There is a certain serenity and comfort found in the darkness of December.
The little white lights on the neighbourhood trees don't so much illuminate as provide a little tiny sparks of hope.
As a struggling student in the early 1980s I took a temporary, Christmas-break job in one of the most humiliating assignments I have ever held. It was a perfectly respectable women's clothing store, but I felt more than a little awkward approaching the lady shoppers, some of whom were obviously even more desperate than me, and coaxing them with the opportunity to have their very own department store credit card.
These are vile little pieces of plastic, with ridiculously high interest-rate's and fee structures, and I was paid by the piece.
I suppose it was honest work. I glued a smile to my face and made awkwardly pleasant conversation with various women and girls who might qualify for a little credit to get them through the buying season.
On Christmas day I had a brief respite from my career as a credit card pusher, and enjoyed down time at my sisters place.
After we exchanged a few gifts and had a nice breakfast with her darling little girls, I borrowed her phone and crawled into the space between the kitchen and the basement to the top of the stairs. I had so very little to offer to the beautiful brunette on the other end of the phone.
She had to clarify who exactly it was calling her on Christmas Day. Such a personal call to make for someone she had barely met.
"Oh. Mark. Right. Hi. Uh, So... Which one are you? Oh yes, right. Well, a merry Christmas to you too!"
Like the Little Drummer Boy, I clumsily stammered my rehearsed message and said good-bye. Despite having every reason to think otherwise, hope of winning her over glimmered piercingly through my wintry gloom. She loved me. She just didn't know me yet.
More on selling the family business
For many business owners, the prospect of making payroll was once a daunting risk.
And yet, they push on, and many make a life of stringing together near misses among eventual stunning successes. The push is very much worth it if you can eventually sell a winner.
A study done by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) revealed that 70 per cent of small and medium-sized business owners intend to exit their businesses within 10 years. The most common method among owners of exiting their businesses is to sell outright to non-family members (37 per cent).
Typical reasons for
selling your business
For many, the assets needed for retirement are in their business.
If your business has a good history of positive cash flows with an expectation for that to continue in the future, this will situate you for a good sale.
On the other hand, you may want to sell your business if it is having financial difficulty. The decision here is whether it is better to cut your losses or to give it one last effort to turn your business around.
You may simply be ready to move to the next challenge.
You or one of your family members may be experiencing health issues that make it difficult for you to continue to run your business.
You may just be exhausted because your business is too dependent on your personal effort.
You may have inherited a business because the owner died and you have no interest in continuing to operate the business.
Maybe you have business partners and either you are not getting along or you are part of divorce proceedings which force you to cash out your portion of the business.
You may have no intention of selling your business but you are approached by a buyer that makes an offer you can't refuse.
Issues and concerns
As a potential vendor you will be very anxious and have lots of questions. Some of the common questions you may have are:
What is my business worth?
How do I find the right buyers?
What price will I get and when will I receive the payments?
How long will the process take?
How long will I have to stay on after the sale?
How much will I have left after taxes?
How do I keep the sales process confidential?
How do I manage my money after the transaction?
You will need your own little army of legal and financial advisors to get this right.
Next week we will discuss exit options, and getting your business ready for sale.
The content of this article is for information purposes only and does not provide tax or legal advice. It is imperative that you obtain professional advice from a qualified tax and legal advisor before acting on it.
Mark Ryan is an advisor in Prince George with RBC Wealth Management, Dominion Securities, (member CIPF) and can be reached at [email protected], or 250-960-4927.
