Sunset Family Business Radio

Recap: February 25th interview with Sara Burden, Vice-President at Walden on How to Maximize the Multiples When you Sell

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Sara Burden joined us last week and her tape is jam packed with great advice, so download and listen to Sara’s tape for a complete step-by-step guide to putting all the pieces in place for a successful sale that maximizes those multiples

But before we got into the details, Sara shared her insights on these volatile economic times and she has good news. She’s seeing more M&A activity since January of this year. Business owners are feeling like they’ve survived, she said—“The thaw has begun.”

Sara continued by discussing the not so intuitive idea that you should plan and work toward selling your business from the day you open your doors. You can do this by instituting best accounting, inventory management and quality controls practices in the early stages since what buyers look for are good, in-place systems. So—prepare your exit the day you open the door—and then stay on top of everything.

And if you didn’t do that planning in the first days, then what? Sara said that she likes to start talking to clients 1-3 years out from when they actually want to sell. That time frame gives her the best opportunity to assess the business and suggest and implement changes.

As part of the check list, Sara suggests that you eliminate items that don’t add value, such as obsolete inventory and underperforming employees. At the same time, she encourages clients to take actions that create value. For instance, update your website, something not many people would have thought of as recently as five years ago. These days, your website is another face of your company. It’s your digital footprint to go along with your physical one. Both must present the best image possible to buyers.  First impressions happen virtually as well these days.

She also stressed assembling the right professional team—attorney, accountant, business broker, etc. You want pros who understand your goals and objectives, and are willing to get on the same page with you. She said that you may have to sit them all down and say, “I want you to protect me, but I want you to get the deal done.”

And she noted that it could be that in buying or selling a company, you may need a different team than the advisors you’ve been working with. For instance, a transactional attorney, instead of a litigator. She also recommends that a seller hire a consultant who can help prepare the business for sale, prepare documents and do the negotiations. When the company is the seller’s baby, sometimes it’s a situation that’s just too emotional for the seller.

In addition to getting your advisors on the same page—you will need to be sure your family is too or the deal could fall apart at the last minute.  There are many more tips on Sara’s Podcast, so download it now.

Thank you Sara for being a part of our Family Business Radio community.

Sara can be reached at Walden Business (www.Waldenbus.com), Telephone: 678-277-9951  Email:  sb@waldenbus.com

Sunset Family Business Radio

Strategies for Keeping the Wealth That You Build

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Building a family-business is a labor of love–most of the time.  After all of your time and effort, you want to be sure that you and your family retain as much of that wealth as possible.

Our guests on Thursday, March 4, 2010 are experts in helping you do just that.  They will share their insights and tips with you in this informative presentation–so be sure to have a paper and pen ready to take notes.

Our guests will be:

Christina Napoli. Christina is currently a VP in Commercial Banking at First Citizens Bank, a new addition to the Atlanta financial services lineup. Christina has a long history of providing customized banking and investment services to business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals in the metro Atlanta area.

Christina is a graduate of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership of North Fulton Class of 2007.

Although Christina is originally from the Midwest, she now considers herself a true Southerner.  Currently living in Johns Creek, she has two sons and enjoys cooking, traveling and snorkeling.

Christina Napoli, VP First Citizens Bank
www.firstcitizensonline.com
Email: christina.napoli@firstcitizensonline.com
Telephone: 678-624-4880

Anita Pittman. Anita is a Certified Public Accountant and a Tax Partner with  Cherry Bekaert & Holland (CB&H) based in the Firm’s Metro Atlanta practice.

Anita’s practice focuses on the income and estate taxation needs of clients, providing assistance with the tax and accounting compliance and planning issues surrounding partnership taxation, executive compensation planning, estate tax matters, merger and acquisition work, corporate reorganizations, and foreign investment in the U.S., as well as other more general tax and accounting concerns.

Anita began her career in the Chicago office of Arthur Andersen & Co.  Prior to joining CB&H through a merger in 2008, Anitaserved as director of tax services for Massey + Pittman, CPA, P.C. Anita earned her undergraduate degree from Emory University where she graduated magna cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She received her Master’s Degree in Management with concentrations in Accounting and Quantitative Methods from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. At Northwestern, she was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma and Beta Alpha Psi and graduated as a Distinguished Scholar. Licensed to practice as a Certified Public Accountant in Georgia, Anita is actively involved in the Real Estate Section and Financial Literacy Committee of the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants (GSCPA). She is a graduate of the Georgia Society’s Leadership Academy for CPAs, has co-chaired the Leadership Academy Class Project committee, and currently serves on the GSCPA Governing Council.

Anita Pittman, Partner, Cherry, Bekaert, Holland
www.cbh.com
Email: apittman@cbh.com
Telephone: 404-733-3221

Loraine M. DiSalvo. Loraine has been practicing law in Atlanta since 1997 and is a Partner with the firm of Morgan and DiSalvo, P.C.  She has received an “AV – Preeminent” rating from Martindale-Hubbell, one of the oldest and best-known lawyer directory and rating services.  Her areas of concentration include Estate Planning, Tax Planning, Probate, Estate and Trust Administration, Estate and Trust Dispute Resolution, Business Succession Planning, and Charitable Giving.  Loraine specializes in addressing the unique needs of high-net worth individuals and families, including those with closely-held businesses.

Loraine is currently serving as the Secretary of the Estate Planning and Probate Section of the Atlanta Bar Association, and as the President-Elect for the Professional Women’s Information Network.  She is also the host and a co-founder of the North Fulton Neighborhood Networking Breakfast for the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers.

Loraine also holds memberships in the Georgia Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Stonewall Bar Association.

An Atlanta native, Loraine graduated cum laude, with distinction in History, from Georgia State University and earned her J.D. degree, with distinction, from Emory University.

Loraine DiSalvo, Morgan and DiSalvo, PC
www.morgandisalvo.com
Email: ldisalvo@morgandisalvo.com
Telephone: 678-720-0750