What’s the idea?
• You have been running your business for many years, operated in a way that
appropriate and legal, but it isn’t necessarily the same as one would run a publicly
traded company.
• When on the sale path, adjustments need to be made.
o Three years operating your business as a publicly traded business.
o The cleaner your accounting, the better it is to be able to tell the story of your
business.
Two kinds of Evaluations
1. External
2. Internal Evaluation
External Evaluation:
1. Current economy
a. What you can and can’t borrow?
b. Current challenges in the economy?
2. Major components within the industry
a. Beyond your store
3. Who is your competitor and how are they doing?
a. Individual competitor in your market
4. Make up of current customer base
a. What are the demographics?
b. Who is and isn’t shopping with you?
c. Who is your target customer?
1. What factors lead to success or failure?
2. What major changes in retail food industry make it different today
than from five years ago?
3. What new trends are affecting our industry, and are we capable of
grasping them?
4. Technological impacts?
5. What are the major external factors posing threats or opportunities?
Starting point: You have made the decision to sell, and the business is prepared for sale.
What next?
1. Get some help: Don’t do it alone – you will need help assessing the true value of your business.
a. Broker
b. Wholesaler can also provide those services.
2. Identify what you have:
a. Value?
b. Cash on hand?
c. Real estate?
d. Staff?
i. Interviews?
e. Privacy?
i. When do employees know? When do potential buyers know?
ii. How do I share the information without harming the sale?
iii. Third party can help with this.
3. Marketing:
a. “Create a playbook/pitchbook.”
i. How much do you share? At what stage?
ii. When do you get a confidentiality agreement?
iii. “Painting the Pig”
4. Bid/Sale Process
a. How do you price it?
i. Third party valuable in this process.
b. Taxation
i. It’s not what you get, it’s what you get to keep.
ii. Structuring the deal matters.
iii. “Cash is King”
