

 A business valuation is not about what a company is worth in the current owner's hands, it's about the company's transferable value. It's about the probability that the business will sustain its profitability and continue to grow with a new owner at the helm. Therefore, the factors that contribute to the company's stability and consistency will be examined by prospective buyers to determine the risks associated with taking over the business.

A strong brand, an intangible asset and an element of goodwill, is a desirable attribute to have in the business-for-sale marketplace. Having documented systems, also, is a factor that contributes to saleability. Both make the list of...

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Hot Business List -- November 2011

Below you will find the current “hot” business list courtesy of data from Businesses For Sale. We asked Businesses For Sale for a monthly ranking of business types based on the number of “hits” on their site. This ranking is not based on the actual sale of businesses.


Top Ten Businesses for November 2011

 

1. Bars 

 

2. Miscellaneous Restaurants

3. E-Commerce Businesses

4. Non Franchise Fast Food Businesses

5. Convenience Stores

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Pre-Publication Pricing for 2012 Business Reference Guide

The 2012 guide will be at sent off to print today. We are offering free shipping and pre-publication pricing through December 30th PLUS a free industry survey for guide orders placed by December 15th. Find more info at http://bbpinc.com/education/books/pre-publicationspecial.aspx. The guides will ship out in early January.

Forecasting your Lead Generation’s ROI Opportunity (Part 2 of 2)

The following is a continuation from yesterday's posting.

 
Are You Marketing to the Right Target?

If the target for your lead-generation campaign isn’t focused on the most qualified group, you are wasting a lot of time, energy and money! We ask our clients two questions to determine their target market to put money into:
 
1. Where is your experience? 
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CONTRIBUTORS

Tom West
BBP Co-Founder  ~  Massachusetts

Tom is a founder and past president of several large business brokerage firms and is also a founder, past president, and former Executive Director of the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA).  He has authored and co-authored several books, is editor of all 21 editions of The Business Reference Guide, and is often quoted in a variety of national newspapers and periodicals.

Email 


Loren Marc Schmerler
Bottom Line Management, Inc.  ~  Georgia

Loren CPC, APC is President and Founder of Bottom Line Management, Inc. He has been a business broker since 1986 and a business consultant since 1970. Loren represents sellers and buyers and has qualified for the 2012 Georgia Association of Business Broker’s Million Dollar Club.

Email  |  Web



Robert Flynn
Managing Partner of United Brokers Group, LLC ~ Rhode Island
Robert has been a business brokerage firm owner for nine years. Prior to that period he was a Senior Executive in two public and privately held technology and manufacturing businesses for twenty-eight years. From 1982 to 1996 Robert was a Senior Executive at the publicly traded +$3 billion (USD) London-based Cookson Group. He managed technology and manufacturing companies in England and the United States with a particular emphasis on startup and turnaround situations. Robert is also a licensed Rhode Island real estate salesperson and has owned five businesses.

 

Email  |  Website 1  |  Website 2 


Bob Sweeney
President of Innovative Travel Acquisitions, Inc. (ITA) ~ Georgia
Bob founded the Atlanta-based travel and tour business brokerage firm in 1991 after a successful 9-year career on Wall Street. Known as the "Matchmakers for the Travel and Tour Industries", ITA is a member in good standing with the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), the National Tour Association (NTA) and the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA). ITA operates a confidential platform LINKING buyers and sellers of travel and tour related companies throughout North America.

Email  |  Website  


Darrell Arne
Founder of Arne & Co.  ~  New Mexico
Darrell began his professional career in public accounting in 1970. In 1983, Darrell formed his own CPA practice, with emphasis on business valuation; by 1992, he had earned the Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) designation in business valuation. He then earned the Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) designation in 1995, and Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor (CM&AA) designation in 2008. He discontinued practicing in public accounting in 1994 when he formed Arne & Co., specializing in exit strategy planning for business owners, business valuations, business acquisitions & sales, business dispute mediation, part-time CFO services, and developer of business training seminars. 

Email  |  Website  


Jean D. Sifleet, Esq.
Business Attorney and Creator of Smart Fast®  ~  Massachusetts
Jean began her career with big law and accounting firms. She did a stint in state government, and then moved to the computer and communications industry. Frustrated with bureaucracy, Jean co-founded and sold two successful companies.  Today, Jean practices business law. She enjoys working with people who are starting a company, or who want to grow their company and stay out of trouble. Her advice is grounded in her first-hand experience as an entrepreneur as well as her knowledge of law, finance and management.  Calling herself a nontraditional lawyer, Jean uses Smart Fast®, a practical and systematic approach to evaluating options and making informed decisions. 

Email  |  Website


Ron Johnson
Chairman, ABI Business Sales, Mergers & Acquisitions  ~  California
Ron is Chairman of ABI Business Sales, Mergers & Acquisitions, which was established in San Ramon, CA, in 1984. Ron has been the intermediary in over one hundred transactions since entering the profession in 1991, and has managed, for his associates, many hundreds of additional transactions. Ron is well recognized nation-wide in his profession, having served 10 years on the Board of Directors of the California Association of Business Brokers (CABB), including two terms as President of the CABB.

Email  |  Website


Ralana Shelley
Certified Business Intermediary, Sunbelt  ~  Indiana
Ralana comes to the table with over eight years of experience in the Business Brokerage industry. Prior to making the transition to Business Broker, Ralana specialized in Marketing small to mid-sized businesses in the Indiana marketplace in her role as Marketing Manager for Sunbelt. 

Email  |  Website 1  |  Website 2  |  Website 3  |  Blog  |  LinkedIn  |  Twitter


Rose Stabler
Certified Business Brokers (CBB), Managing Partner ~  Texas
Rose has 25 years of business experience from serving in management and consulting positions in the Oil & Gas, Biotechnology, and Manufacturing industries to working for private equity giant Forstmann Little & Company to starting, building and selling an online promotional product firm that featured her own line of items. Rose serves as business advisor on the Houston Business Show on CNN650 and appears regularly on the Movers and Shakers panel discussion segment of Houston Manufacturers Show. Rose has published many articles about the process of buying and selling businesses and has contributed to Inc. Magazine. 

Email  |  Website 1  |  Website 2  |  Website 3  |  Blog


Wayne Quilitz
Murphy Valuations, President ~  Florida
Wayne's experience includes 28 years in electrical engineering and marketing in the electronics industry.  He served in the U.S. Navy, worked for Boeing Aerospace and Texas Instruments, and owned/operated a retail store for five years before joining Murphy Business and Financial Corporation.

Email  |  Website 


Richard L. Kolman
Franchise Note Buyers, LLC, President & Principal Owner ~  San Diego, CA

Richard has long served as trusted in-house legal counsel for some of the nation’s leading franchising companies. Rich began his franchise legal career in 1988 as a Corporate Attorney in the Legal Department of McDonald’s Corporation. He recently retired from the UPS Legal Department, following eleven years as Senior Franchise Counsel for The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc. (4,400+ franchises).  Despite the current adverse national economy, Franchise Note Buyers and its strategic underwriters bring unparalleled access to large sums of liquid capital needed to quickly fund numerous Franchise Notes at top-dollar prices.

Email  |  Website  |  Blog 


Bill Martin
ABMI, USBIZCORP and USFRANBIZ Founder  ~  Missouri

Since starting as an agent in 1982, Bill's career has included the building of business brokerages from scratch in over 20 cities coast to coast.  He is the founder of United States Business Brokers, Inc (USBIZCORP) and USFRANBIZ, Inc.  Bill has been involved in the sale of almost 4,000 different business acquisition transactions. He has also had articles and opinion memo’s published in trade publications, and is a nationally recognized trainer and mentor in the business brokerage industry.

Email


Russell Robb
Managing Director, Tully & Holland, Incorporated ~ Massachusetts

Russell Robb is a 20-year veteran in the mergers and acquisitions business, providing investment banking and corporate finance advisory services to a wide range of middle market companies. His transaction experience includes numerous companies in the consumer products industry, as well as a broad array of other manufacturing and distribution companies in various industry sectors. Russ is the past president and owner of two sporting goods manufacturing/retail companies. He is a published author of Selling Middle Market Businesses and the former editor of a highly regarded monthly M&A industry newsletter. 

Email


Len Krick
Sunbelt Owner, CBI, M&AMI ~  Las Vegas, NV
Len, owner of the Sunbelt Las Vegas office, is a Certified Business Intermediary ("CBI"), a Merger & Acquisition Master Intermediary ("M&AMI"), and holds a Nevada Real Estate Broker License. He has over twenty years of business and business consulting experience and is an active member, moderator and speaker for the International Business Brokers Association ("IBBA"), the Las Vegas Business Forum, and the Las Vegas CFO Group.

Email  |  Website


Ted J. Leverette
"Partner" On-Call Network, President 
Ted, The Original Business Buyer Advocate ®, has consulted with thousands of business buyers and owners on buy/sell, valuation and business improvement since 1974. Since 1993 he has taught affiliates in the USA and Canada, who independently own and operate their consulting practices, The Street-Smart Way to Become a Business Consultant™. He has been a lecturer for trade associations and author of texts, articles and the book, How to Get ALL the Money You Want For Your Business Without Stealing It™.

Email  |  Website


Ed Teixeira
FranchiseKnowHow, LLC ~  New York
Ed is the founder and President of FranchiseKnowHow, LLC a franchise-consulting firm. Ed has worked in the franchise industry for thirty years and has served as a corporate executive for firms in the retail, manufacturing, healthcare and technology industries. He has been involved with over 1,000 franchise locations and has transacted international licensing in Europe, Asia and South America. Ed is the author of Franchising From The Inside Out.

Email  |  Website


Jeff Fabian
Fabian, LLC ~  Baltimore, MD
Jeff is founder of Fabian, LLC, a boutique law firm headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland that provides trademark and copyright protection and contract drafting and negotiation services for businesses, artists, entertainers and athletes. He has published scholarly articles on trademark use in the Internet context and state franchise relationship laws, and has co-authored numerous articles appearing in various legal, business and industry publications.

Email  |  Website 1  |  Website 2  |  Twitter 


George D. Abraham
Business Evaluation Systems, CEO 
George has been involved in the transfer of over 450 businesses and performed over 12,000 appraisals in the past 32 years. Two of the appraisals Mr. Abraham was involved in passed the scrutiny of the World Bank. His company was the first in the nation to develop and gain national attention for its unique and highly accurate business evaluation software programs.  George is a licensed Real Estate Broker, Real Estate Appraiser, Business Appraiser, Machinery and Equipment Appraiser, Board Certified Business Broker, Certified Environmental Inspector, Certified Business Intermediary, Licensed State Property Tax Consultant, Accredited Review Appraiser, and Certified Business Counselor.

Website


Clyth MacLeod
Clyth MacLeod, Ltd. Managing Director ~ New Zealand
Clyth has over 40 year's experience in business broking and business valuation. yth is also a director of Business Appraisals Ltd (business valuers), BizStats Ltd (a national database of business sales information) and Australasian Business Valuations Ltd (consultancy).As well as authoring many articles and texts Clyth has lectured nationwide and overseas on business sales and valuation for many organisations including the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand and the International Business Brokers Association in the USA. The only business broker to be awarded a Life Membership by the Real Estate Institute of NZ and a Fellowship by the International Business Brokers Association he remains active in the industry and committed to leading a professional team.

Website


Jack R. Sanders
Spectrum Corporate Resources, LLC Managing Director
Jack has been an active full-time business intermediary since 1985. He has personally handled over 130 business transfers and has appraised over 1,450 businesses. He is also the author of the “BIZCOMPS®” studies, a leading authority on the market value of small and medium business in the United States and Canada. The studies contain actual transaction information on over 12,000 transactions and are marketed in both print and electronic form. Jack is also an instructor in educational courses leading to the Certified Business Intermediary designation.

Website


Christopher George
George & Company, President ~  Worcester, MA
Christopher is a Certified Business Opportunity Appraiser, Company President, and also a past president of the Association of New England Business Brokers. Chris has been engaged in the appraisal, sale and financing of small to mid-sized businesses since 1971. He has personally aided buyers & sellers in thousands of sales and appraisals.

Email  |  Website  |  LinkedIn  |  Facebook

 


Roger Murphy
Murphy Business & Financial Corporation, President / CEO ~  FL
Roger is a Certified Business Intermediary and Master Certified Business Counselor with over 25 years experience in executive management and financial management. He is the President / CEO of Murphy Business & Financial Corporation, one of the largest and most successful business brokerage firms in North America with business brokers located throughout the United States and Canada. Murphy Business specializes in businesses for sale, franchises, business valuations, and commercial real estate.

Email  |  Website 


Amanda Puppo
MarketReach Inc., CEO & Founder  ~  Lawrenceville, NJ

During her dealings with various companies, Ms. Puppo became aware of an apparent general aversion towards the application of the cold-call, while at the same time, realizing its importance in business. In March, 2001 at the age of 26, Ms. Puppo created MarketReach Inc. MarketReach does cold-calling/lead generation and market surveys, so clients can spend their time building their business and servicing their customers. MarketReach was named a Finalist in the Most Innovative Company category in The 2004 Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs. 

Email  |  Website   |  Twitter

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