• social facebook
  • social twitter
  • social linkedin
  • social google+
  • home
  • Buy a business
    • Businesses for sale
    • Why buyers choose Sunbelt Canada
    • Why buy a business
    • Use our proven process
    • Choose the right business for you
    • Determine what you can afford
    • Buyers' FAQs
    • Buyers' Testimonials
  • Sell Your Business
    • Why Sellers Choose Sunbelt Canada
    • Get Qualified Offers
    • Maximize Value
    • Assure Confidentiality
    • Minimize Selling Risk
    • The Kinds Of Businesses Sold Through Sunbelt
    • FAQs Selling a Business
    • Sellers’ Testimonials
  • Resources
    • Sunbelt Canada Resources
    • Sunbelt Worldwide Network Resources
    • Other Useful Resources
  • About Sunbelt
    • Why Choose Sunbelt Canada
    • About Sunbelt
    • Sunbelt Offices
    • Sunbelt International
    • Become a Sunbelt Franchisee
  • Search Toggle
Search
  • home
  • Buy a business
    • Businesses for sale
    • Why buyers choose Sunbelt Canada
    • Why buy a business
    • Use our proven process
    • Choose the right business for you
    • Determine what you can afford
    • Buyers' FAQs
    • Buyers' Testimonials
  • Sell Your Business
    • Why Sellers Choose Sunbelt Canada
    • Get Qualified Offers
    • Maximize Value
    • Assure Confidentiality
    • Minimize Selling Risk
    • The Kinds Of Businesses Sold Through Sunbelt
    • FAQs Selling a Business
    • Sellers’ Testimonials
  • Resources
    • Sunbelt Canada Resources
    • Sunbelt Worldwide Network Resources
    • Other Useful Resources
  • About Sunbelt
    • Why Choose Sunbelt Canada
    • About Sunbelt
    • Sunbelt Offices
    • Sunbelt International
    • Become a Sunbelt Franchisee
  • Search Toggle
Search

Direct from the Expert: Buying and Selling a Business in Canada

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Greg Kells

  • Tweet

Are you a business owner thinking about retiring or changing your career? Or maybe you’re at the other end of the spectrum, thinking about buying a small or medium-sized business.

I was recently interviewed on the subject of buying and selling a business by Norman Jack for CFRA Radio’s Experts on Call program.

The interview is divided into four segments that you can listen to or choose to read the transcript (below in this article), according to your preference.

Here’s what we covered:

Segment 1

  • Why this is an exciting time for business owners who want to sell and retire or move on to other things in life AND for buyers.
  • The process of selling the business

Continue reading →
0 Comments

Tagged Buying a business, Selling a business, Building value in your business

How Franchising Principles Can Take Your Business to New Places

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Greg Kells

  • Tweet

 

 A franchise is a business that is built for someone else. Thinking about your own business in those terms can give you fresh perspective on what will make your business more sellable when you’re ready to go to market. And acting on that insight will make your business more productive and profitable in the here and now.

So with that in mind, and legal matters aside, imagine what it would take to franchise your business. Does it have a proven system of business success that is teachable, trainable, reproducible and repeatable?

Maintaining the quality control and consistency across a franchise network can be a challenge, but it is a necessary one when it comes to the customer experience.

 

 

Branding and consistency become key factors in success in franchising.


Continue reading →
0 Comments

Tagged Building value in your business, Owning a small business

Tune Up Your Goals to Buy, Sell or Build Your Business

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Greg Kells

  • Tweet

As we move into spring a good many of us get that restless feeling prompting us to seek change in our lives. For many business owners the change involves selling their business.

We are seeing an increasing number of owners moving towards retirement. The recession held back many retirements as owners had lost some of their savings and their businesses were underperforming, resulting in a lower sale price and a shortage of funds for retirement.

Based upon how 2014 has started, this situation appears to be rapidly changing.

We are seeing many more successful businesses coming on the market and we expect this trend to continue for some years to come:

- Some 35% of business owners are now 65 years or older.

- The average small business owner retires at 71 years of age.

- As baby boomers are hitting 65 years of age the number or retirements is beginning to increase, and for the next 10 years this number will soar.

 

 

 

 

Continue reading →
0 Comments

Tagged Selling a business, Building value in your business

Top 10 Tips to Sell Your Business and Not Leave Money On the Table

Posted on April 06, 2013 by Greg Kells

  • Tweet

 

What would you like to do after you sell your business?

Canada has a good market for quality businesses. But a CIBC World Markets report says that some 310,000 of us plan to transfer control of our companies within the next five years, a staggering number that represents half of small-and medium-sized businesses in Canada.

Business owners will be selling into a very competitive marketplace, which means it's likely that only the most attractive and well-prepared businesses will sell for what they're worth.

You'll want your business to be one of them. Here are our top 10 tips to sell your business AND protect its value, increase your personal wealth and reduce the taxes you will need to pay on the proceeds.

And here's an extra one to start you off—for the best results, start planning three and a half to five years ahead, allowing at least six months to analyze the business, two years to build value and take advantage of tax strategies to maximize the proceeds of the sale, and another year to sell.

Continue reading →
0 Comments

Tagged Selling a business, Valuing a business, Building value in your business

Building value in your business: the Inner Circle

Posted on September 04, 2011 by Greg Kells

  • Tweet

 

 

How many of you remember Victor Kiam, the businessman who liked his Remington shaver so much he bought the company? Well, the three Inner Circles I experienced in the U.S. impressed me so much that I bought the company – at least the Canadian Master Franchise.

Kiam said (and showed), "Entrepreneurs are risk takers, willing to roll the dice with their money or reputation on the line in support of an idea or enterprise. They willingly assume responsibility for the success or failure of a venture and are answerable for all its facets. The buck not only stops at their desks, it starts there too.”

Membership in an Inner Circle group can substantially improve the odds for entrepreneurs like us rolling the dice. In a recent member survey, 97% reported better decision making ability; 75% reported higher revenues AND profits; 71% reported better work/life balance.

So what is the Inner Circle and its life- and business-changing power?

Continue reading →
0 Comments

Tagged Valuing a business, Building value in your business

Selling a Business: Top Operational Factors to Build Value and Business Worth

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Greg Kells

  • Tweet

 

If a hidden camera recorded the comments of prospective buyers touring your business behind closed doors what would it reveal?

Just like home buyers, prospective business buyers spot what’s worn, cluttered and dated. Like moths to a flame, they’re drawn to the defects, adding up renewal and revitalizing costs. Some may see the business as an opportunity; all will see it as worth less money.

Like financial factors and organizational factors, operational factors can add or take away value. We’ll start with the most conspicuous.

Clean up the shop, warehouse, office, store:

  • Dirt and dust say you don’t care. Show your customers and staff that you do. Clean and freshen up all store, work and rest areas.
  • Do your assets need repair or replacement? Deal with it.
  • What about your inventory. Do you have more than you need to sustain average levels of sales? Sell off the excess. Take the same approach to eliminate unneeded files, procedures, equipment and programs.

Continue reading →
0 Comments

Tagged Selling a business, Building value in your business, Tips: adding value to your business

Entrepreneurs Know How to Create Value in a Business... Do You?

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Greg Kells

  • Tweet

Do you already own a business? Is much of what you need to operate your business “in your head”?

Businesses that rely on their owners for success have less value because replacing the owner is much more difficult and they are not ready for growth. Yet that’s how most small businesses still operate today.

Working ON the business, as well as IN the business can be hard when you are putting in 60 hours a week to keep the business running.

Many business owners are happiest applying the technical skills that got them there in the first place – the mechanic who started a garage or a baker who opened a bakery. They are in their comfort zone. Dealing with their business vision, market segmentation, planning, process development, systems development, documentation, training programs, quality standards, sales processes and collateral, developing customer feedback mechanisms, employee encouragement, tracking systems and the like is not what got them started and it may not be what they enjoy. Yet it’s what makes the difference between a successful very small business and a great business that is poised for growth and highly saleable. The existence of these processes and systems adds great value to a business. Lacking them reduces the business worth.

Continue reading →
0 Comments

Tagged Valuing a business, Building value in your business

All posts Older Posts →

Welcome

OTTAWON001GregKells6858_webpngSave time and money by learning from an expert before you buy or sell a business in Canada. Over the many years I've been in business, I've been privileged to help hundreds achieve their dreams.

 

Greg Kells is President of Sunbelt Business Brokers, Inc., the Canadian offices of the world's largest and most successful network of business brokers.

New Call-to-action

Recent Posts

Categories

  • Building value in your business (8)
  • Buying a business (33)
  • Financing a business (4)
  • Other (1)
  • Owning a business (4)
  • Owning a small business (22)
  • Selling a business (41)
  • Tips: adding value to your business (1)
  • Using a Business Broker (13)
  • Valuing a business (7)
see all

Subscribe to Blog via Email

The Real Deal

Testimonials

“Right from the beginning ...  with Sunbelt, I found the people and experience professional.The service is fantastic.”
André Lefevre, Owner
Blinds with Flair

See more testimonials

Get Our Books

Books-cta7

Find a Sunbelt Canada office near you
© 2016 Sunbelt Canada. All Rights Reserved  |  Privacy Policy