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Sell A Business
Business Brokers
What Is a Business Broker
Do You Have a Sellable Business
How to Sell A Business
Business Sale Deal Structures
Exit Plan
The 8 Business Exit Strategies
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How Is a Small Business Valued
Business Valuation Calculator
Maximize Your Business Sale Price
What is SDE
Business Valuation Methods
Buy A Business
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How Sellable Is Your Business?
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1
Business Overview
2
Business Financials
3
Growth Opportunities
4
3rd Party Independence
5
Cash Flow
6
Predictable Revenue
7
Barriers to Entry
8
Referrable Brand
9
Owner Dependence
Business Overview
1. Business Name
*
2. In the most recent calendar year, approximately how much total revenue did your business earn?
*
$0 to $500,000
$500,001 to $1,000,000
$1,000,001 to $2,000,000
$2,000,001 to $5,000,000
More than $5,000,000
3. Ideally, when would you like to exit your business?
*
Less than a year
In 1-2 years
In 3-4 years
In 4+ years
4. How many years has your business been in operation?
*
Less than 2 years
3-5 years
5-10 years
10+ years
SCORE Business Overview
SCORE% Business Overview
Business Financials
1. Which of the following best describes your business financials?
*
Profit and loss statement show the same revenue amounts as your business taxes
Profit and loss statements show very similar revenue to your business taxes
Profit and loss statement revenue differs slightly (less than 15%) from business taxes
Profit and loss statement revenue greatly (more than 15%) from business taxes
2. How aggressive does the owner (or owners) deduct personal or non-required expenses through the business?
*
Owner(s) aggressively deduct personal and non-required expenses through the business as much as possible to minimize their tax liability
Owner(s) deduct a reasonable amount of personal and non-required expenses through the business as is justifiable if audited
Owner(s) deduct only those expenses deemed absolutely necessary for the operation of the business
Unsure
3. Which of the following best describes the management of your business finances?
*
We update our finances (or use a bookkeeper) either quarterly or annually as needed to file taxes
We give a stack of receipts to our accountant and they figure it out for us
We keep our finances updated regularly using an accounting software
We use an accounting firm who keep our finances regularly updated
4. Compared to the year before the most recent, how would you describe your business’s total sales / revenue in this most recent year?
*
Total sales / revenue will be considerably (15% or more) lower than last year’s
Total sales / revenue will be slightly less (1-15%) lower than last year’s
Total sales / revenue will be very similar to last year’s
Total sales / revenue will be slightly more (1-15%) higher than last year’s
Total sales / revenue will be considerably (15% or more) higher than last year’s
SCORE Business Financials
SCORE% Business Financials
Growth Opportunities
1. How would you describe opportunities in your business’s industry?
*
Less opportunities than other industries
Similar opportunities to other industries
Slightly more opportunities than other industries
Much more opportunity than other industries
2. How would you describe your business's ability to sell more of your current products / services to your current customers?
*
Our customers have all they need. It is not likely they could purchase more from us
There are one or two additional products / services we could be selling to our current customers
There are several additional products / services we could be selling to our current customers
There is a large amount of additional products / services we could be selling to our current customers
3. How would you describe your current marketing efforts?
*
We hardly market at all and could easily increase revenue by ramping up our marketing
We utilize several marketing strategies but are not sure how effective each strategy is to our achieving our revenue / sales goals
We utilize several marketing strategies and consistently track how our customers find our products / services.
We have a robust and effective marketing strategy that tracks effectiveness and allows us consistently grow our revenue / sales year after year.
4. How difficult would it be to replicate your business in a new geographic location?
*
Very difficult to replicate our business in a new location
Somewhat difficult as our business model is tailored to this specific location
Would be possible but would require some effort to repeat our current business model
Easy to replicate as we have a very scalable and repeatable business model
SCORE Growth Opportunities
SCORE% Growth Opportunities
3rd Party Independence
1. What percentage of business revenue was generated from your 3 largest customers last year?
*
50% or more
Between 31-49%
Between 16-30%
Less than 15%
2. Which best describes the potential impact of your business losing its largest customer?
*
Hardly impactful at all, and our business would survive
Little impact, but our business would survive
Impact a lot, but our business would survive
Impact a lot, and our business would likely not survive
Unsure
3. How would you describe your relationship with your suppliers?
*
We have a large range of suppliers we can use to obtain supplies for the products / services we provide
We have several suppliers we can use to obtain supplies for the products / services we provide
We only have a few suppliers we can use to obtain supplies for the products / services we provide
There is only one supplier we are able to use to obtain supplies for the products / services we well
4. Which of the following best describes how your business generates new sales?
*
We primarily only sell to current or existing customers and do not have a robust process for generating new sales
One person on our team is responsible for generating new sales
We have multiple sales people who are each responsible for generating new sales
We have a robust sales team with members responsible for lead generation, prospect conversion and client management
SCORE Independence
SCORE% Independence
Cash Flow
1. Which of the following best describes your cash flow cycle?
*
We are paid upfront by our customer which allows us to pay related expenses without incurring debt or coming out of pocket
We are paid within 30 days of selling a product / delivering a service which allows us to mostly get by without incurring debt or coming out of pocket
We are paid 30-60 days after a product is sold / service delivered which sometimes requires incurring debt or coming out of pocket to pay related expenses
We are paid 60-90 days after a product is sold / service delivered which requires us to incur some debt or come out of pocket to pay related expenses
2. In terms of cash needed to grow, how easy would it be to 5x next year’s total revenue / sales?
*
We wouldn’t be limited by cashflow and could grow as fast as we could sell our product / service
It would be a challenge to grow our sales that quickly, but we could sustain the growth once our A/R started being paid by our customers
We wouldn’t be able to manage that much growth without turning to lines of credit or infusing capital from owners / outside parties
It would be very difficult to grow our sales that fast as we do not have the resources to cover our expenses while waiting to be paid
3. How would you describe your company’s cash needs throughout the year?
*
We need more cash than we generate, so we’re regularly trying to raise or borrow money
We occasionally need more cash than we generate so we’re occasionally trying to raise or borrow money
Our business generates excess cash which we reinvest or keep in the company as a “rainy day” fund
Our business generates excess cash which we distribute to shareholders regularly
4. What is the largest limiting factor to your business growing its revenue?
*
Lack of energy to spend time working on your business
Lack of new customers to sell your product / service to
Lack of capital to invest into your business
Lack of good employees to help you grow your business
Lack of desire to grow business
SCORE Cash Flow
SCORE% Cash Flow
Predictable Revenue
1. What percentage of your business revenue comes from recurring or reoccurring contracts?
*
More than 75%
Between 46% and 75%
Between 21% and 45%
Less than 20%
None
2. What percentage of last year’s revenue / total sales would you deem CERTAIN to repeat this year?
*
More than 75%
Between 46% and 75%
Between 21% and 45%
Less than 20%
None
3. How easy would it be for your customers to replace your business’s product / service with a competitor's products / services?
*
Very easy as there are many other providers of our product / service
Fairly easy as there are several other providers of our product / service
Fairly difficult as there are only a few other providers of our product / service
Very difficult as there are no other providers of our product / service
4. What percentage of your revenue / total sales comes from repeat customers?
*
More than 75%
Between 46% and 75%
Between 21% and 45%
Less than 20%
None
SCORE Revenue
SCORE% Revenue
Barriers to Entry
1. How would you describe the customization involved in the products / services you offer?
*
We offer products / services that are all tailor-made for every customer
We offer products / services that are somewhat tailor-made for every customer
We offer products / services that are mostly the same with minimal customization
We offer products / services that are the exactly the same with no customization
2. How likely is it a new company could create a product / service offering to make your business’s offering obsolete?
*
Very possible as the product / service is in an older industry ripe for advancement
Somewhat possible as there are a few advancements that could be made to our product / service
Somewhat unlikely as our product / service isn’t susceptible to new technology
Very unlikely as the product / service is already cutting edge in its industry
3. How would you describe your business’s market share for your product / service offering?
*
We control more than 90% market share
We control between 50% and 90% of market share
We control between 10% and 50% percent of market share
We control less than 10% of the market share
Unsure
4. If a competitor moved in next door to your business, how would your business be affected?
*
Very large impact as there are limited customers available locally for us to compete over
It would be impactful but our business would survive as there are enough customers in our market for both businesses
It would not be very impactful as there are more customers in our market than we could serve on our own
Very small impact as our customer base has strong ties to us and/or our customers are spread out enough that local competition does not impact us
SCORE Unique Offering
SCORE% Unique Offering
Referable Brand
1. How would you best describe your business’s online reviews?
*
We have several negative reviews that impact our online image
We have some positive and negative online reviews but do not use reviews as part of our marketing strategy
We have mostly positive reviews but do not actively request reviews from our customers
We focus on making sure our online reviews are as positive as possible and follow up with any negative reviews to try to resolve any issues
We do not track or manage our online reviews
2. How many followers / email subscribers / fans / etc would you estimate your business to currently have?
*
None
0-999
1,000-9,999
10,000+
3. How would you describe the frequency of customer complaints towards your business?
*
We have very few - less than 1% of customers
We have some - 1-5% of customers
They occur somewhat regularly - 5-10% of customers
They happen frequently - more than 10% of customers
4. Please estimate the likelihood a customer would refer your business and its products / services to a close friend or colleague?
*
Very Unlikely
Less than 30%
Between 30% to 70%
More than 70%
SCORE Cust Happiness
SCORE% Cust Happiness
Owner Dependence
1. Please check all business functions PERSONALLY MANAGED by the owner (or owners):
*
Product / service design and/or delivery
Marketing and Sales
Customer Service
Managing Employees
Accounting / Finance
General administrative duties
HR and Hiring / Firing Employees
None of the above
2. Please check all business functions MANAGED BY employees or trained professionals:
*
Product / service design and/or delivery
Marketing and Sales
Customer Service
Managing Employees
Accounting / Finance
General administrative duties
HR and Hiring / Firing Employees
3. How would you describe the owner / owners relationships with the business’s customers?
*
Owner(s) know each customer by name and customers expect to interact with owner frequently
Owner(s) know most of the customers by name and those customers expect to interact with the owner frequently
Owner(s) know some of the customers and is sometimes expected to interact with customers
Owner has very little interaction with customers and does not have much interaction with customers
Owner(s) do not know any of the customers by name and only interacts with customers under special circumstances
4. How many of your employees would you deem to be key (or very difficult to replace)?
*
All employees would be considered key
4-5 would be considered key and difficult to replace
2-3 would be considered key and difficult to replace
1 would be considered key and difficult to replace
None - they could all be easily replaced
SCORE Owner Reliance
SCORE% Owner Reliance
Total Score
Total% Score