Business Brokerage .
Steve Skrlac, MBA, CFA
sales representative
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Serving Toronto & Southern Ontario
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Selling a Business
Thinking of selling your business? We can help.
Work with a Business Brokerage Professional to Sell Your Business
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If you are thinking of selling a business in Toronto (GTA) or southern Ontario please contact Steve Skrlac, MBA, CFA at 1-866-289-5171 or via contact form for a consultation. |
Why Use Us To Sell Your Business?
The process of selling a business is unfamiliar to most people. There are many aspects to a business sale and most business owners are taken aback when they learn how complicated the process can be and how quickly money can be lost if the transaction is not handled properly.
We Can Help You Avoid Costly Mistakes
Many business owners try to sell their business after they have been casually approached by a competitor or another interested buyer. Sometimes, business owners try to negotiate the sale of the business themselves by dealing with only this single buyer. The problem with this strategy is that the business owner probably does not have the background to manage the business sale through to completion and many costly mistakes can made along the way if you are not familiar with the process.
An experienced business broker can sell your business for you and help you to avoid the costly mistakes along the way.
Find You a Buyer For Your Business - Generate a Higher Selling Price
By dealing with only a single buyer, a business seller that is attempting to sell their business themselves is at a disadvantage by not exposing the business to multiple buyers on the open market to determine the true market value of the business, which could be significantly higher.
Exposing the business to multiple buyers on the open market through a business broker can lead to a significantly higher selling price and better overall deal terms for the business owner.
| Steve Skrlac, MBA focuses exclusively on selling businesses valued from $100,000 to $5 million in the Toronto area & southern Ontario |
Selling a Business is Much Different Than Selling Real Estate
The process to sell a business is different than selling residential or commercial real estate. The expertise required in selling a small business and the overall process involved is different than the real estate marketplace. Work with a professional experienced in the field of business brokerage to successfully sell your business.
How Steve Skrlac Will Assist You in Selling Your Business
Determine a listing price
Calculating the right listing price for your business using several different valuation methods is something we will assist you with. We should also be able to give you an idea of the price range that your business is likely to sell for. It is critically important to list your business at the right selling price in order to successfully sell it.
Selling a business is about much more than just getting the listing price right though. There are other deal points that can be just as important (if not more so) than the listing price that we can talk to you about. We can discuss with you issues like what a buyer may need to do to successfully get financing for the acquisition (which is much more challenging for a business purchase versus a real estate purchase) and other important issues such as transitioning of inventory, work-in-progress valuation, potential vendor financing and terms, employee issues, customer issues and so on.
The sale of a business usually gets quite involved and proper planning from the beginning and early engagement with the right professional team makes a significant difference in the selling price you receive, deal terms, how quickly your business is sold and how much of the after-tax proceeds you get to keep after the sale.
Normalize the business financial information
To get a true picture of the economic performance of your business, your company's financial information will need to be normalized. Selling a business can be very much a 'numbers game' that Steve Skrlac can assist you with.
Buyers want to understand what the true economic performance of a business is. We will help you in recasting your financial information to determine its 'seller's discretionary income' and other important financial metrics so that buyers can get a true understanding of your business's financial performance and profitability.
Create a marketing package for business buyers
Business buyers usually 'shop around' for a business for sale until they find one that best fits their needs. It is important to always showcase your business to potential buyers in the best possible way. We will create a customized business information package to present to interested buyers.
The identity of your business will remain confidential until a non-disclosure form is signed by the prospective purchaser, at which point the buyer will receive a more fulsome information package. We always advise clients that before disclosing detailed financial information, that we first receive a conditional offer with a deposit or a letter of intent (LOI).
Keep the business sale confidential
Selling a business is much different than selling real estate. The sale of a company must be confidential so as not to alert customers, employees or competitors. We will protect the identity of your company and will not advertise your company's identity. Rest assured that we will act with discretion when representing you and will not disclose any confidential information until we have a signed non-disclosure agreement in hand.
Suggestions to make your business more salable
Dealing with a business intermediary that is active in the business sales market will give you the advantage of qualified advice to know what you can do in advance, to make your company more attractive to in interested buyers.
Find business buyers - and qualify them
We will market your business aggressively (and confidentially). We advertise to our large database of business buyers, online, newspapers, magazines and through our influential network of professionals and other influencers.
We will strive to find buyers for your business and qualify everyone's financial position, seriousness and capability before introducing them to your company.
Manage the sale negotiations
Transacting a small business sale is completely different than a typical real estate transaction. There is usually (much) more complexity and emotion involved and there is a certain level of tension and apprehension that must be bridged. We will act as an intermediary to keep the lines of communication open between all parties involved in the deal.
Manage the due diligence process
Due diligence is the process whereby the business buyer checks the facts and details regarding the business. Due diligence is typically done after a conditional offer is accepted and it allows the buyer to do his or her 'homework' on the business prior to going firm with the deal. Due diligence is one of the most critical periods of a business sale. It is when the buyer pours over the company financials and examines the business operations and other issues (example - environmental, legal, market, etc.). Our role is to manage the due diligence process and facilitate open and honest communication between all parties.
Due diligence is one of the most critical aspects of selling your business and our role is to facilitate the process between the purchaser and vendor.
Keep information flowing
When a business is sold there is a tremendous amount of information that must go back and forth. Our role is to keep the deal moving along by facilitating communication between the buyer & seller and also the lawyers, accountants, bank, franchisor, landlord, leasing company, etc. Business buyers are usually more comfortable dealing with a business intermediary than with a seller directly, so they can be more open and direct.
The decision to sell your business is a major step. Most people have many questions about how to sell a business and how best to attract qualified buyers. Contact Steve Skrlac for a confidential consultation to discuss the process of selling your business.
As a business brokerage client of Steve Skrlac's you can expect:
- A Professional Approach: Steve Skrlac is holder of the prestigious Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) professional designation issued by the Association of Investment Management & Research (AIMR) and is bound by a strict code of professional conduct. Steve is also licensed under the Real Estate Council of Ontario and adheres to the code of ethics as set out in the Real Estate & Business Brokers Act.
- Real World Experience: In addition to selling businesses for his clients, Steve Skrlac is a former business owner himself, having sold many of his own businesses.
- Industry Experience: Steve Skrlac has worked for a major consulting firm in the field of business value measurement as well as in business banking. Putting a business sale together requires a level of knowledge from many different fields that Steve has acquired.
- Technical Expertise: In addition to being a CFA charterholder, Steve has an MBA degree as well as a degree in Economics and is skilled in the 'art & science' of business valuation.
- Tenacity: Selling a business is a task that requires specialized skill and a high degree of determination to be successful. We will act diligently and aggressively to find the right buyer for your business and we will see the deal through to completion.
- Creativity: Selling a business involves many different deal points to be negotiated between a buyer and a seller. Sometimes a creative approach is the only way to get a deal completed that is mutually agreeable.
- Open Communication: There are usually many questions during the listing and selling process. An open level communication throughout the entire business sale process is our commitment to you.
- Advice & Support: We will spend the time with you required to advise you on what you need to do to assist in selling your business. An unprepared seller is one that has not been given the proper guidance from the outset - and that makes selling your business more difficult.
- A Focus on Selling Businesses: Steve Skrlac's exclusive professional focus is on the sale of small & medium-sized businesses. To get specialized service with selling your business, contact Steve Skrlac - a business brokerage professional whose sole practice is devoted to the sale of Ontario businesses.