Archive for June 29, 2011

Why Get A Small Business Appraisal?

admin / June 29, 2011 / No comments

As a professional small Business Broker I am occasionally asked by some small business owners when and what are the appropriate times or reasons to have a formal business valuation or appraisal performed. Although I can often give small business owners a general idea (using traditional pricing guidelines) about what their existing business might be worth for selling and listing purposes, there are many times when having a more formal business appraisal performed by a professional appraiser is much more appropriate and prudent. Below you will find a list of some of the most common scenarios that you should consider having a professional and independent appraisal performed on your business.

Legal & Litigation Issues:

Unfortunately it’s a fact of life that if you own a small business there is a decent chance at some point you will need to have a business appraisal performed for some legal purpose. In my experience as a small business broker the most common legal issues that precipitate the need for an appraisal are personal divorce and partnership disputes.  Less common reasons would include shareholder disputes, the establishment of an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Program), and eminent domain related issues. Regardless of the specific legal issue, an appraisal report created by an independent and professional small business appraiser is often one of the most important tools used (and often required) to help settle or resolve small business legal issues.

Tax Related Issues:

Tax related issues such as gift and estate planning will require a detailed business valuation report to be prepared and updated on regular basis. Generally it’s considered prudent to have a valuation prepared in advance to help address the inevitable transfer of ownership that will occur at some point down the road as well as possibly help mitigate any tax burdens due to the owners passing. It’s prudent to always consult with your financial adviser and CPA as well when doing estate planning.

Business Financing:

I can tell you from experience that most small business lenders will automatically require a detailed business appraisal performed as part of their due diligence before approving financingfor any number of reasons. A third party and professional appraisal can also be an important tool to have on hand when an owner is seeking new partners or private investors to help grow the business. Having a recent appraisal report included in your presentation package could help validate your business model and show your potential new partners or investors that you are well organized and mean business.

Business Sale or Acquisition:

Whether you are selling or buying a small business having a professional and independent appraisal or valuation performed can be very helpful indeed.  For sellers an appraisal report can be used to help validate and support the asking price of your business which will ultimately maximize your return on investment. For buyers an independent appraisal report can potentially be very helpful when negotiating the final sales price and terms of a business acquisition. It can also give you peace of mind that you are not grossly over paying for a business.  A third party appraisal report is also indispensible when determining the value of a business in preparation for negotiating the terms of a potential partner buy out as well.

 

Category: small business / Tags: , ,

The Ambiguity of Small Business Definition

admin / June 29, 2011 / No comments

When different people are using the phrase ‘small business’, do they refer to a common set of definitions? Like, how many employees are listed in the payroll? Or, the number of years it’s operative? A literature review of 23 papers, which have been published from 1958 to 2002, tries to shed light on this issue. The review revealed an inconsistency regarding both characterization and definition of small business. The variety of definition used in these papers unable to set an agreeable format for small business definition. Mayer and Goldstein (1961) define small business as an employer of less then 200 employees. Potts (1977) set the barrier on 20 employees in addition to a minimum eight years that the business is operative. Robinson (1982) define firm as small if the number of employees is less then 50, the annual sales is under three million dollars and it’s operate as sole ownership. Covin and Slevin (1989) define small business according to number of employees – more then five or less then 500, as well as a minimum of five years that the business is operative. Rue and Ibrahim (1998) define small firm as an employer of more then 15 employees. Perry (2001) set an upper limit of 500 employees as a sole identifier for business to be regard as small. The review clarify that the ambiguity is stable over time. The lack of uniform definition in the sixtieth continued throughout the decades into the millennium. The industries targeted by the different scholars do have one common base; the focus was on industries with low to average economic growth such as manufacturing, trade (retail, wholesale) and service.

Scholars have addressed the problematicalness regarding the inconsistency of small business definition for quite time, Golde (1964) which examine small manufacturing employers with less then 500 employees, argue that it’s an arbitrarily definition which can adequately feet non manufacturing firms. Welsh and White (1981) claims that small business tend to group in certain industries, such as – wholesalers, retailers, service and manufacturing. Peterson et al., (1986) note that the most common definition is the one that used by the Small Business Administration (SBA), in part, that definition state that small business can be define as one if both its ownership and operation conducted independently, and it’s not dominant at the industry which is operate in. D’amboise and Muldowney (1988) write about the complexity of small business definition, which can be a result of the variety and different types of firms this phrase try to encompass. Pickle and Abrahamson (1990) address the question, what is a small business? There answer is that some will regard small business as such if it’s employ certain number of employees, others will claim that small business is one that limits his operation to local market, and part will classify business as small according to it’s nature (e.g., local pharmacy, clothing store, jewelry store).

Category: small business / Tags: , ,

Create an Image with Stylish Business Card Holders

admin / June 29, 2011 / No comments

A card holder is a case inside which one can store visiting cards. Business executives who visit different offices for professional reasons exchange lots of visiting cards with people they meet and interact with. Exchanging visiting card with a person is corporate courtesy and that’s why business professionals always carry their visiting cards in their card holders.

 

A Visiting card contains vital information regarding an individual such as name, address, contact number, professional designation and name of company he/she works which help other to communicate in times of need. Corporate people meet hundreds of individual’s everyday and get their cards but to store so many cards along with the cards of their own, they need spacious holders to hold their cards in. As a card holder is carried either inside the wallet or inside a pocket in the suit it doesn’t need to be very good looking but as one needs to pull it out in public at frequent intervals, therefore the  holder must bear some element making  an impression in the receiver’s mind.

 

Hence in order to have the first impression fair, one must always look for appealing card holders. There is no need to worry, as they are available in endless varieties. You can opt for a simple but colorful fiber holder or may carry an elegant looking metal holder. Metal holders are the most glamorous of all. They are available in different shapes and sizes. One can have a flat card holder that looks similar to a cigarette case or may opt for a holder with more depth. Flat metal ones are more popular as they are easy to carry. They fit in very easily inside the pocket of your business suit or in your wallet.

 

If you are fond of leathery shine, you can opt for a leather holder for your business card. With a look similar to leather wallet, leather business card holders certainly make a style statement for one. A holder in shiny black leather can add to your glamour when you bring it out of your pocket, take out your card, and give it to somebody. And if you are giving it to a lady, you can be rest assured of leaving an impression on her mind. Leather holders are more useful than metal holders as they serve two purposes. Apart from storing visiting cards, you can use it as your money bag.

 

Card holder is now a hot choice among various corporate gift items. Glamorous holders made of leather and metal sell like hot cakes from gift shops. Apart from holders that are carried in pockets, you can gift an item that can be kept on desktop. Fiber-made transparent cardholders look gorgeous on desktops. Business professionals of higher ranks, who do not travel frequently, use such holders to store visiting cards who come to meet them. If you are planning to impress your boss, present him/her with a glamorous glass or fiber-made card holder as a birthday gift. It will surely carve a mark in his heart. If your boss is fond of arts and handicraft, make him/happier with a nicely carved wooden one. You will find them in different designs. The best would be one that looks like a box and contains a separate space for keeping a pen. Some holders include a matching pen, and if your item doesn’t have one, buy a pen and make the ‘gift’ more attractive.

Category: business card / Tags: , ,
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