Sometimes in business we get a little excited and sometimes we get a little bored. Running a small business can be exciting at times. Especially as you reach each of those all important milestones you’ve set for yourself. So we can be excused once in a while if we get excited. But you’d think it would be hard for us to be bored considering all the things we have to do each day. Well a lot of what we have to do each day is the same as yesterday.

Now say your business has been doing the same thing year after year. You’ve gotten good at what you do and you’ve started to make a little money, the future looks bright. And you’ve got some ideas on how you could expand the business.

One of the themes that I’ve always preached to others when it comes to business is you need to understand the business you’re in. People don’t always do their homework before they start something. And not doing your homework in business can cost you a lot. I’ve always wondered how some businesses manage to survive.

How does a business such as that make any money. I mean really they were located in a mall. The rents in those places can go through the roof! How many people are going to need that much ribbon. I just don’t get what some people are thinking of. And that is what you need to ask yourself if you’re thinking of diversifying your product line.

Most of us dream of building our businesses up and being the next Donald Trump but realistically most people don’t make it that far. Now I’m not trying to dampen anyone’s dreams because mine are the same. And after years of toil I’m still pursuing them.

No, what I need you to do is be very careful. Remember all you have worked for. Yes new projects can be exciting and maybe you’re a bit bored. But you need to very thoroughly think things through. If the idea or opportunity is that good it should still be there tomorrow.

What you need to remember is every new project and idea needs resources and time to make it a reality. Most small businesses have few resources and you’re the one that most likely will have to sacrifice the time. You need to seriously consider that. The resource side always means money and that could be cash or credit that has taken a long time to be built up. And the time factor can be costly too. You may say well I can spend the extra time on it myself. That’s easier said than done. Most small business owners already have a full schedule handling your day to day business let alone another new project.

There are many reasons to use a business broker when selling your business. The most basic reason is they are in the business of selling businesses. They will market your business and help to get prospective buyers to look at your deal. They will help in setting an asking price based on their knowledge and experience. If they have gone through the certification program their price would be considered expert testimony and therefore is given a great deal of creditability. Keeping the owner from underselling their business or over pricing their company is part of their legitimate function to their client. Since they know how to find buyers who are qualified and ready to deal on a business of their liking, they can help to cut down the time a business has to be on the market. Consistently a business broker will move a business quicker and usually at a very fair price.

They can help the seller get the information needed by the buyer to make a decision on buying the business. This role is critical as nothing happens until a price is established and the business facts are known. Presenting the facts in a professional form is another common service that a business broker will give a client. This service can be the difference between a seller making a deal and the deal going south. Professional presentation of pertinent facts about a business is necessary in order to attract potential buyers. It is this factual information that helps buyers make intelligent decisions about such a purchase. Since the business broker does this type of work year round, the information is shown in its most positive form. Practice does make perfect in this case.

The business broker is also the go-between for passage of information between the buyer and the seller. This enables better communication and cooperation between the buyer and the seller. The role of a disinterested third party is effective in letting the business broker move the dealing along on the sale of the business. The business broker must treat both sides fairly as his next clients are given existing clients as references for his work. It is imperative that the fairness issue is communicated to the next client. Since all aspects of the sale pass through the broker, this neutrality is important and also the advice given to both sides of the deal.

Without a broker, the seller would have to market the property and would not have access to a pool of potential buyers. The buyer would not have access to the pool of sellers the broker has available. This need by both parties is the reason that most businesses are sold with the help of a business broker. Their expertise in helping to set the selling price cannot be overstated. A busy broker over time helps to sell many types of businesses and this real time experience is invaluable to the process coming to completion. A competent broker will also know the legal requirements for many types of businesses that the brokers in a geographical area. This prevents problems that can be prevented from taking place and decisions being made without all of the facts.

If he is not a certified broker as to setting a selling price, he will have referrals to brokers or CPAs that do have this credential. The advantage to the seller is the business will be set at a selling price that can be logically defended when questioned about how the price was set. It is not just a price that the seller picked from thin air of a wish list price.

Since the broker will usually know what the buyer is willing to pay and what the seller is willing to accept, the broker can lead both sides to a price that is somewhere in the area that both are willing to live with. Without this outside force, either party may never approach this price.

A broker has another ability to deliver that makes their service worth the cost. Maybe the business is a one of a kind business and not one that comes to market every day. Businesses like this are hard to evaluate as to their market value and even more importantly there may be a need to come up with a unique marketing plan to sell the business. A good brokerage firm can do both and solve the problem with a greater chance of success than the owners of the business could do by themselves. They have access to a network of brokers who handle all types of businesses that are for sale. The business may be unique in the geographic area it is located in, but there could well be one in another part of the country that was successfully marketed by a broker in that area. Use of the network is exclusive to the broker community and private individuals will not have access to the information that can be obtained from the network. Information is power, and this kind of help may be the only way the business could be successfully marketed. How other brokers sold a similar business can lead the broker in question to come up with a plan that has a good chance to work. This service to the seller is priceless and could make the difference between no-sale and sold. The seller could have wasted a great deal of time and money on an approach that would not work. Ferreting out potential buyers is the name of the game. The wrong approach could easily come up empty. All of this is sufficient reason to employ and expert when selling a business.