FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

In the end, your business is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay. The secret sauce of Exit Stage Left Advisors is our CURATED buyer list. With more than 300 relationships ranging from companies that buy platforms of $15 million or more of EBITDA to add-on acquisitions from $500,000 of EBITDA, we can cross the entire spectrum of businesses. Your business is ultimately what the best negotiator can get for it and why ESL is sought after by so many small and medium sized businesses. Don’t try to negotiate this yourself. Far too often, first time sellers don’t know what questions to ask during the process, and certainly do not know the competitive landscape for recent relevant sales in similar businesses.

Do you need an appraisal of your home before you sell it? In some cases, the answer is yes, and in some cases the answer is no. Exit Stage Left Advisors helps companies when they need insurance for things like buy-sells, key-person, and cross-purchase insurance. We have an experienced team of Certified Business Valuation Experts who can do a business valuation if necessary. We also have a team of expert bookkeepers should we need to handle your financials or do clean up on your books. If your business is north of $2 million of EBITDA and you engage with us, we may end up doing a free business valuation to gauge where we think a fair market value is for the business.

Financial data we review includes the past 3 to 5 years of: Income Statements Balance Sheets Tax Returns Equipment Lists And Appraisals Staff Organization And Roles Details Of Recurring, Re-o-curring, And One Time Revenue Details On How Revenue Is Split Amongst Your Customer Base Basic Agreements You Have With Customers

Depending on the way your business is sold, it will be taxed as either a capital gain or ordinary income, and sometimes a combination of the two. Exit Stage Left Advisors is different from our competitors because we give consultation on sophisticated tax management strategies since we have sold businesses of our own. Some of these strategies may result in you having to pay no taxes when you close the business or provide you with a more unique strategy to spread out taxation.

Typically we work with businesses that generate at least $500K of EBITDA. However, if your business is between $250,000 and $1 million of true EBITDA, we have more than 150 companies currently looking for add-on acquisitions.

The first contact you make with Exit Stage Left is immediately met with us signing an NDA agreement. We curate our own buyer list and NEVER post on a business MLS system. By having individual private conversations with experienced buyers who conform to our confidentiality agreement, we can keep conversations isolated from both people in your company and the overall marketplace. This allows you the freedom to focus on running your business throughout the sale process, a key aspect of maximizing your closing price.

There will be a right time, and we will work with you to figure out that communication when it is appropriate. The short answer is generally no.

Normally, the entire process from the day you hire Exit Stage Left Advisors until the time you close on the business contractually can take anywhere from 6 to 15 months. Much of this depends on your availability, the number of suitors, the due diligence period, etc. We have seen transactions take less than 6 months, but 9 months is about the average length of time. If you engage, the most important aspect is that you are available.

Based on the size and type of business, a current owner can stay anywhere from 3 months to 3 years. Larger acquisitions require a longer period of transition time. It depends on how the deal is structured. Typically, in an extended transition, the former owner's compensation is negotiated based on an estimate of how much would be needed to pay someone in the market to replace you. Sometimes, a 2nd bite of the apple is negotiated too. It’s been our experience that you will still be the boss if you stay on for a substantial period of time, but will have strategic capital partners to help you continue to grow your business.

Almost always, you will keep the property, and the buyer will either look for a lease from you or move the company if it makes sense strategically.

1) You are a TIRE KICKER. It's you, that’s the problem. You don’t have a real number in your head about what you want for your business. You should ALWAYS have a number in mind before starting this process. 2) Your EBITDA is not what you SAY IT IS. It is important to go through all the add-backs, but remember if you are telling the IRS you are losing money and then want to sell on a large positive cash flow number, it can be challenging. 3) DECLINING business revenues. It is simple. If the business is trending downward, most buyers don’t want to buy a sinking ship. 4) STALEMATE. Neither you nor the buyer are willing to be flexible on terms. 5) NO G2. You wanted control for all the time you were CEO, but when you are gone who is going to run the business?