Customer lists are an identified intangible asset. It should not be part of goodwill. Goodwill is the amount of the purchase price paid over and above the value of the fixed assets and identified intangible assets.
I have a few questions about starting a new company my base is in Illinois but I work both in Illinois and in Missouri my questions are about what do I do in order to make purchases in my companies name
if you’re in two states you must have a company bank account. with the company bank comes along a card that is used for company funds. use the card. if that isn’t the issue and i am wrong than sorry but just assuming with the little detail provided that must have been the issue. if you don’t it doesn’t take long. it’s the same as creating a personal account but you’ll need some sort of proof that you own that company. some states require different things to acquire the account. but i hope that helps. save your receipts and get a receipt log as well
The best way to sell your business is to sell it to someone that reached out to you offering to buy it. Has anyone offered to buy your business in the past? I’d start by reaching out to those people. If that doesn’t work, next step is to try and find a buyer yourself. Is there a competitor that would gain by buying you out? Is the a vendor that wants to join the industry? Do you know a guy that has said he wanted to get into the business you’re in, but just doesn’t know where to start? I’d reach out to these people and see if they are interested. If that doesn’t work, now you need to find a broker. Before I get into this, I think this is a moment to reflect. Why weren’t you able to find a buyer? Maybe you’re in a super niche business with a very small buyer pool. That’s fair. But maybe it’s because your business isn’t desirable. If you make it to needing a broker, You may find that if you take a year or two to fix up the business you will make a significant amount more on the sale, and will have an easier time finding a buyer. Now onto brokers. Whom you talk to is going to depend on how large your business is. There are no hard and fast rules here, but the higher up the chain you go, the higher the level of service and the higher the fees. You want to find the appropriate person to list your business. Too small they won’t have the buyers for you. Too large and you’ll overpay in fees. The cheapest option is to use a realtor. You may be able to get a realtor with no experience selling businesses to list your business for 3%-5%. That’s cheap, but they have no experience and no Rolodex of buyers. You’ll be listed on buy sell sites and dealing with every Tom dick and Harry with an internet connection. Next level is a smb broker. There are some franchise chains of business brokers you can look up to find these. These guys have experience (usually) selling businesses and a Rolodex of buyers (again, usually). These guys are better, but cost more. Usually 10% of the sales price. Some charge a retainer and a monthly fee in addition to the 10%. If you’re business is too big for a broker, then you need an investment banker. Now you are at a level where you can expect a consistent level of professionalism/training. These guys have experience (not just usually) and a Rolodex of buyers that include large financial buyers such as PE firms. They can model your business and create pro forma financial statements to show your business in the best light. But you pay for this level of skill. Fee range widely at this level (Goldman Sachs charges significantly more than Jones LLP), but you’re going to be paying at minimum the 10% the broker was charging, and hourly fees for the professional services that they are performing.
Love the content you post! Valuable information for all business owners. I work with owners looking to scale and exit their businesses - they can all benefit from this info.
