The telephone rings, the caller receives a message welcoming them, then she is asked to dial the extension of the person she wants to talk to. Since she doesn’t know the extension, she has to wait and listen to the…
The following appeared in a study, Financial Difficulties of Small Businesses and Reasons for Their Failure, prepared for the Small Business Administration (SBA). They are statements made by individuals whose business was in financial difficulty and subsequently failed. Their comments…
As the federal government and the state governments look for more ways to bring in money, the independent contractor status is a likely place for them to look. After all, by using independent contractors rather than employees, employers don’t have…
A recent article in the Boston Globe reported that although more attention is on the large, primarily publicly held companies, more and more people are making their living by operating their own businesses. In fact, nationally, over 500,000 new businesses…
Small companies are the innovators. The need for large companies to acquire small companies is necessary in order for the former to capture new products and services. According to Fortune magazine, “Big companies almost never innovate. This is unfortunate because…
The median sales of a company going public has gone from an average $15 million in 1999 and 2000 to $164 million in 2004. Smaller companies have decided not to go public as often as in years past, and they…
In most jurisdictions, a board of directors is not required for privately held companies. However, many of these companies have appointed what might be termed advisory boards. Although they may not have any legal authority, owners of these privately owned…
The deal is getting down to the wire, the price differential is close, but the parties are not yet in agreement. Following are some ideas that might get the ball rolling and help bring the parties together. Let the seller…
A recent article in M&A Today offered some observations concerning current and future M&A trends. “The business world is constantly changing. For the first half of the 20th century, vertical integration was the objective in which, oil companies, for example,…
We suspect that the answer to this question depends on who you ask! The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reports that they received some 24.8 million business tax returns for the year 1999. We can hear the joyful sounds emanating from new business…
Here is a common and much-used breakdown by the federal government: Small Business Administration (SBA): Very Small Business = 19 or fewer employees Small Business = 20 to 99 employees Medium-Size Business = 100 to 499 employees Large Business = 500+…
1. Start with the business – Value Drivers: Size, growth rate, management, niche, history – Value Detractors: Customer concentration Poor financials Outdated M&E Few assets Lack of agreements with employees, customers, suppliers Poor exit possibilities Small market Potential technology changes Product…
