Top 5 Reasons to be Your Own Boss

/in /by

Top5#1 Build something of Value
If you work for a company for 30 years and have an impact on that business that created value, how much of that value do you receive upon retirement? None!  Put your efforts into your own business to create wealth for you and your trusted employees; then sell it to someone that can carry the legacy forward.

#2 Control your destiny
Many people have felt cheated by spending decades working for a company with the expectation of retiring and getting a pension. Those days are mostly gone. Pensions are disappearing. There is no loyalty to employees by their big company employer. How many people do you know who have been laid off? Way too many. Take control by being your own boss.

#3 Work toward a horizon with no limits
Being a business owner allows you the flexibility to do what you want. The key here is the ability to dream big and not be limited by a boss or company rules. Many bosses are threatened by someone on their team who is a dreamer, someone who has vision and wants more. As your own boss, there are no limits. No one to say you’ve maxed out your commission or bonus for the year (even though it’s only July!) Maybe you want to buy a second company!

#4 Call your own shots
As a business owner you can decide the direction of your business. Day to day decisions are yours – no long, unproductive meetings to plan the next meeting. You can call the shots right now, today, or tomorrow. It’s completely up to you. You may want to put more thought into a given opportunity or you may decide to jump at the opportunity and go by your gut. It’s up to you!

#5 Keep the fruit of your labor
All that cash you were creating for your employer will now be yours! There are many legitimate tax benefits to running your own business. You can use the proceeds to expand, or you can buy that toy that you have always wanted. Heck, give yourself a bonus today!

Call your Apex Business Advisor to talk about how you can be your own boss.

Getting a Deal Done With Some Creative Structures

/in /by

Creative DealBe careful of being toooo creative! If the deal seems odd, unusual and complicated, maybe the parties need to take a step back and reflect on the transaction. Creativity may be necessary, but we should be cautious. We are open to new ideas if both sides figure out a way to win, but winning is the key word.

I’m not going to get specific on how the deal was done for fear of copycatters, but a recent transaction became very creative on the day of closing.

The buyer and seller discussed changing the terms and delaying the ownership transfer for several months, yet still “closed” on the deal. Against our advice and their attorney’s advice, they proceeded to closing. They both seem to be happy and ready to plow into business together.

Frankly, we are nervous. As long as both sides hold true to their intentions it should work, but what will happen if there is a rough patch in the relationship a couple months down the road? Will they work through it together, or use it as an excuse to get out of the deal?

We’ll keep tabs on the deal, because we are certainly hopeful for the success of the business. If they are successful, it may give us a new way to do deals! There are so many ways to skin the cat that we have many options to help you complete a sale. Talk to your Apex Business Advisor for assistance.

Doug Hubler
President

Advice Is Not Always Appreciated

/in /by

teenIf you have kids, especially teenagers, you understand the meaning of this title. We can’t help it! As parents we have to try to help. And, in our experience as business advisors, many times Entrepreneurs can act like teenagers too.

Business advisors sometimes sound like parents.  Apex business advisors have a great deal of experience, and have participated in countless situations that either resulted in a closed deal or collapsed deal.

So you can imagine that we know what typically works and what does not, and can usually see the red flags of a collapsing deal.  We can’t always see the collapse coming, but we learn constantly through new and wonderful experiences!

We are giving advice regularly to help our clients and customers through the business sale and buying activities. The years have taught us about time killing deals, investors are ghosts, relatives are naysayers, change is hard, discretion is critical, etc. However, to people who have never bought or sold a business, our pleadings and warnings can fall on deaf ears.

We are not always right because every deal is different, but clients really need to take a moment and listen to their advisors. They need to collect all the available information and make an educated, non-emotional decision. A buyer or seller may not follow our advice, but if they listen to us and really understand the situation they will be able to make their own decision – which is the beauty of being an Entrepreneur!

Completing deals that result in a win-win for both buyer and seller is what we love to see at Apex. Finding good businesses to sell and having buyers continue the success is really important to us. Talk to an Apex Business Advisor for assistance if you are in the market to sell or buy.

Doug Hubler
President