Q4 2018 Report: Still a Seller’s Market but the Clock Is Ticking
3/9/19 In a Q4 2018 report M&A advisors and business brokers reported that it was still a seller’s market, but that may not be the case for much longer.
What is Exit Planning? A Q&A with Vincent Mastrovito
2/28/19 Max Friar has worked with Vincent Mastrovito of Prometis Partners for several years now with the goal of educating business owners about how to increase the value of their companies. We asked Vincent some questions about what what he does as a exit planner and what he recommends owners do before they decide to sell.
Physical Capital vs. Intellectual Capital
1/31/19 What is the the difference between physical capital and intellectual capital, and how do they affect valuation?
2018 Q3 Survey Gives a Good Continued Outlook for Sellers
12-19-18 The most recent survey done by IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse reveals that the market for businesses was still very active in Q3 2018 and deals were still getting continuously done as fiscal year 2018 closed out.
How ROBS Arrangements Can Enable a Business Purchase
11-24-18 When business owners structure and administer their ROBS arrangements correctly, they can satisfy the requirements of tax laws and build profitable businesses – without taking on debt or letting investment money sit unused.
Calder Founder Max Friar Wins ACG’s 2018 Dealmaker of the Year Finalist Award
11-5-18 Calder Capital is pleased to announce that Founder, Max Friar, has been awarded Dealmaker of the Year Finalist for 2018.
Patrick Robey Sources & Closes 2018 ACG Deal of the Year <$25MM
10-19-18 Calder Capital is pleased to announce that associate and Director of Corporate Development, Patrick Robey, sourced and closed ACG’s Deal of the Year <$25MM.
Factoring in Human Resources Concerns to Salability
8-30-18 How do buyers view a company’s employees in evaluating the health of that business? Here we examine buyer scrutiny of human resources issues.
2018 Q2 State of the Market Update
8-20-18 Business owner sentiment as well as current market statistics constitute this informative Q2 Market Update!
Are Millennials Buying Boomer Businesses?
6-13-18 Trends are converging to create ideal conditions for an unprecedented passing of the baton from Baby Boomers to a new generation of small business owners. Will Millennials take up the challenge?
Why You Should Buy an Existing Business – Rather than Start One
5-22-18 Owning a business doesn’t have to mean starting from scratch. There are a number of reasons why buying an already existing business is better than starting your own.
The Effects of Changes to SBA 7(a) Financing
3-22-18 How simple is it to get an SBA loan now, and how does this affect the current market for small and medium-sized businesses?
Develop a Buyer Mentality: To Sell Your Business, Think like a Buyer
2-23-18 If you cannot see your business’s weaknesses, you will overvalue it, and this will throw a wrench into the sale process or even prevent a sale entirely. If you want to be a successful seller, develop a buyer mentality.
2017 Third Quarter Insights on Business Sales
1-23-18 The International Business Brokers Association released its Market Pulse for 2017 third quarter. Here are the most interesting takeaways from this report which was based on a survey of 334 business brokers and M&A advisors.
2017 Recap of Deals and Firm News
1-10-18 It was a record year at Calder Capital, one full of innovation and increased deal flow. Here are a number of the exciting landmarks that we passed.
Finding the Right Buyer for Your Business
12-31-17 Owners have invested money, sweat, and emotion in their companies, and they want to see them continue and prosper under the right buyer.
SBA 7(a) Financing Changes Coming For 2018
11-22-17 Looking forward into 2018, there will be some changes with SBA loans that will impact acquisition financing. These changes will alter the usual bank/seller financing ratio.
Will YOU Invest in the Great Lakes Economy?
10-30-17 Calder Capital is situated in the center of this economy in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and we represent business owners and investors in many of these industries and states. In West Michigan, the economy is strong and the economic outlook is promising.
Why Your Friends and Family Can’t Give You Advice about Buying a Business
9-30-17 When it comes to purchasing a business, the people who care about you will likely not be able to help you much. There are reasons why friends and family shouldn’t be your advisors here.
What Is a Letter of Intent (LOI)?
8-31-17 If you’ve checked out Calder Capital’s page of listed opportunities and successful sales, you will see that we currently have 6 businesses under LOI with an expected closing in the third quarter of 2017. In this blog we will go over what LOI, or Letter of Intent, is
Are You Prepared for Retirement?
6-30-17 Are you prepared for retirement? Many small business owners don’t ever plan to fully retire, so making a succession plan does not seem so pressing, but there are good reasons to prepare.
Employees’ Welfare is a Key Priority for Sellers
5-30-17 Concerned about how your employees may handle a transition? In a report published by the International Business Brokers Association, 70% of owners stated that employee welfare after a sale was a top concern.
How Many Business Buyers Will Eventually Realize their Goal?
4-19-17 Nine out of ten people who want to buy a business will turn away from their goal at some point in the process. They want to own a business, they may have the capital and the experience to run one successfully, but they do not purchase one. Why?
Mergers and Acquisitions: 2016 in Review
3-10-17 With the 4Q data now gathered for 2016, it’s clear now that it was another great year to sell a business.
What Will the Trump Effect Be on Small Business M&A?
1-31-17 Can we expect the positive trend of the last few years to continue, or will changes in politics and economics have a stifling impact on M&A?
What Is Due Diligence?
11-29-16 One of the parts of the process of selling a business is called due diligence. What is it and how is it done?
Reasons that Businesses Are Not Sold
10-24-16 There are a number of reasons businesses fail to sell, and here we will discuss five.
Retirement as a Reason for a Small-Business Sale
8-29-16 What are the reasons businesses are being put up for sale? Retirement, not surprisingly, is the number one answer sellers give.
Small Business Sales up in 2016!
7-20-16 If you’ve been wondering how issues like the presidential election and rising health insurance costs have affected the small business transaction market, Calder Capital is pleased to report that the news is good.
The Most Important Question To Ask A Business Broker
6-13-16 In the twelve months preceding June of 2016, Calder Capital successfully closed 10 transactions. Equally as important, our associates closed an average of two to three deals per year individually. We accomplished this because Calder has both the follow-through and the networking contacts to make these sales happen.
National Coatings, Inc. Acquired by Color Masters Painting
5-30-16 Calder Capital, LLC is very pleased to announce the successful sale of National Coatings, Inc, a Traverse City, MI-based company. National Coatings was acquired by Zeb Hadley, Owner and Founder of Color Masters Painting of Raleigh, North Carolina.
Why You Couldn’t Sell Your Business Yourself
5-26-16 Most business owners do not have experience or knowledge in the small business market nor the necessary connections. They have a great deal of experience running a business, but no experience selling one so, unfortunately, they do not know what to expect.
Award Window Cleaning Acquires Blue Sky Window Cleaners
5-12-16 Calder Capital is pleased to announce the successful sale of Blue Sky Window Cleaners, LLC, to Award Window Cleaning Services, Inc.
What Differentiates “Introducers” from M&A Advisors?
4-13-16 Sadly, the average business broker (the “introducer”) has an abysmal 7% closing success rate. How is this possible, you may ask? It’s possible because typical business brokers do not take the time to do three critical things.
Impres Engineering Services Acquired by Blue Star Automation
4-13-16 Calder Capital is pleased to announce the sale of Impres Engineering Services, LLC, an established Holland, Michigan-based 5-axis CNC machining manufacturer, to Blue Star Automation.
Why Aren’t Baby Boomers Flooding the Business Market Yet?
3-22-16 What can we predict about Baby Boomers in this market? Will it take longer for them to retire than they thought or is the Boomer business market take-off just around the corner?
First Predictions about the 2016 Market for Businesses
2-29-16 High fourth-quarter mergers and acquisitions activity in 2015 has many analysts expecting a robust year for M&A in 2016.
Has the Market for Businesses Plateaued or Even Peaked?
1-26-16 After the considerable success business owners have had in finding buyers for their businesses in 2015, the question that’s being floated is: Can this last?
Business Is Booming – Should You Sell Now?
1-8-16 It can be difficult to know when the right time to sell your business might be. For a business owner with a company that is in good shape financially, this will always be a matter of guesswork.
Your Business and Your Retirement
12-7-15 Calder Capital is happy to meet with clients when they begin the process of deciding when to sell – so that when it comes time to put your business on the market, it can be sold for a higher price.
Max Friar Interviewed on the Smitten! Podcast
11-25-15 Do you have questions about what Calder Capital is about or what exactly we do for our clients? Check out Max Friar’s interview with Tami Parks for The Small Business Life about the process buying and selling a small business.
Mergers & Acquisitions 2015: Looking Back and Looking Forward
11-10-15 What has 2015 as a whole been like, and what can we predict about 2016? Currently the market is still going strong, affordable financing is still available, and 2016 looks to be stable as well.
What the Buyer/Seller Confidence Index Reveals about the Market Right Now
10-9-15 According to a new survey by BuyBizSell.com, the annual Business Buyer-Seller Confidence Index, business owners who seek to sell their businesses are feeling more confident about their ability to do so and for a higher price.
Baby Boomers Selling, Baby Boomers Buying
9-18-15 There are a number of great opportunities available right now from older Boomers who are ready to retire, and we at Calder Capital see them all the time.
Baby Boomers: Should We Sell Now or Sell Later?
8-13-15 If you’re one of the 76 million Boomers out there, you’re probably beginning to at least think about retirement, and if you’re one of the 12 million Boomers running a small business, you’re probably wondering when would be the best time to sell…
D&J Precision Machining Acquisition Highlights Recent Trends
7-21-15 Calder Capital is very pleased to have brokered the deal that allowed manufacturing executive Mark Allen to find the right business opportunity to invest his talents and capital into: D&J Precision Machining.
Small Business Owners Selling: Expectations vs. Reality
7-8-15 Recognizing that differences between owner and broker perception exist, Calder Capital takes the time up front, prior to engagement, to educate business owners as to how business buyers approach business valuation, how they often structure transactions, and, very importantly, how banks are presently financing transactions.
Will an Acquisition Boost Your Company’s Success?
6-16-15 When it comes to business, getting larger isn’t always getting better or more profitable, but in many cases a smart acquisition is a good strategy for success.
Q1 Small Business Transactions and Calder’s Asking Price Process
5-6-15 An understanding of a business’s true value is more useful than an asking price because it incorporates the plans and actions of the buyer – who is essential to the future success of the business being sold.
Advice from West Michigan Business Brokers
4-7-15 Five business brokers, including Calder’s Max Friar, were recently profiled by MiBiz.com in Tips from 5 M&A professionals for business owners looking to sell.
What’s Happening in the West Michigan Business Brokering Market Right Now?
3-17-15 Calder Capital addresses questions about what’s happening in the business brokering market right now – and it’s good news.
Record-Breaking Year for Small Business Sales
2-17-15 There is good news for business owners who hope to sell their business in 2015. Bizbuysell.com reports that 2014 was a record-breaking year for small-business sales, with the largest number of transactions occurring since 2007, the year they began keeping data.
Closing The Deal Through Better Communication
1-8-15 You’ve made the decision to list your business for sale. This next period is crucial to your success in getting the best asking price for your company, and it’s important to be able to identify and navigate any potential roadblocks to a successful sale.
Valuation Is Critical to Every Business Sale
11-25-14 Determining a business’s value is not as simple as profit and loss. When asked, many, if not most, small business owners do not have a firm answer to give to the question, “How much is your company worth?” Read more…
Is Now A Good Time To Sell My Business?
10-17-14 As the economy has recovered, buyers and sellers are becoming more bullish about the prospects of ownership and the sale process, respectively. Read on to catch a glimpse of current buyer/seller sentiment and observations from Calder Capital.
3 Reasons Why Most Small Businesses Do Not Sell
9-12-14 he majority of owners who spend their time, energy, and vision building their own businesses hope someday to either pass them on as a legacy to their families or sell them to another energetic entrepreneur. Unfortunately, in most cases, these sales will not materialize.
Does Your Online Profile Matter When Selling Your Company?
7-10-14 Traditionally brokers have stressed cleanliness of financial statements and operations as of primary importance when going to market. Increasingly, companies need to be aware of their online presence as this affects the opinions of not only buyers, but also potential employees and customers.
3 Critical Things to Consider When Hiring a Business Appraiser
5-15-14 Having recently reviewed six business appraisals performed by others, we are HOT on this issue. Appraising someone’s business accurately is paramount; you are dealing with someone’s life and their decision-making process about how the transition into retirement and the rest of their life will go. It cannot be taken lightly! Read more…
Limited Auction Process for Selling a Business
3-31-14 Sellers universally want the best price, terms and most security during the sale process, yet most negotiate exclusively with one buyer. Trying to consummate a transaction with one buyer at the table is wrought with challenges – from negotiating leverage to time delay the buyer has the advantage. Take the power back and get in the driver’s seat using a limited auction process.
Corporate Acquisition Strategy
2-25-14 – Calder Capital is pleased to publish sound advice related to creating a Corporate Acquisition Strategy That Works. This post takes our collective experience working on buy side acquisitions and gives you choice advice. Let us know what you think.
The Effects of Owner Dependence on Valuation, Deal Structure & Marketability
1-27-14 – Read Max Friar’s piece entitled Why You Won’t Get A Check And Walk Away, which discusses the detrimental effects of owner dependence on business valuation, marketability and deal structure and offers a framework for how to take steps to mitigate these effects.