Whether your succession plan includes a sale to a third party, or to an insider, there are significant risks involved. Selling your business to someone on the inside is usually safer than selling to a stranger but is that the right decision for your small business? The attorneys at Shoffner & Associates have the know-how to help you manage your succession plan – no matter what it is-- skillfully and profitably.
So many of our business-owner clients build their exit strategy around selling their business to an independent third party. They think that they'll obtain more cash from a third party and that the sale will be less risky. Often, they are completely wrong.
Of course, if you can get your price from an outsider and payment in full in cash at the closing, and if you have no time to make a carefully structured sale to an insider, then the third-party sale is the less-risky choice.
Otherwise, you just aren't a likely candidate for a sale to a third party, and it won't be reasonable to expect cash.
Every sale requires a buyer. We're in the middle of a tough time for business, so unless your company is in an attractive market sector, such as power, alternative energy, health care, medical services, or healthy-living products, prospective buyers will be in short supply. These days if your in the business of construction, retail, real estate, automotive, or consumer products you may will find it impossible to attract an outside buyer.
Selling your business to someone inside the business takes some work, some time and careful planning. Although insiders may not have the ready cash right now, you can still sell profitably when:
The best exit strategies are implemented with the help of a knowledgeable attorney and an informed accountant. As soon as you start your business, you should be planning your successful exit. Let Shoffner & Associates show you how to do it right.
Buy-sell agreements go by many other names –stock (or share) repurchase agreementsm or redemption agreements, cross-purchase agreements, purchase and sale agreements, blind buy-sells, or shotgun agreements. When it comes right down to it, there are only two kinds of buy-sell agreements: the kind that is drawn up at the right time and the one that is drawn up too late. Most businesses begin drawing up a buy-sell agreement when it is too late.
When a buy-sell agreement is drawn when it is too late, some dramatic, emotional event has taken place: a deadlock between owners, death of an owner, exclusion of an owner from the business, or worse. All of these events result in great stress for the parties, and transactions are often motivated by threats of litigation. When litigation between owners erupts, more often than not, it is settled by a buy-sell agreement. The expense of litigation is almost always many multiples the cost of an agreement that is drawn up when the parties are amicable. So smart business owners skip the expense, anguish, and uncertainty and have a buy-sell agreement in place before it is needed.
What is the best buy-sell agreement to have? That's an easy question to answer. There is no best form of agreement; there is only what's best for you. And that requires a careful consideration of the circumstances of the business and the owners.
The best buy-sell agreement for you is the one is built to match your circumstances and address your objectives. The lawyers at Shoffner & Associates welcome the opportunity to help you. Contact us to discuss your businesses' goals.
Whether your business is sole proprietorship, an LLC, or a partnership, creditors often require business the owners to guarantee their debts personally and that can put your home and personal assets at risk. At Shoffner & Associates, we have decades of experience working with business owners to fix these difficult situations. We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.
Our attorneys will analyze the structure of your business and your finances to determine the best course of action. Depending your situation, you may be able to keep the equipment you need and use cash collateral to continue to operate your business and reorganize your debts. You may be able to discharge your business debts and stop an IRS seizure or bank foreclosure auction.
Working with us, you'll have the best chance for a fresh start that will allow you to reach your business and personal goals. Our lawyers can explain whether Chapter 11, Chapter 13, or Chapter 7 bankruptcy is the best option for you.
Sometimes, companies go out of business. There are plenty or reasons that businesses liquidate: The heirs or employees may want nothing to do with a takeover or succession plan. They have been too close to the business for years and know the 24/7/365 routine required to be successful in many small businesses. And they're attracted to the high salaries and benefit packages offered in the corporate world. Or they simply are not capable of continuing the business.
If your business is at solvent or nearly solvent, bankruptcy is not an option. Or, even if you are nearly insolvent, you want to keep control, liquidate your assets and negotiate amounts owed to your creditors, to avoid the stigma of bankruptcy.
When businesses have to be liquidated—when “everything must go"—a series of decisions must be made, and made quickly. Liquidating your business is a one-time-only event. You can't afford to make costly mistakes. But, while liquidating a business with is much easier said than done, but it can be very rewarding. The attorneys at Shoffner & Associates know the right steps to take to make liquidating your business a good decision.