- Announcing the Sale of Your Business: Common Employee Questions and Concerns (3/19/24)
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- Common Challenges to Selling a Business: Business Owner Insights (1/25/24)
- Considering Selling Your Business in 2024? (12/13/23)
- 12 Ideas to Attract and Keep Employees (11/13/23)
- Hope is Not a Strategy…and Private Equity Isn’t Your Escape Route (10/11/23)
- How to Successfully Sell Your Business to an Employee (9/25/23)
Be Advised
Most people don’t know where to begin when buying or selling a business. At Murphy Business Sales, we guide clients through the complicated process so that they get to the closing table successfully. Jennifer Smith Broeckling has a bachelor's degree in finance and an MBA from Southeast Missouri State University, along with two graduate degrees in banking from Vanderbilt and LSU. She is also a Board Certified Intermediary (BCI) and a Certified Merger & Acquisition Intermediary (CMAI). Jennifer lives in Cape Girardeau and is married to John Broeckling. They have three kids (Madeline, Ben, and Emma) and one strange little dog. To learn more about business valuations and how Murphy Business Sales helps buyers and sellers with mergers and acquisitions, visit murphybusinessofcape.com. Jennifer can be reached at j.broeckling@murphybusiness.com or at 573.335.1885.
The Right Person for the Job
Posted Friday, April 15, 2016, at 8:45 AM
You wouldn't expect an oral surgeon to perform a successful open heart surgery. Sure, she's a licensed physician trained in surgery and all the latest surgical techniques but she doesn't know the heart as well as does a cardiovascular surgeon. You wouldn't ask a plumber to build your kitchen cabinets even though he's quite handy and experienced in a building trade. Likewise, you shouldn't ask a REALTOR® to sell your business even though they know how to sell buildings where businesses are sometimes located. The point is, when the work to be done is so serious that it MUST be done correctly the first time, one should hire a specialist in that particular field. REALTORS® are residential and/or commercial real estate specialists and business brokers specialize in helping people buy and sell functioning and profitable businesses.
We have nothing against REALTORS® (heck, most business brokers have a real estate license), but they're accustomed to shouting a listing from the rooftops; signs in the yard, ads online, open houses, etc. You NEVER do that with an operating business. The difference in sale amount is staggering when a business is marketed incorrectly - if it even sells at all. A successful business transfer (from one owner to another) requires access to a nationwide network of business buyers that a local MLS simply cannot provide. It requires contracts that protect both the seller and the buyer that go WAY beyond bricks and mortar. Again, we're not downplaying the value of a good REALTOR®; we refer vacant commercial property to them regularly and they do a fantastic job moving it because it's in their wheelhouse and vacant commercial property is not in ours.
So how do you know who to call? Whether your facility is leased, owned, or home-based, if you own your own business, contact a business broker before you tell another soul. If the business appears to be sellable, we will perform a valuation and tell you what your business is worth in the current market based on comparable data. If the business is not sellable and you own or lease your facility, we will likely send you to a REALTOR® that we trust to take good care of you. If we perform a valuation and determine that the value of the real estate outweighs the value of the business, even if the business has positive value, we may also recommend a good REALTOR®.
Don't make the mistake of asking a professional to do work they're not trained or experienced to do. Business brokers sell businesses; REALTORS® sell real estate.
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