Chantay Allen, a Business Broker at Momentum Companies, is a native of Southern California and has a diverse business background with an education in the social sciences and ability to speak Spanish.
Nearly ten years of combined retail management experience in North Carolina and California has earned Chantay a broad perspective and developed her expertise in customer service, marketing, sales, retail operations, and knowledge of corporate-to-franchise relations.
As a former Inside Sales Representative for a Consumer Products line at a minority-owned small business in California, Chantay raised the bar by setting a new sales quota. Chantay’s consumer products work experience with factories in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China, increased her commitment to think globally and act locally.
Having owned and operated a local nutrition store franchise, Chantay has the ability to relate to buyers and sellers since she has been through the process of buying a business. As a Business Broker with eight years of experience, Chantay has sold an assortment of established restaurant, bar, retail, salon, and advertising businesses.
Chantay has served on the Cape Fear River Watch Board of Directors and is involved in the arts community. For the last 14 years, the Atlantic coast region has become a special place for her to live and help a great variety of local businesses in the Southeast thrive.
Connect with Chantay on LinkedIn.
This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix
TRANSCRIPT
Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Buy a Business Near Me now. Here’s your host.
Stone Payton: Welcome to another exciting and informative edition of Buy a Business Near Me. Stone Payton here with you this morning and this is going to be a good one. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with Momentum Companies. Chantay Allen, how are you?
Chantay Allen: Good morning. I’m doing well. Thank you. How are you?
Stone Payton: Stone I am doing well. I’ve really been looking forward to this conversation. I got a ton of questions, Chantay. We likely won’t get to them all, but let’s start, if we could, with you painting a little bit of a picture. Mission. Purpose. What are you and your team really out there trying to do for folks?
Chantay Allen: Sure. Stone. Well, I as a business broker, I specialize in selling businesses. I help prepare sellers or, you know, buyers for the process. I make sure that they have the right resources to be successful in the transaction. I work with the deal team as a business broker. So my deal team consists of a transactional attorney, CPAs, maybe SBA lenders. The financing is necessary, and so I cooperate with all of the team members to make sure that the sell of the business is successful.
Stone Payton: How did you get into this line of work?
Chantay Allen: I was recruited by a client, so I’ve been selling businesses in March. It’ll make nine years. So about nine years ago, I had a client, you know, give me their commercial that I should really come on board. And I had never heard of this before, so I’m kind of like, uh, can’t we just focus on what you hired me to do? And so this this, uh, this guy was like a grandfather to me. And, uh, so I kept getting these little commercials, and I was invited to, I think, come meet his family. He’s very family oriented. And so I met his family. And, um, basically, it was kind of, um, I wouldn’t say it was on a whim, but there was an opportunity for me to go along to a business meeting, and they had a particular listing that was, uh, actually at the time it was in the process of being listed. And the, you know, the potential seller was really in a tough situation because it was regarding like a health issue and with a family member. So, you know, and this happens often as a business broker where the reason why they need to sell the business or what prompts them to sell the business may be something like a pending health crisis or something.
Chantay Allen: So it was right in my wheelhouse because I actually have a background in the wellness space. Um, and so when the head broker and the client, the potential seller, once I engaged them with a round of questions, the seller said, okay, she needs to sell this business. And so I that was one of my first listings. There was another challenge that I had where the head broker was saying, if I had what it took to sell businesses because it is there is a skill set, but there was another business that no one could sell that I looked at the file, blew dust off the file. It was actually a a convenience store in downtown Wilmington, and that they had some issues with getting it, you know, sold. And I and I got it sold. So that is, you know, pretty much the back story. Once I actually successfully sold a business and then another business, I thought, okay, I could do this. And then from there, I sold a Italian restaurant that had been in Wilmington for ten years. And, um, you know, we just we just kept going. So that gave me the confidence that this is a service that I can provide.
Stone Payton: So nine plus years in, what are you finding the most rewarding about the work? What’s the most fun about it these days for you?
Chantay Allen: Well, Stone, I do like business. I like various aspects of it. Um, and I think what has been Rewarding is helping the seller who has been, you know, typically the business owner for at least three years. I mean, I have business owners who’ve had their what they call their baby, you know, for a decade or more, of course, but ensuring that they get an ROI. You know, there are there are business owners who have to close shop, and they have really nothing but a collection of memories to show for, um, after it’s said and gone. So when I can help, um, offload that the task is it’s a pretty arduous task of selling the business, and the business owner is able to just focus on their daily operation, and I can get it done confidentially. Right. So they’re not put on blast. I’m able to sell the business and it’s very seamless. They are very, um, you know, happy about that process. And then they’ve got, you know, some money in their pocket to invest in their future. Uh, you know, apart from being the owner of that particular business.
Stone Payton: So walk us through the process, if you will, and maybe, you know, you reflect on a use case that you remember, or you can use Business RadioX if you want. I’m a managing partner and equity partner of the network. The Business RadioX network. Uh, me and my business partner, Lee Kantor. We’ve been doing this for 21 years. If we were looking to shape an exit, you know, you can use that as a use case, but just kind of give us some of the highlights of what the process looks like from the seller’s perspective.
Chantay Allen: Sure. So number one, sometimes, um, the potential seller didn’t realize they wanted to sell their business until I approached them in some way. Uh, we’re, you know, it didn’t really occur to them that, yeah, actually I do want to do this, but sometimes you have a seller who is seeking, um, you know, someone to sell their business. I find that’s often rare, but sometimes you do. And then oftentimes, um, you have to, um, kind of bring up the idea, so to speak. And I’ve done this by just, um, having a conversation with someone who owns a business, how long they’ve been in the business. Bottom line is, once they reach the point where they are open to the idea of selling their business, I help them get started. So would be there would be a listing meeting, uh, to get the process started. And I make sure that the potential seller is prepared for that listing meeting by having the last three years of their financials. That includes their profit and loss statements, balance sheet, tax returns, a list of the FFA and inventory. You know that are vital to the business. And you know we review those financials. I ask, you know, list of questions to determine what their seller’s discretionary earnings are. Um, I have to get both, you know, quantitative and qualitative info, uh, you know, from them to really get a grasp on the business that I would, you know, be putting on the market. And so once I have all that information, you know, I take the financials, you know, back to, uh, my valuation team and have to determine what the list price is, right.
Chantay Allen: So once I have a list price. That’s fair. Uh, then I share that information with the with the potential seller. And if they’re in agreement with that list price, then we, you know, we get it on paper. We we do a listing agreement. Once I have a listing agreement, then I get to have a lot of fun going to work on how I’m going to advertise the business listing confidentially. Um, yeah. And so once I kind of give a, I capture all the best aspects of the business for sale, and I, you know, give it, you know, like an alias, right? I’m not going to say, like, if your business was called Stone Payton Steak House, I’m not going to list it as Stone Payton Steak House. Okay. Then everybody’s going to know what it is, right? Right. Um, so it may be, um, highly profitable, um, restaurant in, uh, eastern Georgia or wherever, you know, you’re located, something like that. And so once the potential seller agrees to how I have the business advertised, then publish it ready to go on the market. Uh, so that is essentially how the process gets started. And then I get to take on handle all the spam, you know, calls or, you know, or, you know, people calling and, you know, maybe they really don’t have the means to buy a business, but I will make sure that I, uh, you know, talk to these potential buyers to make sure that they are qualified to purchase a business and if they are qualified to purchase the business and they sincerely are interested in buying a business, then I determine, you know, what their goals are, um, there’s a process where I need to be able to determine, you know, how are you going to pay for this? You know, so if I, you know, if I’m talking to someone and I’m like, okay, so I’ve got the business listed for, let’s say 250 K, right.
Chantay Allen: And, and my potential seller is selling their business because they are relocating, you know, let’s say they’ve had the business for 15 years. They’re ready to get a Dodge, go somewhere else, maybe join you in Georgia. Um, and so they’re ready to relocate and they’re selling the business, uh, within that two month time frame. Right. Um, and or they’re selling the business, let’s say, within let’s be more realistic within. Um, 3 to 6 months is when they would love to exit their business. And I’m talking to a potential buyer and I’m saying, okay, and when would you like to move into this business? Like about a year or two. Not gonna work. Right. My seller wants to exit their business in less than a year. You’re not prepared to buy a business for another year or two. So this is not the ideal buyer. So I make sure that I go through that process. It’s very selective, uh, to, to ensure that we have the right buyer for this business. I also, uh, you know, consider things like personalities, uh, if there’s been a personality type that has been, um, you know, a great fit for the type of business that we’re in, and I can see some things that might be red flags.
Chantay Allen: I take that into consideration. I don’t feel like a potential buyer should be excluded, you know, necessarily because of it. But I do take that into account to make sure that we don’t have, like a left fielder put in place. And you have to think about those things when it comes to small business, when it comes to small business, you have to. Things have to fit like a puzzle because, um, we don’t want we don’t want the Joe Schmuck Italy moving into this business because. Yeah, because they have the means to do it, but they don’t really have the personality. They don’t really have the skills. They they’re a fish out of water. Um, maybe they have the money to buy a a beauty business, but there’s nothing about them that they don’t have the background experience, you know, to operate or even be, you know, maybe a silent partner in one. So all of those things have to be evaluated when you’re looking at the right fit. And sellers appreciate that because they know that you’re not just doing this for the money, right? You want whoever buys that business to be able to thrive after you sell it. So I have to make sure that in this move that we’re going to make together, it’s the right move for both parties.
Stone Payton: When you put your valuation team on this, you come up with a number and it’s based on experience and expertise and reality. Do you ever find that you you swing back around to the seller? It’s not even close. Maybe to what they were hoping to get for the business, and maybe sometimes they have sentimental attachment to it. And in that case, might you say, look, you might get a lot closer to what you’re looking for, but you need to get these ducks in a row and get these financials looking like this before we can go out to the market and ask that kind of number, does that ever happen?
Chantay Allen: That’s a really good question, Stone. So and yes it happens. You hit on something very important. The seller has to be happy. And so what I would do then is I would offer to help them increase the profitability of their business. Yeah. And so they could we could schedule a consultation and I can let them know what they could do to improve the business. So there is a, you know, much larger ROI and I’ve got the experience and place to help do that. I have had clients who were not, um, expecting the list price to be what it turned out to be. And I said, hey, you know, here’s what we can improve. It may take you another year. You know, it may take you another two years to get it to where you want the business to be. Having a background in sales I have, however, worked with a seller to increase their profitability within like a quarter of a year.
Stone Payton: Wow.
Chantay Allen: That’s if they listen to me. We can get it done. We can get it done soon. But yeah.
Stone Payton: So in that vein, I guess one of the things I’m picking up in this conversation is you don’t reach out to Shanti if you want to, necessarily. Only if you want to sell the business now or in a few months. You might want to get with Shanti kind of early, right. And make sure you do have your ducks in a row and get everything prepared so that you get the best return. Is that accurate?
Chantay Allen: Bingo.
Stone Payton: It’s not like you’re trying to make your money from this transaction tomorrow. You’re accustomed to that longer ride in some cases.
Chantay Allen: Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. So preparation is key. And I think in most cases there’s there’s going to be a client Where they, for the most part, have all the information we need in place. You know, like the financials. But part of the work that I have to do up front is getting them prepared to sell. Yeah, that that really is, you know, as a business broker and consultant, that is what I probably spend a lot of my time on is getting it ready for the market. So it’s not it’s not necessarily a fast turnaround process. And the seller experiences that, you know, when they’re working with me, they go, oh gosh. And I was like, but if we get all these things, all these ducks in a row, you’re going to be, you know, thanking me once we have a buyer because you’re going to pay for it if you don’t have these things in place, if you’re in a due diligence process, it’ll they’ll come back to haunt you. So if you’re not, you’re not ready. So and in me but definitely my but definitely my client. So I want the process to be seamless and I really go through it when I have a, you know, a buyer, you know, drilling me with questions, I, I really have to have all of the necessary financials and background information about the business. It can be, you know, getting prepared could be even knowing. Okay, I may have to know you’ve been at this location for five years, you know, have you been anywhere else? Like, I have to know the seller’s, you know, whole story. I have to know, you know, staff information and whatnot. Um, so there’s a there’s a lot that goes into that. And, you know, part of my job is making sure I make the process easier for the seller to, you know, to go through. So it’s a pleasant experience for all parties involved.
Stone Payton: You touched on this earlier in the conversation, But I am interested to know how the whole sales and marketing thing works for a practice like yours. Like how you get the new business. Is it all referral or do you find yourself out there having to shake the trees a little bit? Do you speak to that if you would.
Chantay Allen: Oh yeah. So I mean, you do, you should, you know, if you have connections, you you will have people refer potential sellers to you or buyers to you. Um, now, my best referrals have come from satisfied clients. So if I’ve sold, um, I’ve gotten referrals from a client because I sold two of their businesses were like, well, she sold two of my businesses. So of course I’m going to, you know, refer people to her. So that is one way. And then you do have to knock on doors, so to speak. It’s not one of those businesses because this is not like real estate where everything’s on MLS.
Stone Payton: Right? Right.
Chantay Allen: You were. You were confidentially selling somebody’s baby. Yeah. And so you you have to be trusted by the seller, um, that you’re going to remain discreet. You don’t want to do anything to upset the apple cart.
Stone Payton: Well, in nine plus years in, um, I’m operating under the impression you probably have this this group of people that buy and sell businesses. So it wouldn’t surprise me if you could go to some of them early on and say, hey, I got another good one. Something you might want to take a look at, Joe, you know, or something. Yeah.
Chantay Allen: Yeah. And so it’ll be nine years in March. Um, but. So almost there. But yeah. So I can I can do that. I do have the, you know, proven capabilities of selling a business. Um, you know, I do have a reputation among my clients. Um, in the New Hanover, Brunswick County, uh, you know, Pender area. But, um, when you have a conversation with the seller, you can’t do it in front of people. I mean, you have to be very careful, very respectful of their business operation, because what if, um, you know, their employee overhears you talking and they go, oh, I better get out of here. You know, like, they start to get apprehensive about their employment and they’re like, oh, wait, boss is going to sell. You know, and then before you know it, people are banning ship. We can’t have that. Right. So how you approach a seller or by some of the old fashioned means, um, you know, meeting in person? Um, I believe my background with, um, inside sales has definitely been, um, beneficial because picking up the phone, calling people, uh, you know, so that’s that’s still a thing. Um, networking. You can, you know, meet someone. Definitely, um, you know, through networking, but it’s, um, it’s just not as, um, the sales and marketing aspect. Advertisements. Um, similar things that other people do for their business. As business owners, you know, your email marketing, you can do. Um, and I think that would you know, that’s a good start.
Stone Payton: And as the ball gets rolling, I mean, the the mental image I have in my head is like, you’re the quarterback. Because as things get going, you’re coordinating with people who have specific expertise and experience in the valuation domain. You’re working with the transaction attorneys, the CPAs, possibly lenders and then so so you’re you’re sort of marshaling all of those resources. The reason I’m bringing it up, I have to confess, I think maybe before this conversation, I was viewing your line of work as as more on the transactional side of the continuum. And now I’m thinking nothing could be further from the truth. I mean, this is a very relationship oriented business, isn’t it?
Chantay Allen: It is. And I love your, your your football analogy because I do like football.
Speaker4: Oh.
Chantay Allen: What am I talking about I love football. And so, like the quarterback, uh, who’s, you know, whose role is to lead the offense? That’s what I do in the business, right?
Stone Payton: Yeah.
Chantay Allen: So I totally love the football analogy. Um, you know, and so you’re right, it’s it’s a combination Of of all those things and kind of being ahead of the team, um, leader of the pack, so to speak, when it comes to getting, you know, getting the transaction done. Um, and that’s one of the things that you bring up a good point because this is, you know, a transactional, um, you know, process and it’s so financial. Mhm. And, um, when people and it’s funny because, you know, I’m an artist, you know, by nature and when I, I didn’t run away from math, you know, but I was in school but I was always, you know into like the am I creative person. Right. Which helps me, you know, as a saleswoman, um, in consultant that that’s, that’s a benefit. But it is so, so much of it is numbers. And so when I try to help the seller understand, um, that it’s so financial, it’s it’s a lot of it is I mean, you have your again your quantitative aspects of it, but a lot of it is about the numbers. And when I have a client, you know, really wanting me to vouch for, oh, but this, this and that and here and there and this, that and the other, I’m like, I asked them, I said, and you expect the buyer to take my word for it. You you expect them to pay six figures, you know, for a really compelling story.
Chantay Allen: You know, they’re going to look at me like I’m crazy. Like it? I have to prove that it’s worth it. No one in their right mind is going to pay thousands of dollars. Uh, you know, take my word for it. So I, you know, in terms of presenting and negotiating, um, one of my favorite stories is, uh, I had to, you know, lead a conference call, um, with a, uh, potential buyer whose spouse, you know, has a master’s in accounting. Um, this this conference call was over one check. And I say to my seller, listen to me. Find that check, okay? I was like, we we we got to get this done. And after that conference call, um, with the potential buyer whose spouse is a master’s in accounting and speak four languages. Okay. Um, I go through the rest of the process and within 48 hours had an offer to purchase agreement. And that client, um, who? Those are the clients who bought the business? Um, they now have three locations. Oh, so I really proved the value of that business. It was a restaurant, and I steered the seller in the right direction to where they made the, uh, the right decisions. Um, or they. I’d say they heeded the advice that I provided for the business to be more profitable. And the buyers were able to reap the benefits of that after the sale, um, to the point where they’ve been able to increase by another two locations and counting. So that is how crucial. Um, you know, the the numbers can be in this line of work and, uh. I think that’s a really, like, big answer for, like, what I find rewarding. Is that good enough?
Stone Payton: That’s more than good enough. Let me switch gears on you for for a moment. Uh, hobbies, pursuits, interests outside the the scope of your work. A lot of my listeners know that I like to hunt, fish and travel. Anything you have a tendency to nerd out about that doesn’t have anything to do with this work.
Chantay Allen: Of course.
Chantay Allen: Um, so, again, I, um, you know, I’m an artist. I my medium is acrylic. Uh, so I do enjoy painting. I’m very active. Um, you know, with Pilates and cycling. Um, little known fact. You know, I’ve, uh, been, uh, road cycling, you know, for years. Uh, one of the, one of the last rides that I did was the tour de pickle. And so some cycling buddies, they’re like, Shanti, have you done the tour de pickle? And I was like, no. And I saw the t shirt. They sent me a screenshot of the t shirt and I said, I want that shirt with that pickle on it. I just did it so I can get a t shirt with a pickle on it. Now the t shirt ended up looking nothing like the one that lured me in, by the way. It was awful. I should probably shouldn’t say that on on air, but it was different than what I expected. So anyway, that is what attracted me. Was the whole having a shirt with the with the goofy looking pickle on it. So this is, this took place in Mount Olive, North Carolina, which I knew existed, but I, I really I’ve seen the. You’ve seen the jar like the green lid in the grocery store, right? You’ve been in a baseball game. You’ve seen Mount Olive, uh, pickled relish. Yeah, right. So this little town in North Carolina has an annual pickle festival. And I was mind blown by how many people in this small, little downtown area there was, like, the downtown where they were cooking on the grills and selling stuff. It was like you were in a sardine can, and I could not find where this, uh, where this ride began, where all the cyclists.
Chantay Allen: I’m asking people, the locals. Where is this? Because it wasn’t really, you know. So anyway, I got on track. It was a beautiful ride. Um, so as a cyclist, you you’re in different weather conditions. You could be going against the wind. With the wind. It could be scorching hot. This was perfect. Riding weather was fair weather overcast. You didn’t have the sun beating on you and it was a little hilly. And so I’m going, you know, past a lot of the green. It was beautiful because you had a lot of kind of wide open country. And I learned that that menthol pickle company has been in business since 1926. Whoa, 1926. And when you see that they’re in, like, every grocery store in America, I was impressed by their distribution. I was like, wow, you know, this family was booking it. So it was a beautiful, enjoyable ride, I think. I think it was a 26. I think I did a 26 mile ride. And so, um, there were there was one part of the ride where these, like, rabid looking dogs came out of nowhere. That was my fastest mile per hour speed. That right there that I’ve got tracked on my Strava. Was that section right there where I was being chased by these little rabid, you know, dogs. And then I saw cute little things on the ride, like, um, a, a yard that had, like, a sliding board and a little, um, you know, those little metal riding horses back in the day where it’s like, stuck on a thing and has little boink. So. And then there was a Billy goat.
Chantay Allen: And so it was cute to see in the country, like a yard with, like, you know, a dog and little playground and little playground toys. And then this little Billy goat smiling at me because Billy goats, they have, like, a permanent smirk. Even if they’re sad, they’re probably smirking, I’m sure. So there were little, little rural, rural America, uh, memories that I had. So then, as I’m coming and finishing the ride, I go back to the downtown area and there’s a deputy, and I said, you know, sir, this is I’ve never been to this before. This. This place is crowded. And he he cracked the best dad joke and he said, yeah, the the annual pickle festival is kind of a big deal. I thought, you get it.
Stone Payton: Yes I do get it.
Chantay Allen: So, you know, best dad jokes. So I do enjoy writing. Um, I love the outdoors. And, um, I may do the three bridge bike tour next. That’s in South Brunswick Islands. That one takes you over. If you do all three bridges, you’re doing 68 miles. If you do the first two, you’re doing 30 plus, which I’ve done. Oh, please. They’re they’re writers who were like 80 who were century writers. They do like 100 mile rides. Um, I’ve got clients who have, um, cycled abroad. Um, you know, I’ve got clients who have shipped their bikes to France to cycle in France. And it’s something that I definitely see, you know, between that and art that I see myself doing, you know, through the rest of my life.
Stone Payton: I am so glad that I asked. Oh, man. Okay.
Chantay Allen: When was your last? Like outdoors adventure. You said you hunt.
Stone Payton: Yesterday afternoon I saw a buck. I couldn’t get the shot I wanted on him, but I had a marvelous afternoon.
Chantay Allen: Where have you seen? Where did you see the buck?
Stone Payton: Um, in some woods about 15 minutes away from my house.
Chantay Allen: How far are you? Is your area from the Chattahoochee River?
Stone Payton: Oh, not too far. This is actually a different area. It’s Lake Allatoona and Kellogg Creek, but I’m 20 minutes or less from Chattahoochee.
Chantay Allen: I read a book, um, about a month ago, about the first female riverkeeper and what it took to clean up that river. And, uh, you know, I know some people, um, in Athens, Georgia, which is also not far from it. So that’s really good. You get to kind of zen out, zone out and be in the woods.
Chantay Allen: And I’m sure you, uh, do you have any family that goes along with you or hunting buddies that you take with you? Do you go by yourself?
Stone Payton: Um, a little bit of both. Yesterday was by myself. My brother drives up from Florida about once a month. I’ve got friends at, uh, at Wildlife Action of Georgia, which is adjacent to this, which is a nonprofit that kind of helps disabled people and urban kids and other kids and introduces them to outdoors. And so we, you know, we go canoeing with them. We teach them about hunting, fishing, camping, all that stuff. So I get to hang out with a lot of folks on this trek.
Chantay Allen: So with hunting, um, is it similar to other things where you, you have to be licensed, where like, does your license only work for your area in Georgia? Or if you’re in North Carolina, can you use your license to hunt in North Carolina?
Stone Payton: I would have to get a different license, but I have a Florida license, a Georgia license, and if I go on a paid hunt, I buy I buy that that license. And so yeah, you have to you know, it’s pretty well regulated. And I want to I’m happy to pay it because that helps go towards conservation and preserving, you know, what I’m able to enjoy for future generations.
Chantay Allen: So have you ever hunted in North Carolina ever?
Stone Payton: I have not, but now you’re piquing my interest. You got an idea?
Chantay Allen: So yes, it’s an outdoor story. Me and some friends. You got to go to the Birkhead Mountain wilderness.
Stone Payton: Okay.
Chantay Allen: There are. Yeah. So there are protected wilderness areas that you can hunt. And long story short, we were in Birkhead Mountain Wilderness, and, um, I was fortunately with three other friends. So there was four of us. We were getting ready to take care of some business in the woods. And then we heard a gun go off and we realized, oh, it’s hunting season.
Chantay Allen: So fortunately it was like we were further enough away, but it was within earshot. But we, uh, we realized that it was hunting season when we heard the the rifle also probably should have maybe picked a different time, but that’s proof that you can hunt and Birkhead Mountain wilderness. You’re welcome.
Stone Payton: Before we wrap, I would love to leave our listeners with a with a couple of pro tips, something to chew on and look, gang. The best pro tip I can give you buying or selling, trying to get ready to buy or sell. Just reach out and have a conversation with Shanti or somebody on her team. But to tide them over till then Shanti, let’s give them a little something to noodle on if we could on buyer and or seller side of things.
Chantay Allen: Number one be ready. Be ready to sell your business, right. Secondly, have your financials. Selling a business requires them. Make sure your sales taxes are paid.
Chantay Allen: That will come back to haunt you. It’s something that the buyer cannot. That’s an expense. The buyer cannot take off your hands. You are liable to have your sales taxes paid, and also make sure that your, um, your, your website presence, your, you know, your marketing, those types of things are in place as well and have a plan for how you’re going to, um. Invest or you know, where you’re going to allocate, um, the funds from the sale of the business. Be ready to have a conversation with your CPA, um, about where are you going to put that large sum of money. Right. Especially, um, as, as, uh, it plays into, uh, you know, taxes, you know, your capital gains and things like that. So that that would be my, my list if I just kind of, like, off the top of my head would be be prepared. I am not here to force you to sell your business. I’m here to help you sell your business because that is something that you are ready to do. Um, I’m kind of just going back over it. Your profit and loss statements, your balance sheet, tax returns, uh, list of equipment, you know, inventory. And just have your your business in order. Um, staffing included is another one, um, that will help to make the process easy or easier for for you as the seller and the buyer.
Stone Payton: Fantastic. And what’s the best way to for our listeners to connect with you, tap into your work, maybe have a conversation with you or somebody on your team. Let’s give them some coordinates.
Chantay Allen: Sure. So they can send me a message on LinkedIn. Um, they can also reach me via email. And that is my name Sean t c h a n t a y at momentum projects com. Those are two great ways to get in contact with me.
Stone Payton: Well, Shanti, it has been an absolute delight having you on the broadcast today. Thank you for your insight, your perspective, your enthusiasm. You’re clearly doing important work and having a real impact on a lot of folks and making their lives richer in the process. Thank you for investing the time to visit with us today. It’s been a real pleasure.
Chantay Allen: Thank you so much, Joan.
Stone Payton: My pleasure. All right. Until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Shanti Allen at Momentum Companies and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying, we’ll see you again on Buy a Business Near Me.
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