Articles

Save Now, Pay later – A Cautionary Tale on Running Personal Expenses Through Your Business

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Nobody likes to pay taxes. We get that and we don’t like to pay taxes either, but many business owners have been known to blur the lines of “business” and “personal” expenses to save money on taxes. No one talks about it, or likes to admit it, but it happens a lot. We see it all the ti ...
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2023: A Year to Get Creative

Business Buying a business Sell a Business

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Despite some obvious challenges in the economy like inflation, rising interest rates, a looming recession, a bear market, soft staffing, and an ongoing war in Ukraine…deals are still taking place among main street and lower middle market companies. There was a dry period for buy/sell transacti ...
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Know Your Company’s Worth

Business Business For Sale Business Information For Sellers Valuation Valuing

Posted by Melanie Smollen on

Most people know what a business valuation is (the process of figuring out what your company is worth), but not everyone knows the different reasons valuations are performed. Aside from the obvious need for a valuation when you’re ready to sell the business, valuations are preformed for many d ...
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5 Ways Businesses are Valued Incorrectly

Business Information For Sellers Sell Sell a Business Selling Selling a business Valuation Valuing

Posted by Jennifer Smith Broeckling on

Most business owners have no idea what their business is actually worth. The reasons that business owners typically seek out a valuation are: 1) They are working on a financial plan with their financial planner; 2) they are going though a major life event (divorce, illness, etc.); 3) they are ...
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Choosing the Right Advisors for Your Deal

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Selling your business represents more than just a significant financial event in your life. It’s the culmination of substantial time, resources, and years of sacrifice. To get maximum value for your business, you need the right people around you who will have your back and help you exit well. O ...
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Selecting a Broker

Business For Sale For Sellers Sell Sell a Business Selling Selling a business Small Business

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You’ve decided you are ready to talk with a business broker about buying or selling your business. It wasn’t an easy decision; there is a lot to consider! You’re a little nervous about making the call and starting the process, but you’re even MORE nervous about making sure you select the rig ...
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Killing a Deal

Posted by Jennifer Smith on

Last month, someone asked a great question on our Facebook page: “Have you ever had a businessperson pull out of a deal because they thought it wasn’t in the best interest of their clients for the potential buyer to take over?” Our answer was “Yes – and we fully supported that decision ...
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When is it Time to Sell?

Business Business For Sale Business Information For Sellers Sell Sell a Business Selling Selling a business

Posted by Jennifer Smith on

How do you know when it’s time to sell your business? To some it might seem like a silly question, but for a business owner (and particularly for a family-owned business), the decision can cause some sleepless nights. Since we work with a lot of sellers, here is a list of some of the tell-tale sig ...
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One Answer to Labor Challenges

Posted by Jennifer Smith on

Recently we were talking with a business owner who is in a tight spot. She’s trying to fill a linchpin position within her company and she’s extremely frustrated at the lack of quality candidates she is finding through sites like Indeed.com and industry-specific headhunters. We asked her if ...
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Recommended Reading

Business Business Information General Business

Posted by Jennifer Smith on

We see a lot of businesses. And financial statements. And business models. And methodologies. Some good, some not-so-good. Because of that we’re often asked for recommendations and best practices to increase the value and sellability of a business. So, we thought we would dedicate this month’s n ...
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Buyer’s Search

Business General Business

Posted by Jennifer Smith on

A trend that we’re seeing in 2022 is an increased demand for strategic acquisition, initiated from the buy side. There have always been more buyers than sellers in the market, but buyers are now approaching their goals in a more targeted and intentional way. This brings us to an incredibly pre ...
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Tax Strategies that Work*

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If you’ve been reading our articles for a while, you know that a business broker is a tremendous help with sourcing buyers confidentially, negotiating the right structure, assisting with due diligence, securing financing for the buyer, handling escrow, providing neutral closing documents, and ...
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2022 Outlook

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Not as rough as 2020, but 2021 was no picnic for many people and businesses. Supply chain challenges, microchip shortages, cyberattacks, inflation, and labor concerns dominated many conversations in the board room and at the dinner table. Perhaps it’s wishful thinking, but it appears that m ...
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Managing Risk

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Risk. It’s a word that means different things to different people. Some people are fairly risk averse and like to minimize it at all costs. For them, a steady paycheck and conservative investments help them sleep at night. For other people, the thought of risk gets their adrenaline pumping and ...
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Labor Force Impact on Business Sales

Posted by Jennifer Smith on

It’s no secret that businesses are having labor troubles. Everyone is hiring. Hourly wages are going up. Restaurants are reducing hours and days of operation. Supply chains are interrupted. It’s EVERYWHERE. If you own a business, this might be what is driving you to consider selling. Or p ...
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Value vs. Sellability

Business For Sale Business Information For Sellers Sell Sell a Business Selling Selling a business Valuation Valuing

Posted by Jennifer Smith on

  One of our favorite things to talk about is how to increase the value of small and mid-sized businesses. Most business owners know how to impact line items on their financial statements (i.e. revenue, salaries, bank balances, etc.), but we find that driving the actual value of the business ...
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Steps to Selling

Business Business Information For Sellers Sell Sell a Business Selling Selling a business Small Business

Posted by Jennifer Smith on

Have you ever wondered HOW people sell their business when they’re done running it? You may know intuitively that it’s not like selling a car or a piece of real estate, but most people don’t know where to begin when they’re ready to sell their business. At Murphy Business of Cape, we gui ...
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Buyers Abound!

Posted by Jennifer Smith on

You have probably heard that the real estate market is HOT right now. Realtors can’t find enough good houses (supply) to match with people looking to buy (demand). The same is true in business brokerage: We don’t have enough supply (sellers) to meet demand (buyers). What does it mean when ...
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One Million Dollars!

Business Business Information For Sellers General Business Sell Sell a Business Selling Selling a business Valuation Valuing

Posted by Jennifer Smith on

If we had a dime for every time a business owner who told us they wanted to get a million dollars for their business (or even five or ten million)…well, we’d have a LOT of dimes! While we would love to sell every small, main street business out there for this nice, round figure, often times t ...
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How 2020 is Impacting Business Valuations

Business Business Information Buy a Business Buying a business For Buyers For Sellers General Business Sell Sell a Business Selling Selling a business Valuation Valuing

Posted by Jennifer Smith on

Let’s talk more about 2020. Wait…stay with me here…I know we’re all sick of talking about the year that shut down the globe, but it’s one of the most often asked questions we receive these days: “How are you handling 2020 when valuing businesses?” So, let’s talk about it! Firs ...
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