Category Archives: Valuing, Buying or Selling a Business

A discussion of the issues involved in buying or selling a business by William Bruce, president of the American Business Brokers Association.

Should You Sell Your Business Now or Wait?

We’re living in strange times with the pandemic, a record number of hurricanes and a change of residents in the White House.  So if you’re considering exiting your business, it’s natural to wonder if you should sell your business now … Continue reading

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Considering Buying a Small Business? Here’s How to Analyze a Business for Sale

Let’s say you’re serious about going into business for yourself and have identified an attractive business that is for sale. You’re interested in investigating the opportunity. What’s next? How do you check it out? Continue reading

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Here’s How to Value an HVAC Business

The valuation of privately held businesses is sometimes confusing.  But fortunately for heating, ventilation and air conditioning – HVAC – businesses, we have valuation formulas that will yield a pretty close approximation of value.  In determining how to value an … Continue reading

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What Are the Differences Between EBITDA and Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)?

The differences between EBITDA and Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE) cause confusion.  Sometimes the two terms are incorrectly viewed as interchangeable, but there are important differences. First, some definitions.  Both are business performance benchmarks that are widely used in valuing a … Continue reading

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Here’s the New $600 Billion Federal Reserve Lending Program for Businesses

For some reason, this new loan program for businesses has not received much attention.  But $600 billion has been allocated for the project, so if you’ve been hit hard by the pandemic, it might be a lifesaver. The name of … Continue reading

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Giving a Shoutout and Thanks to the Invaluable Healthcare Workers During this Covid Mess!

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Considering Buying a Business? Here Are the 6 Most Frequently Asked Questions.

The most frequently asked question by individuals who are considering buying a business and answers by William Bruce, President, American Business Brokers Association. Continue reading

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How to Use the SBA to Buy a Business

Except for the SBA 7(a) program, banks generally do not make loans to individuals to buy a business.  This statement will surprise a lot of people. Most people will think first of a conventional bank loan when seeking financing to … Continue reading

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My 7 Favorite Phone Apps.

This column is usually devoted to business issues, but today I’m sharing my favorite phone apps that make my daily life easier. I’m not as tech savvy as many of my friends, so my favorite apps tend to be more … Continue reading

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The Best and Worst Franchises Ranked by SBA Loan Default Rates

This is an article by William Bruce containing a list of the best and worst franchises as ranked by SBA loan default rates. Continue reading

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