M&A Resources for
Women Business Owners
| |
|
Women-Owned Business Specialists
|
 |
|
For women business owners, M&A
advisors
Cindy Stapleton and
Georgann Crosby offer three essential
benefits:
-
extensive experience in business ownership, management
and finance;
-
first-hand knowledge of the unique challenges and
opportunities for women business owners; and
-
personal and professional commitments to helping women
succeed in business, achieve their business objectives, and create opportunities
for other women entering the business world.
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
Impact of Women-Owned Businesses
According to the
Center for Women’s Business Research:
-
America’s 10.1 million women-owned businesses contribute
nearly $2 trillion to the U.S. economy and account for 13
million jobs.
-
One in five companies with annual sales of $1 million or
more are women-owned.
-
One in 11 U.S. women is an entrepreneur.
-
Women-owned businesses account for 40% of all privately held
companies.
-
Women-owned firms are growing at twice the rate of all
firms.
-
If women-owned businesses were their own country, they would
have the fifth largest GDP in the world, ranking ahead of
such countries as France, the United Kingdom and Italy, and
greater than Canada, India and Vietnam combined.
According to a March 2011 American Express report:
-
the number of women-owned businesses has increased by 50%
since 1997, and
-
four out of 10 U.S. businesses are owned by women.
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
Fox & Fin is an essential resource for
entrepreneurial women seeking to buy, sell or maximize the value of their
business.
Preparing Your Business for Sale
If you are considering selling your business, you may be
asking yourself:
-
What is my business worth?
-
When is the best time to sell?
-
How will my employees be affected by the sale?
-
How can ensure that a new buyer will be a “good fit” for my company and its
people?
-
What are the pluses and minuses of selling?
-
What future role, if any, do I want to have in my company after I sell it?
Because of your likely determination to understand the business sales from all
angles, we have developed a complimentary, research-driven Marketability
Analysis that helps you address those questions. Our Marketability Analysis also
helps you recognize and assess the market value of your unique business in terms
of the specific market, financial comparables, trends in the industry, timing of
a sale, understanding your personal goals, your preferred type of buyer, and
more.
Once the Marketability Analysis has been completed and the
woman business owner elects to continue the process, we have found that the best
way to service our clients includes the following:
-
Develop an in-depth history of the business, the
financials, the goals of the owner, the trends, the market, the competition,
-
Meet with the seller’s CPA and attorney and other
professionals to gain greater understanding of the business.
-
Assist the seller to set a price based on a range of
value
-
Strategize the most effective way to market the business
on targeted websites and industry publications
-
Prepare a Confidential Business Review that includes
details of the business
-
Screen and qualify prospective buyers
-
Assist buyers with information on financial resources,
licensing requirements, etc.
-
Facilitate the process through close of escrow
-
Meet with buyer and seller after the sale to ensure
goals have been met
For a more detailed
discussion of how Fox & Fin markets your business to bring top dollar, read
about the Fox & Fin Process.
Buying a Business: Important Questions
There are a myriad of businesses on the market at any one
time. Here are some of the questions that will help you analyze your business
ownership objectives and the real potential for buying and successfully owning a
specific business:
-
Why are you interested in owning a business?
-
What types of businesses interest you and why?
-
What have you done in your past work experience that prepares you for
business ownership in general, for the ownership of this business in particular?
-
Why is the seller selling the business?
-
Do you need a license to operate this business?
-
How was the purchase selling price determined?
-
What is the source of your acquisition capital? How was the money
accumulated?
-
What changes would you make in this business? What are your motivations for
making those changes?
-
How certain are you that the company’s key employees will remain under your
ownership?
-
Who is your competition and how will you maintain and increase market share?
-
Who are the company’s major customers?
-
How certain are you that the company’s major customers will remain under
your ownership?
-
If any customer accounts for more than 10% of the company’s total sales:
-
How long have they been a customer?
-
What is the revenue concentration trend year over year for that customer?
-
How easy is it for them to move to a competitor?
-
Are there any contracts in place?
-
Order a D&B report on each customer
or otherwise research their business and financial history.
-
What happens if you lose that customer?
-
Are the business’s sales seasonal?
-
Is working capital sufficient? How do you know?
-
Is all of the inventory marketable? How do you know?
-
Is the equipment in good condition? Will you need to buy more?
-
Are all the accounts receivable collectable?
-
What are the terms of your lease?
-
Do your financial projections for the company include reasonable
compensation for you?
|
