February 16, 2011: by Travis Kellett

A Success Story: Finding the Best Fit

We recently helped sell a Saskatoon business. In our work as business brokers, we typically work 6 months to a year to successfully sell a client's business.

This business had two working owners, who started the business together 12 years ago. They worked alongside each other each day since then. That's 4,380 days.

That's a lot of time to spend on their 'baby', and I knew I had to find a buyer that would run their business the 'right' way. One that would take care of their customers as well as they do.

We completed a valuation and gave our opinion on what the market value of their business was. After our client was comfortable with proceeding, we worked hard to execute a marketing plan to market the business for sale without breaching confidentiality.

We had to sort through a lot of "tire kickers" that didn't have the capacity to close the deal and worked hard to find the right buyer for them.

We found a great buyer with lots of relevant industry experience. We helped find the buyer an aggressive and flexible financing package for the acquisition, one that would let them buy a larger and more profitable business than the cash they had on hand would allow.

We knew we were on the right track with this potential buyer when the owners said, "We think you found the right person to buy our business. We think they will do a great job in looking after our customers."

That means a lot to me, as it means we found a great fit, the business can keep operating instead of shutting down for the owner's retirement. Everyone wins!

The employees at the business get a new owner to drive the business to a new level, a future they can participate in.

The buyer gets a great business with cashflow on day one, instead of trying to start a business from scratch.

The owners are working in the business to transition the relationships, but unlike the last 12 years, they actually get vacation time!!

If you know of a business owner that would like a little more free time in their life, please put them in touch with us for a no obligation coffee to discuss their situation and options. We are looking for our next Client and would be pleased to assist.

Helping people to sell their business is our business.

- Travis Kellett, Bridgepoint Business Brokers

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