Tags |
|
|
Links |
|
|
Add You - Buying A Business - Avoid The Caverns! 10 Key Dos & Don'ts
It's hard to imagine why anyone would pick up a newspaper to find a job any more. With a seemingly endless array of career sites, mailing lists, corporate sites and newsgroups, job seekers have more options online than ever before. And the credit goes to the growth and advances in Information Technology (IT).Traditionally job seekers most preferred channel was Newspapers & Personal Referrals. As for online recruitment, the medium has come a long way in the last 3 years, but it remains a tool that has only been put to the test in a candidate-rich environment. Along with the IT revolution in the recruitment channel the current market has four clear segments - Corporate Sites, Personal Referrals, Newspapers, Recruitment Agencies & Job Sites.Online recruitment has an edge over other traditional media for four clear reasons:* REACH* SPEED* COST* QUALITYAccording to The Top-Consultants.com 2004 Recruitment Channel Survey result Corporate Sites have been slowly increasing their share of applications over the last 3 years – up from 8 % to 13% of all application. Exec
In other words save harmless clauses are only as good as the person behind them. It is better to uncover any and all potential problems and deal with them before closing then it is to rely on save harmless clauses. As well, even if the seller is prepared to take care of any liabilities that are from the period that he owned the business, that might arise in the future, the time burden of dealing with those liabilities when they surface will still be your responsibility. It will be your company that will have to bare the potentially negative exposure and it will be your company that may be sued, and secondarily it may very well affect your future liability insurance rates as those rates are based on historic company claims.
5. Look at financing alternatives, owing the seller some money will give him
The career field of paralegals began developing in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s as lawyers began hiring the assistants to help them with paper work, case investigation and general duties. As more attorneys began hiring legal assistance, the American Bar Association formed the Standing Committee on Legal Assistance to help set the standard in the paralegal - attorney relationship, employment guidelines and other duties associated with the paralegal, or legal assistant. That committee was formed in the late 1960s and today is made up of both attorneys and professional paralegals. The American Bar Association offers a certification program to institutions that give courses in paralegal instruction which gives the bar association the opportunity to set standards in the education of legal assistants.There are several major national professional organizations for paralegals in the United States, in addition to their representation in the American Bar Association. Some of those organizations have helped form the career field of the paralegal, or legal assistant.Two professional organizations, the Natio
The following 10 points should always be in the back of your mind.
1. Do not buy or invest in a business that you do not understand or are not familiar with. This does not mean that you have to know every detail of the management and operation of that specific business. Hopefully, you will receive specific training from the current owner. What it does mean is that you should, at the very least understand the primary principles of the business. We all understand the principles behind a retailer; buy product that appeals to the consumer at the lowest possible price and sell it at the highest price possible while maintaining the lowest overheads – simple! But, if the business you are considering is in the disposal of toxic waste, understanding the basic parameters of how the business operates and hence makes a profit could be completely foreign to you. The current owner of any business that is listed for sale will always tell you that running the business is relatively easy. It probably is relatively easy for the seller; he has had many years of experience that make it easy.
2. The complexities and timing of the transferring of knowledge from the seller to the buyer is relative to the type of business that is being acquired. A business that is very seasonal, should have a minimum of one full year of support from the seller in order to learn what occurs and how to manage and operate the business with each and every season. Make sure that you have an agreement on how and when the support and transferring of the seller’s knowledge will take place. As an example, will you require that the seller be available some evenings and/or weekends? Is the seller planning on taking a three-week vacation in Europe the day after closing?
3. Before you buy a business, set a top price in your mind, that you can afford and that you think the business is worth. Don’t ever be afraid or embarrassed to walk away. Don’t become so involved in the actual “buying” of the business that actually consummating the deal becomes more important and exciting than the acquisition of the business itself. No business that I have ever seen is worth buying at any cost. Do not let yourself get caught up in the “its only another $25K” routine!
4. If you buy the shares of a business, you are acquiring “everything”, that includes tax liabilities, lawsuits, and debt. Those that exist now and those that might appear in the future. There are methods whereby you can purchase the shares and the assets and not the liabilities. In this case, the liabilities fall back on the seller. However, you must remember that even if you do not buy the liabilities, as you own the shares, any and all lawsuits will be directed towards you (the corporation). The previous owner may have given you a multitude of “save harmless” clauses, which basically means that he will be responsible for any lawsuits or claims made against the company for things that occurred prior to you acquiring it. If something were to happen to the previous owner or he looses all his money in the stock market, you will end up being responsible for all of those liabilities.
In other words save harmless clauses are only as good as the person behind them. It is better to uncover any and all potential problems and deal with them before closing then it is to rely on save harmless clauses. As well, even if the seller is prepared to take care of any liabilities that are from the period that he owned the business, that might arise in the future, the time burden of dealing with those liabilities when they surface will still be your responsibility. It will be your company that will have to bare the potentially negative exposure and it will be your company that may be sued, and secondarily it may very well affect your future liability insurance rates as those rates are based on historic company claims.
5. Look at financing alternatives, owing the seller some money will give him a
The forklift is one of the most powerful pieces of equipment for any warehouse operation, and every manufacturing or shipping company will need at least one forklift in order to conduct its daily business.The operation of a forklift is of course quite easy to understand, and every person reading this article no doubt already knows what a forklift is and what it does. In addition to the traditional forklift, of course, there are specially designed fork trucks that have been designed for moving pallets around by hand. These fork trucks can be very valuable for moving products around where space is tight, and no special training in driving a forklift is required to operate this piece of equipment.Of course where large pallets, or large numbers of pallets, must be moved, it is the forklift that will be required to move them. Without a forklift it could take many, many hours to move products that could be moved in a fraction of the time using a forklift.Of course using a forklift requires special training, and it is important that all forklift operators receive such training before being turned loose w
2. The complexities and timing of the transferring of knowledge from the seller to the buyer is relative to the type of business that is being acquired. A business that is very seasonal, should have a minimum of one full year of support from the seller in order to learn what occurs and how to manage and operate the business with each and every season. Make sure that you have an agreement on how and when the support and transferring of the seller’s knowledge will take place. As an example, will you require that the seller be available some evenings and/or weekends? Is the seller planning on taking a three-week vacation in Europe the day after closing?
3. Before you buy a business, set a top price in your mind, that you can afford and that you think the business is worth. Don’t ever be afraid or embarrassed to walk away. Don’t become so involved in the actual “buying” of the business that actually consummating the deal becomes more important and exciting than the acquisition of the business itself. No business that I have ever seen is worth buying at any cost. Do not let yourself get caught up in the “its only another $25K” routine!
4. If you buy the shares of a business, you are acquiring “everything”, that includes tax liabilities, lawsuits, and debt. Those that exist now and those that might appear in the future. There are methods whereby you can purchase the shares and the assets and not the liabilities. In this case, the liabilities fall back on the seller. However, you must remember that even if you do not buy the liabilities, as you own the shares, any and all lawsuits will be directed towards you (the corporation). The previous owner may have given you a multitude of “save harmless” clauses, which basically means that he will be responsible for any lawsuits or claims made against the company for things that occurred prior to you acquiring it. If something were to happen to the previous owner or he looses all his money in the stock market, you will end up being responsible for all of those liabilities.
In other words save harmless clauses are only as good as the person behind them. It is better to uncover any and all potential problems and deal with them before closing then it is to rely on save harmless clauses. As well, even if the seller is prepared to take care of any liabilities that are from the period that he owned the business, that might arise in the future, the time burden of dealing with those liabilities when they surface will still be your responsibility. It will be your company that will have to bare the potentially negative exposure and it will be your company that may be sued, and secondarily it may very well affect your future liability insurance rates as those rates are based on historic company claims.
5. Look at financing alternatives, owing the seller some money will give him
Your business will need to belong to certain fields in order to qualify for government finance. Moreover, you’ll need to present a business plan with market analysis and other provisions. Some government agencies offer loans but also grants which you won’t have to repay. You can contact the different agencies for more information or search the net to find out about the different programs.Starting Business Loans If you don’t fall into the categories required to obtain government funds, you will need to resort to private funding. This also has its tricks, there are different kinds of business loans and not all of them will provide a solution to your funding needs. Moreover, there are certain business’ loans not meant for starting businesses and thus, applying for such loans will only lower your credit score since you’ll get declined.Business loans are meant for running businesses. You have to own a business with at least 3 years of credit history in order to get approved. The only kind of loans that is specially tailored for those willing to start their own business is a starting business loan.
3. Before you buy a business, set a top price in your mind, that you can afford and that you think the business is worth. Don’t ever be afraid or embarrassed to walk away. Don’t become so involved in the actual “buying” of the business that actually consummating the deal becomes more important and exciting than the acquisition of the business itself. No business that I have ever seen is worth buying at any cost. Do not let yourself get caught up in the “its only another $25K” routine!
4. If you buy the shares of a business, you are acquiring “everything”, that includes tax liabilities, lawsuits, and debt. Those that exist now and those that might appear in the future. There are methods whereby you can purchase the shares and the assets and not the liabilities. In this case, the liabilities fall back on the seller. However, you must remember that even if you do not buy the liabilities, as you own the shares, any and all lawsuits will be directed towards you (the corporation). The previous owner may have given you a multitude of “save harmless” clauses, which basically means that he will be responsible for any lawsuits or claims made against the company for things that occurred prior to you acquiring it. If something were to happen to the previous owner or he looses all his money in the stock market, you will end up being responsible for all of those liabilities.
In other words save harmless clauses are only as good as the person behind them. It is better to uncover any and all potential problems and deal with them before closing then it is to rely on save harmless clauses. As well, even if the seller is prepared to take care of any liabilities that are from the period that he owned the business, that might arise in the future, the time burden of dealing with those liabilities when they surface will still be your responsibility. It will be your company that will have to bare the potentially negative exposure and it will be your company that may be sued, and secondarily it may very well affect your future liability insurance rates as those rates are based on historic company claims.
5. Look at financing alternatives, owing the seller some money will give him
You have your restaurant open for several weeks now, customers are coming in…finally you have employees serving real food. But before you continue with your business further, be sure that you have everything else under control. It’s still important to be informed about what’s hot and what’s not and what’s important in handling a restaurant for business.It’s not only how your restaurant’s look and feel that matter, but how you make your customers happy and satisfied of their entire stay at your restaurant. When they have a good time over-all, they will surely come back and take new friends or relatives with them, and when their friends tell their friends as well, you know what’s going to happen next.Make sure that your restaurant’s atmosphere is friendly all the way through to any customers that you receive. When you have a happy disposition with your business, it reflects that same character to your customers as well. Don’t forget to tell your employees to always give a welcoming smile to whoever comes in your establishment. It’s always important that customers feel your appreciation because they visited.
4. If you buy the shares of a business, you are acquiring “everything”, that includes tax liabilities, lawsuits, and debt. Those that exist now and those that might appear in the future. There are methods whereby you can purchase the shares and the assets and not the liabilities. In this case, the liabilities fall back on the seller. However, you must remember that even if you do not buy the liabilities, as you own the shares, any and all lawsuits will be directed towards you (the corporation). The previous owner may have given you a multitude of “save harmless” clauses, which basically means that he will be responsible for any lawsuits or claims made against the company for things that occurred prior to you acquiring it. If something were to happen to the previous owner or he looses all his money in the stock market, you will end up being responsible for all of those liabilities.
In other words save harmless clauses are only as good as the person behind them. It is better to uncover any and all potential problems and deal with them before closing then it is to rely on save harmless clauses. As well, even if the seller is prepared to take care of any liabilities that are from the period that he owned the business, that might arise in the future, the time burden of dealing with those liabilities when they surface will still be your responsibility. It will be your company that will have to bare the potentially negative exposure and it will be your company that may be sued, and secondarily it may very well affect your future liability insurance rates as those rates are based on historic company claims.
5. Look at financing alternatives, owing the seller some money will give him
Being new in the working world, I am sure you are eager to show off your newfound skills and knowledge. However, out there in the working world some basic work effective habits can increase your productivity. By being consistently effective at your work increases your chances of success in your career.The 5 effective work habits are:1. Volunteer for Assignments One of the best ways to signal that you are a keen learner and are not afraid of hard work is to volunteer for assignments. Especially assignments that no one seems interested to do. However, before that do assess your own skills and knowledge to see if you can confidently accomplish it. If you are confident in completing the task in full and perfection, go ahead and volunteer for it. However, do remember one thing. Under promise and over deliver on the assignment you volunteered. Do not be too confident that you turn a perfect opportunity into mess. Once you start the project, see it till the end. You would be seen as someone who is courageous enough to take on additional assignments. You would also be seen as someone who follows thro
In other words save harmless clauses are only as good as the person behind them. It is better to uncover any and all potential problems and deal with them before closing then it is to rely on save harmless clauses. As well, even if the seller is prepared to take care of any liabilities that are from the period that he owned the business, that might arise in the future, the time burden of dealing with those liabilities when they surface will still be your responsibility. It will be your company that will have to bare the potentially negative exposure and it will be your company that may be sued, and secondarily it may very well affect your future liability insurance rates as those rates are based on historic company claims.
5. Look at financing alternatives, owing the seller some money will give him an incentive to transfer his knowledge (he has a very good reason to help you succeed, he wants to get the balance of his money) and it will give you something to negotiate with if there are any financial disputes that appear after you have acquired the business. You can usually obtain much better terms from the Seller, depending on the Seller’s reasons for divesting himself from his business, then you will from a bank or other financial institution.
However, you must be aware of one pitfall in borrowing money from the seller. In most cases his Non Compete Agreement, if there is one, will have a clause that states if you do not live up to the terms and conditions of the Loan Agreement that his Non Compete Agreement is null and void. In other words, you miss one payment and the previous owner may become your biggest competitor.
6. The seller’s net weekly, monthly, and yearly cash flow is likely to be higher than yours due to the fact that he is not carrying the debt you incurred to buy the company. The seller also has years of experience and is likely to make fewer business errors and he will be much more efficient.
7. Warranty issues in any company involved in creating goods or supplying services can be a major liability. Most small businesses do not accrue any reserve for warranty expenses. It is important that the cost of warranty issues be resolved with the seller prior to acquiring the business. If you purchase the shares of the company, you are accepting any and all warranty liability costs and issues for warranty claims in the period prior to acquiring the business. Do not accept statements from the seller that warranty costs are very low. Very low in the seller’s mind could be very high to you. Warranty bill backs, if there are to be any, to the seller should be defined in the agreements including labor costs (what rate) and material costs and terms of payment (will it be deducted from the buyers debt to the seller or invoiced to the seller weekly, monthly or quarterly and on what payment terms).
8. If you are acquiring a “service” business, remember that you are primarily buying a business whose assets are people. Buying people is always a dangerous game, because you can never be 100% sure that the people will stay on after you acquire the business. Before acquiring a service business, investigate the market for the skills of the types of individuals that you will be employing. Can your employees obtain equivalent and or better paying jobs somewhere else, is there a market shortage or a glut? This can usually be accomplished by reading the local newspaper classified ads. If you are looking at acquiring a business that does locksmith work and the local classifieds have ten advertisements from your potential competitors looking for locksmiths you may be acquiring a staffing problem! You can also contact some recruitment agencies in the area the business is located in and ask them if they have a lot of call for, or do they have a lot of people looking for work with those disciplines.
9. Once you have found a business that you want to acquire and have basically come to an agreement with the seller on the major terms and conditions one of the parties, the seller or buyer will “draft” the agreements. The party that drafts the agreements goes to his lawyer and has him produce a set of agreements that will be the agreements that both buyer and seller sig
HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.addyou.info/article/17689/addyou-Buying-A-Business--Avoid-The-Caverns-10-Key-Dos--Donts.html">Buying A Business - Avoid The Caverns! 10 Key Dos & Don'ts</a>
BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.addyou.info/article/17689/addyou-Buying-A-Business--Avoid-The-Caverns-10-Key-Dos--Donts.html]Buying A Business - Avoid The Caverns! 10 Key Dos & Don'ts[/url]
Related Articles:
Your Restaurant, Staff And Customers
Offline Website Promotion – Get Your Site Seen Today!
What Are You Waiting For? Send Your Resume Here's How
Bookmark it:
|