Any research you’ve done on Buying Businesses will teach you that a Business ultimately sells for what someone is willing to pay for it. An asking price for a business is basically an opinion since COMPS for similarly sold businesses don’t exist.

You can show 10 Income and Expense Statements to 10 different Business Brokers/Bankers/Appraisers and get 10 different valuations. Continue reading "If a Business for Sale Interests you Submit an Offer"

 Most of the calls we receive from prospective insurance agency sellers start with “What are agencies selling for these days” or “What kind of multiple can I expect if I sell my agency?” When I first started actively seeking insurance agency acquisitions the man who taught me an awful lot about the process used to say “Insurance Agencies are like snowflakes, no two are alike”. I used to roll my eyes and think, how many times will he use this analogy? After a few years it finally sunk in and I find myself using it on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a COMPS data base like Residential Real Estate for businesses. There’s no uniform formula, method or standardized pricing model when selling a Business. Continue reading "How Do I Sell a California Insurance Agency or Brokerage"

When you buy a house, your Real Estate Agent can show you COMPS from other sales in the area to help you determine the value of your home. Businesses are a completely different animal because COMPS aren’t maintained on business sales. Most homes are purchased using a home loan where businesses are purchased using different types of funding. SBA Loans, Bank Loans, Lines of Credit, Seller Financing and cash are all common. Veteran Business Brokers often say a Business will ultimately sell for whatever someone is willing to pay for it. There are many factors that affect the pricing of a business but unfortunately there’s no set formula.

Business Owners usually prefer to err on the side of overpricing so they don’t leave money on the table. Buyers err on the side of caution and think most businesses are overpriced. It’s human nature depending on what side you’re on to think this way. When we sold our first business we were grossly overpriced and after a year of haggling with 3 different suitors we realized that overpricing a business is a bad idea.

When you sell a business you have 1 or 2 opportunities to sell it. Every business gets a buyer that’s actually willing and qualified to close a deal. Continue reading "No Two Businesses are Alike Which Makes Pricing a Difficult Proposition"

Many people have  asked why the RE/MAX Commercial Logo is on our website. Since we started selling insurance agencies we’ve been looking for a partner that can offer our clients more tools to sell their businesses.

We formed an alliance with RE/MAX Commercial and Investment Realty in Torrance California to accomplish that. In addition to our Business Brokerage we now offer a variety of Real Estate services. Many business owners we’ve spoken to in the past weren’t interested in selling their business but wanted to lease new office space, acquire the building they were occupying or renegotiate their existing lease. Being a part of the RE/MAX CIR team enables us to assist in all of these areas.

We now have access to a variety of reports, publications and other research data to help our clients sell their business, lease new space or purchase Real Estate investment property. Now when you do business with Ganis Consulting you’re taking advantage of the resources from one of the largest Commercial Real Estate Brokerages in the world.

Please contact us for more information.

We’ve taken numerous calls in recent weeks from buyers that have identified an Insurance Agency for sale and needed help evaluating the agency and preparing offers. The hardest part of buying a business is locating a viable candidate so when you do, you can’t let it slip through your fingers. There are many benefits to having a 3rd party involved which are listed below.

• We’ll keep the process moving. Many Business Sales reach a stalemate and the deal can sit for weeks or months and never close.
• An intermediary can discuss buyer concerns with a seller that a buyer can’t or won’t.
• A Broker can evaluate and give advice based on experience from buying and selling businesses.
• We can formalize the process by using standardized forms used in the Business Brokerage Industry.
• Sellers tend to take buyers seriously when they have Professional Representation and if you’re competing with other buyers, you’ll have a distinct advantage.
• You don’t have to pay a Broker unless a sale is consummated.

If you’ve located an Insurance Agency or other type of business you want to purchase, hire a Broker to represent you. Again, it won’t cost you anything unless you consummate a transaction and you’ll save yourself a lot of time and money. We offer buy side representation so contact us to learn more.

We’ve discussed numerous times that the main reason a business doesn’t sell is the sellers overestimate of their offering. Sellers often try to assess the value of their business the same way they assess their home. Homes or any real property have a constant value including the worthiness of the land. You don’t have to do anything to a home in order for it to increase in value. Continue reading "One Important Point to Remember when Selling a Business: It’s Not Real Estate"

We’ve mentioned in previous posts that 7 out of 10 businesses listed for sale never sell. This post will discuss these 3 points and give a brief explanation of each. Selling your Insurance Agency is no easy task and the first thing you should do is assemble a team of Professionals to assist. You won’t sell a home without a Real Estate Agent. You don’t do taxes without an Accountant or Tax Preparer. Why would you sell your business without professional representation? Continue reading "Three Challenges when Selling Your Insurance Agency"