Morgan & Westfield - Deal Talk

What is equity research and how do equity researchers value public companies? What should owners of privately held companies know about equity research? Listen as we take a deep dive into the world of equity research and the process equity analysts use to prepare an equity research report. You will learn everything there is to know about the process of equity research and valuing a public company, and how this knowledge will help middle market business owners. We also cover the difference between investment bankers and equity research analysts and the role each plays in M&A transactions.

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When you need to get things done, doing business in your local area can be  convenient and practical, particularly when you need to meet with someone face-to-face, like when you need to see a doctor, take your car to the mechanic, or get your clothes dry-cleaned, for example.  But think about this: If you’re a business owner who is trying sell your business while doing your best to run your operation at the same time, meeting face-to-face with a business broker may not be convenient or practical. Morgan & Westfield knows what it takes to sell your business wherever you are, but they also won’t get in your way with unnecessary face-to-face meetings, and when you’re busy, that’s a good thing. 

Many unexpected events can happen during the process of selling a business. For Diane Robbins, one of them was having a prospective buyer within four short days of listing her Miracle Method franchise in Ludlow, Massachusetts for sale on the market. The “short” of this story is this first prospective buyer ended up being the new owner of Diane’s business, which specializes in resurfacing and refinishing countertops, bathtubs and tiles, allowing customers to significantly save on the costs of replacing them. As fate would have it, the buyer was a customer who had his bathtub resurfaced 12 years ago. “He loves his tub, and that's where he knew when he was looking for a business that this was the right direction, that it was a nice small business that he could get into, that the product was reliable,” Diane said. The “long” of this story is that a considerable span of time passed between the first contact with the buyer and the close of the transaction. Within that duration, Diane experienced emotional highs and lows. “It took one year for this whole process with the same buyer [who contacted us] within four days. We went through an emotional roller coaster,” Diane said.

As ready as they might be for their PuroClean franchise’s sale mentally and financially, Ed and Sonia Ketchoyian soon found out that preparation is multifaceted and that there is one aspect in selling that they were not ready to handle—their emotions. “This is more than just a business transaction, so there are certain emotions that came to play at the end that I wasn't quite expecting,” Ed said of their business, which specializes in emergency restoration services for residential and commercial properties damaged by flood, fire, and mold.  Having run the business for over eight years, Ed explained that an owner is bound to have strong feelings when exiting a business he has put a lot of time and effort into for years, regardless of how the business has been doing. “Once you get into a business as an owner, your emotions become involved because it's just the nature of small business ownership. You end up putting a lot of yourself into it,” Ed said. Breaking the news of the sale to the employees became especially tough for Ed because he could not reveal that they will be working for a new owner until they were certain that the deal will push through. “That was difficult. We were working with the owner for months and we couldn't reveal anything that was going on... [until] we were absolutely certain the deal was going to happen,” Ed recalled. Less than a week before the closing date, the couple told their employees, who did not receive the news positively. Ed and Sonia had to assuage their fears and reassure them that the new owner did not want to change anything and that they were not going to lose their jobs. “Everybody was very surprised. ‘Shocked’ is a strong word but they really had no idea that we were in the process of selling… Change, in general, is not a welcome thing,” Ed said.

What happens when your passion for your small business turns into exhaustion? For Philip “Phil” Nader, selling his business was the solution. Because of the success of his first Simple Computer Repair franchise in Michigan and his interest in electronic repair and technology, Phil jumped at the opportunity to buy a second location in Ohio when the franchisor offered it to him in 2016. “My intention was to invest in the business and not be the owner-operator there,” Phil explained. He added that the former owner had initially agreed to stay and manage the business. The tables, however, turned when the manager-owner left the store due to health reasons and pursued other ventures. As a result, Phil was faced with the challenge of being an absentee owner of the Ohio location, traveling over a hundred miles from Michigan weekly to check on its operations. “It was getting too overwhelming and too stressful, and I made the decision to put it up for sale,” Phil recalled. Because running two businesses—no matter how similar—at different locations became an aggravating and frustrating situation for Phil, he admitted that selling the Ohio franchise was an “easy choice” even though he might not get back his original investment in the business. “…The only bad part of it is that I didn't get what I paid for out of it, but that was okay with me because it was something that would put so much stress and disrupted my life,” Phil said.  

When Matt Wakelin decided to relocate and move back to upstate New York, he definitely knew that his decision would entail letting go of his business in Maumee, Ohio. For one, Treasure Chest Foods, LLC — a home delivery service of high-quality meats and seafood — is 600 miles away from his new home. That would mean traveling such long distance, back and forth, just to be able to keep his company up and running. Having no experience in selling businesses, he decided to start looking into ways to get some help in putting his business up for sale. After all, his company was then very profitable and doing well, thus he was confident that attracting buyers would not be much of a challenge. To his dismay, things didn't turn out as easy as he thought they would be. After working with several business brokers and spending a hefty amount of money for two years, the number of responses he received regarding the sale wasn’t very promising.

Every morning, partners Kirk Barnett and Dennis Adkins stood witness to the success of their former bakery/restaurant, Dulce, as tables were filled one by one and the queue of people at the cashier gradually reached the door. For the partners who were used to starting each day with a full house, business is good and life is as sweet as Dulce’s handmade pastries. So when it came time to sell their well-loved Santa Fe-based restaurant in 2016, their line of thinking was, “Who wouldn’t want to buy this business?” Although the business was enjoying steady revenue growth since its inception in 2010, Kirk and Dennis soon realized that not everybody shared their dream of running a successful restaurant. Locals might be eager to whet their appetites with Dulce’s artisan bread and award-winning quiche, but most of them were not eager to purchase and operate the restaurant themselves. “This whole process took longer than we had thought… I think what we realized is that not everybody wants to do this for a living firstly in a town like Santa Fe,” Kirk recalled. The former owners found out that there was more to selling a business than putting a profitable, established restaurant in the market. “We just learned that it takes a lot of patience and a lot of starts and stops to go through this process,” Kirk said.

For a business owner looking to sell a business, learning as much about the sales process would probably be one of the first few steps that he might take in preparation for the sale. Consequently, researching about buyers’ experiences and expectations when buying a business such as the one he owns may not be one of the priorities of a business seller. To shed light on what the experience is like to be on the other end of the spectrum of buying a business, Mike Rabinovich shares his story on buying the successful Miracle Method franchise in Portland, Oregon.

Oftentimes when selling a business, not everything will go exactly as the seller planned. A lot can go wrong along the way, and many factors can stall the sale process. However, that is not the case when Dr. Harry Freedman decided to sell his quick oil change franchise. From the minute he contacted Morgan & Westfield until a deal was finally closed, everything was smooth sailing. “I thought it went fairly smooth. If it wasn't for Morgan & Westfield, trying to deal with lawyers and business transfers can be quite costly, quite time consuming,” Harry explained when asked if he encountered any unexpected bumps on the road during the sale process. Aside from Morgan & Westfield’s help, Harry’s preparedness and cooperation were major contributing factors to the success of the sale.

When Jeremy Wells decided to put his business on the market, he was facing a lot of challenges. “It was a difficult year for me,” Jeremy admitted. The business was slower than in the previous years. Jeremy was dealing with health issues with some family members. He was selling his business while managing other companies that he owned. He was running the business that was for sale while meeting with prospective buyers. “It's very challenging to try to begin the process of selling the company when you're right in the middle of running your company ... It's a bit like trying to design a new part of your ship while you're sailing,” Jeremy said. Jeremy could have waited a year or more for the situation to get better before selling his business, but he realized, “Once you’re already engaged in that process, it’s really difficult to make that mental shift to go back.” And so Jeremy Wells went ahead with the sale of his creative arts service firm. 

Originally purchased 32 years ago, Dan and Ginger Ness’s business is the fourth oldest Miracle Method franchise across the country. It is also one of the most profitable, being among the top 5 Miracle Method franchises in terms of production level and earning an estimated $1 million or more annually in the past several years. For the first few years, Dan was hands-on and performed a lot of the work himself. “I did all the labor. In the beginning, I was the only technician until we hired our first technician. It was all up to me. I learned how to do everything and never stopped,” Dan recounted. Despite having a successful million-dollar business, the Nesses decided to sell their company when Dan developed health problems. The couple then started looking for a broker who could sell their business.

When the previous owner-turned-manager left the business due to health reasons, Phil Nader had to run two stores that are 100 miles apart. This became a challenge as he had to leave his family every week and neglect managing the Michigan store while running the branch in Ohio. On this episode of Deal Talk, former owner of Simple Computer Repair in Maumee, Ohio, shares his experience working with Morgan & Westfield, talks about how he’s able to sell his business hassle-free and getting the results he wanted from the beginning.

Are you contemplating selling your business or creating an exit strategy? It could be tempting to jump into the process of selling your business without hiring professional advisors such as a lawyer or an accountant to avoid paying professional fees. Our guest, however, explains why having access to professional advice and guidance from experts who have broad experience in the legal and financial aspects of the sale process can be tremendously beneficial in successfully closing a deal. On this episode, lawyer and business advisor Dan Cotter shares useful insights that you can use to prepare yourself for the legal side of closing a successful, mutually beneficial deal.

As no two business experiences are the same, no two sellers have also the same views on whom they would sell their business to. In this edition of “Deal Talk,” our guest, Diane Robbins who is a former owner of a Miracle Method franchise, decided to put her faith in the first interested buyer of her business. Did it pay off? Aside from sharing her experience in selling her business with host Jeff Allen, she also gives advice to business owners who are planning or in the process of selling their company.

What does life after retirement look like? Emery Orosz, Morgan & Westfield’s Senior VP for Franchise Resales, has done it all — he has worked in corporate America for three decades, retired at 48, built and sold three houses, sold his own business and moved to a foreign country. After years of enjoying his life post-retirement, he got bored and went back to work doing what he loved. What can we learn from Emery’s risk-taking attitude that made him and his spouse embrace retirement and the series of adventure and changes that came along with it?  If you’re selling your business for retirement without any clear plan on how you will spend the next years of your life, listen to this episode with our guest, Emery Orosz, to find out what’s waiting for you on the next phase of your life.

Morgan & Westfield is not your typical business broker. While traditional business brokers and business brokerage firms have always patterned their business model after that of real estate brokers, we at Morgan & Westfield deviate from this norm by operating like professionals, such as accounting and law firms. We’ve optimized the sale process to give business sellers quality services for a fraction of the fees that your average business broker will charge. How do we do this? First, we have a large backend support team that allows us to become more focused and run our processes more efficiently. Second, we save time and resources by letting business owners physically show their business to the buyer. By cutting this step from our process, we have adjusted and reduced our fees accordingly. Third, unlike traditional full-service business brokers, we offer our services on an a la carte basis. Our clients can choose which of our services they need and pay only for those services. In addition, we also offer our assistance to business owners who may be contemplating the sale of their business in the future by providing valuation and customized exit planning services aimed at increasing the value of their business. At Morgan & Westfield, we only have our clients’ best interests in mind; we strive to give business sellers only the best services, assistance and guidance while providing significant savings.

On Deal Talk, we often hear from former business owners who have sold their companies or professionals who are dedicated to helping entrepreneurs sell their business or increase their bottom line. In this edition, however, we are flipping the coin to see the other side and look at the business sale process from the perspective of a person who has bought a business. Mike Rabinovich is the new owner of the Miracle Method franchise in Portland, Oregon, which he purchased from one of Morgan & Westfield’s clients Dan Ness. In his conversation with Deal Talk host Jeff Allen, Mike talks about what made him decide to choose a Miracle Method franchise as well as the challenges he faced during the sale process. He also talks about his plans for the future growth of his new business and gives sound advice for business buyers and new business owners.

Practically every business owns intellectual property (IP)—from logos to websites to advertising slogans, and you may be surprised to find out that your business possesses much more intellectual property than that. However, do you know exactly how much you do possess? Is it legally protected? On this edition of “Deal Talk,” Jeff Allen visits with Beverly Berneman, Intellectual Property Partner at Golan & Christie LLP in Chicago. Ms. Berneman will talk about the various types of IP businesses may own and why you need to account for it. She’ll also discuss how identifying AND protecting all your IP  can actually lift the value of your company, and that’s particularly important if you plan to sell your business down the line.

A large portion of baby boomers are business owners because the scarcity of jobs when they entered the workforce drove them to create their own jobs and become entreprenuers. As many of these baby boomers are retiring and exiting their company, the need for information about selling businesses, particularly in planning and preparing for the sale, is becoming increasingly prevalent. John Dini is an exit strategy coach and president of MPN Inc, which aims to help business owners, mostly baby boomeres, in transitioning from their business. In his conversation with Deal Talk host Jeff Allen, John discusses why it is important for business owners to have a plan first before putting their business up for sale. Aside from talking about the questions that need to be addressed before the sale, he also provides tips to help business owners prepare for the transition from business ownership.

Professional coaches have becoming increasingly important in recent years, and businesses of all sizes understand why: They help make good leaders better leaders of their teams and companies. Interestingly, however, one of the most important impacts a business coach can have is in an organization’s valuation. Dr. Janine Nicole-Desai, founding business coach of Outside Partner, talks about how a business coach can help increase bottom line statistics and your company’s value, and points to research to back it up. Dr. Desai also discusses at length who in a business can benefit most, as well as common issues that can be improved through the use of a professional coach.

Different buyers have different intentions when it comes to pursuing your business as a purchase target. Whether those intentions are strategic or financial could have a definite impact on the outcome for you and your team. Mark Johnston is the President of Telementrix, an M&A strategic planning firm. In his discussion with Jeff Allen, Mr. Johnston wi ll talk about the difference between the strategic and financial mindset. You’ll learn how much buyers may already know about your business before you’ve even had the chance to meet. You’ll also come to understand the 2 or 3 most common factors that may prevent the successful sale of your company once those buyers have had a closer look at your operation.

Human performance directly impacts your company's bottom line and overall value. But how do we get the most and best out of ourselves and our team? Expert Darrell Gunter, president and CEO of Gunter Media Group, shares his knowledge and insights on improving performance in order to achieve the success that you desire for your business.

Ed and Sonia Ketchoyian, former owners of a PuroClean franchise in Sterling, Virginia, were prepared to sell their business in terms of the financial aspect and the negotiation. However, Ed realized that they were initially not ready to face the emotional aspect that came with the process of selling their company. Find out on this episode of Deal Talk how Ed and Sonia had overcome the emotional challenges they encountered to eventually sell their company at the price they had always wanted. Ed Ketchoyian shares some enlightening insights and invaluable tips to help you deal with ‘unexpected’ emotional instances that might arise as you go through the process of selling your business.

An eye-catching website doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll attract business in the global marketplace. What makes your product or service popular and “in-demand” in the U.S. may not make it attractive to prospective international buyers. So, how can you generate sales and boost your company’s value by building global demand for your products and services?  Understanding how to carry out an effective marketing strategy to create brand awareness and earn the trust that goes along with it is key when you are taking your company to international markets. Axel Hofmann, Managing Director of RED International, a Dubai-based company specializing in exhibition stands, interior designs and event management, shares his knowledge on how to successfully brand your business in the global market.

If you’ve ever had your business appraised, you probably had a figure in mind as to what your company was worth. It was only after the valuation consultant left you with their report that you found out just how far off base your estimate was from reality. That’s what the pros call the “valuation gap.” The good thing is that you can close that gap by raising the value of your business. You simply need an action plan. Matt Turpin, a Certified Valuation Analyst and M & A Advisor at Carr, Riggs and Ingram LLC, returns for his 2nd visit on “Deal Talk.” This time, he’ll share some insights about how you can improve your company’s value after the appraiser has come and gone.

In this day and age of rapidly growing entrepreneurship, there are more and more options for you to consider when it comes to deciding who to work with to help you sell your company. Business brokers have been around forever, but changing perceptions in the rapidly changing M&A industry have challenged some business brokers to find creative ways to separate themselves from others to stand out in a crowded field.  So how do the best business brokers serve those interests? Nelson Bayford brings 40 years of business brokerage success to every client he works with. As business broker and commercial specialist at Business Finders Canada, Nelson will share his view of what a business broker should do for their clients while providing sound advice to entrepreneurs looking to succeed in a competitive marketplace.

Have you turned over every stone to improve your company's cash flow? You're likely not alone in that feeling. Thousands of business owners every day feel like their companies are paralyzed and prevented from growing because they have tried every organic means of freeing up cash with no success. On this edition of "Deal Talk," host Jeff Allen explores an alternative but time-tested process that allows business owners to obtain the funding they need to keep their companies moving. Guest Donald Jacobs, Sr. Vice President of Midland American Capital, discusses the concept and benefits of "invoice factoring" for small businesses to help pay bills, debts and even fund capital improvements.

It's hard to believe, but true, that most small businesses simply fade away or close up all together when their owners decide to retire.  Many owners decide to forego selling their companies and earning the potential financial rewards that come with a successful sale for a variety of reasons.  That's particularly true of baby boomers--and there are a lot of them--many of whom are now faced with that decision of whether to sell or just lock the doors and head home.  If you are a baby boomer in your 50's, 60's or even 70's, this show is for you because our guest--also a baby boomer--says you could learn a lot from the Gen X'ers and Gen Y business owners of today. Find out what he's learned when we welcome business coach and consultant, Bob Kroon, on this edition of "Deal Talk."

What does a prospective buyer already know about your company? Why is it important that the buyer understands why you want to sell your company? How can you prevent certain issues from coming up that could nix the transaction completely? These are just a few of the questions that M&A folks help sellers understand every day. Understanding the psychology of the participants in a deal is important in order to work toward the success of the transaction. Ed Murphy, former vice president for strategic transactions at SAIC is enjoying retired life, but he joins us on this edition of Deal Talk to help future sellers understand what a buyer may be thinking and what sellers should do and not do during the sales process.

As much as you may love what you do, you also have to get away and recharge. And one day, you will want to walk away once and for all. The question is, if it’s difficult for you to leave the business for a few days’ vacation with your family, how easy will it be for you to sell your business?  The truth is:  Your business won’t sell unless it is ready to sell, and it won’t be ready to sell if a prospective buyer does not see a strong management team. Do you have a strong partner or manager whom you can trust to run the business when you’re not around?  Our guest, Mark Oxenham, a business coach providing advice on exit planning and business sales, explains exactly how having a reliable Second in Charge could lift the value of your business.

You already know from listening to "Deal Talk" how important a valuation of your company can be in the due diligence stage of the M&A process or even for periodic assessment of where your company stands, and also for tax or even divorce-related reasons. However, if you're an entrepreneur, just how insightful might an appraisal of your new start-up or early-stage business be to help you determine where your business is at? According to our guest, Pieter Stam, a business appraiser at Amsterdam-based Troostvijk, an early valuation is not only insightful, but valuable, in terms of the impact it could have on the value of your business.

A company’s culture is the mindset about the beliefs, attitudes, and actions that a company maintains to satisfy its customers while ensuring the success of its people and the organization as a whole. In a merger, however, the corporate culture of one organization may not reflect that of its acquiring company although each is committed to the success of a deal that is good for both the sell- and the buy-side companies.  Our guest on this episode, Dr. Curtis Odom, Corporate LiveWire’s Post-Merger Integration Advisor of the Year in 2016, emphasizes how important early cultural integration is to the long-term success of a sale or merger. 

For the buyer, retirement funds can be accessed quickly and with a high success rate, whereas bank financing is often difficult to access. It is considerably easier for a seller to accept an offer that is contingent on a buyer accessing retirement funds to buy a business. Many offers are contingent on the buyer receiving bank financing to purchase a business. Most sellers are reluctant to accept these offers because of the traditionally high failure rate of obtaining a bank loan to purchase a business.

As a business owner, you dream of success, profits, satisfied customers, and--hopefully--of someday retiring to start that next chapter of your life. But not all business owners retire after selling their companies. As a young family man with a passion for life, art and startup businesses, Jeremy Wells had just sold a business, and now he's taking some much-deserved time-off before going on to his next big endeavor. Jeremy shares with us his experiences in selling his company during some challenging times. Was it as difficult as he thought it might be? Did he have any regrets? What can other business owners learn from his experiences? 

Relationships are important, especially the ones you have with each and every member of your supply chain. But sometimes, as our guest on this edition of "Deal Talk" might tell you, our long-term relationships can cloud our judgment when it comes to the bottom line. When was the last time you audited your distribution network or your supply chain as a whole? How much have rising costs chewed into your profits? When was the last time you put your materials or distribution needs up for bidding? Tim Van Mieghem, a partner at The ProAction Group in Chicago, has seen it all. Jeff Allen speaks with Tim about the warning signs and what you can do to help get your supply chain costs under control so more money goes to your bottom line.

With several exceptions, most of us have no interest in selling our businesses immediately because we have so much more we want to achieve with our companies. However, the simple fact is that "life happens." And sometimes that means circumstances beyond our control and even welcome surprises happen when we least expect them, making the need to sell our businesses sooner rather than later a pressing priority. That, according to our guest, is the reason why we need to get our businesses "sell-ready." Marc Borrelli, CFA, Vistage chair and accomplished global M&A advisor, talks with host Jeff Allen about the steps every business owner should begin to take now to get their businesses sell-ready as soon as possible, because you never know what the future will bring. 

If you like “free,” this program is for you, particularly if you’re looking for free advice on real ideas to help you improve the value of your business. You may already be doing a couple of the things on our list, but some of our guest expert’s suggestions may take you by surprise as the types of suggestions that you can actually begin to institute right away.  Ms. Anja Bernier is a Fortune 500 trained company sale and acquisition advisor. As the CEO of Efficient Evolutions LLC in Boston, MA, Ms. Bernier specializes in working with small businesses in all stages of the M&A process as well as those companies looking to grow.

The financial market collapse of 2008 resulted in tougher standards and regulations for the nation’s largest banks, making it more difficult in many cases for small business owners to secure the funds they need to grow their business. Since the financial crisis, crowdfunding has emerged as a real—and credible—alternative to banks, private equity, and venture capital. This edition of Deal Talk delves into the details of what crowdfunding is, its advantages over traditional funding sources and how the application process works. Jeff Allen talks with Mr. Markus Lampinen, CEO of Crowdvalley.com in San Francisco for an in-depth discussion of an option that could help your raise the capital you need.

If you're a business owner looking to diversify your holdings and/or to create a business portfolio, then owning a business franchise may be the way to go. And what you learn along the way may benefit your own privately held company, particularly where systems come into play. Terry Coker, a consultant at Franchoice joins host Jeff Allen for a discussion of the various types of systems that franchisors put into place to help ensure the success of their individual franchise owners and the corporation overall.

Our ongoing series of discussions with small business owners about their business-selling experience continues as we talk with the now-former owner of Treasure Chest Foods, Mr. Matt Wakelin. As the long-time owner of a company specializing in high-quality meats and seafood delivered “to your door,” Matt knew that his business was valuable, but the first couple business brokers he worked with may not have seen it that way. On this edition of “Deal Talk,” Jeff Allen speaks with Matt about his experience working with brokers who seemed to be more motivated by their commission check, until he connected with a company that put his business first and got him the results he had wanted from the start.

Knowing what your fellow business owners (your competitors) don't know can play substantially to your advantage. How well do you really know your customers? How well do you know your competitors’ customers? How well do you know the market in general? You need to know the answers to these and many other important questions now and several years from now in order to help continue to lift the value of your company, because your potential buyers are looking for a company with an advantage in the marketplace. And that should be your company, shouldn't it? Our guest has essential insight on value drivers for business owners with their "eyes on the prize." Host Jeff Allen visits with an investor, consultant, and corporate strategist Andrew Cadwell on this edition of "Deal Talk."

There is so much to know about selling your business, and here on “Deal Talk” we examine different pieces of the M&A process on each edition of the show. However, if you are waiting for a show that will lay out every stage of the business-selling process step by step in a comprehensive yet easy to understand way in about 30 minutes, the wait is over. Host Jeff Allen welcomes back certified business broker Andrew Rogerson to the program for a quick walk-through of the entire business-sales process, from the moment the owner knows they want to sell to the moment after the signatures are applied at the signing table. This will be one of the fastest half-hours you'll spend all week!

The growth of franchising is indisputable. Yet, while many business owners have elected to expand their companies through franchising, the owners of many other privately held businesses may be intimidated by what they perceive to be an industry that is simply too saturated or too highly competitive to give them much of a chance to succeed through franchising. But what's the truth? Is there enough room for your business? Do you have to start out with a hundred locations to be a success? What are some of the latest business trends responsible for the growth of franchising? Our guest has some great thoughts on these and other points. Hear what he has to say when Jeff Allen visits with James Channer, senior franchise business advisor with Your Franchise Success, LLC.

Since selling your company is the most important professional transaction you will likely make, is there a way to ensure that you will get the most money possible for your business? When it comes to M&A, you need to know where to look for “intangible” value drivers, and believe it or not, you may have many more of these intangible drivers (or assets) than you might think. On this edition of "Deal Talk," business broker and consultant Mark Sievers will fill us in on what some of the most critical drivers of value are, where to look for others and how you can work with the buyer to build value after the sale.

The amount of money you spend paying a contractor to perform small repairs, improvements or major construction-related projects could be small compared to potentially greater costs resulting from a dispute with the prime contractor or any of the subcontractors they hire. Stricter laws and regulations offer some protection against unlicensed contractors; however, if you are like many small business owners, you may not know what questions to ask or what resources are available to you to help you screen contractors during the bidding process. To help us understand what we can do to avoid the risks associated with working with contractors, we are happy to be joined once again by attorney Virginia Suveiu, specializing in commercial and contract law and developer of the Legal Risk Management Certificate Program at the University of California, Irvine. 

There are several routes you can take to selling your company. No matter which way you decide to go, the buyer involved in the process will have a slightly different perspective. On this edition of Deal Talk, you will learn the difference between M&A firms and investment banks and, specifically, how some buy-side consultants work with their clients to assist in the early stages of the M&A process. Is your company being targeted for an acquisition? What are potential buyers thinking? How is a price determined for your business? What are some of the potential hurdles to a deal? For answers, listen to Jeff Allen's conversation with Nonye Ukawuba, CPA and M&A Advisor at Riveron Consulting in Chicago.