There are a number of factors to consider when selling your business, one of the most important being how much you would like to sell your business for.

Selling your business can be a challenging task, so it’s important to get it right. Here are some suggested steps to guide you through the process.

1. Make sure selling is the right decision

If you’re thinking of selling because of financial problems or because you find it hard to comply with government regulations, consider whether getting help or advice might put your business back on track.

You’ll also need to consider how selling your business will affect your personal and financial circumstances.

Read our deciding whether to sell or close page to find out what help is available, and to make sure you’ve considered everything.

2. Decide whether to use professionals

Consider using a reputable business broker or other professionals to help you sell your business, because the process can be time consuming and complicated.

Business brokers are professionals who specialise in buying and selling businesses. They can help you understand legal and government requirements and make the process of selling your business less stressful. The services of a broker may also not be as expensive as you think. Find out more from the Australian Institute of Business Brokers.

As you’ll need to provide your broker or other professional with quite a lot of information about your business, make sure you check the professional’s credentials to ensure they’re reputable before using their services.

3. Value your business

Valuing your business is about working out how much your business is worth so you can set the right price when selling.

Read value your business for some common methods of working out the value of a business. This may include assessing the value of your assets, estimating future profits and working out how much the goodwill that you have established is worth.

4. Find buyers for your business

You can advertise the sale of your business to potential buyers through a number of methods, including:

• business brokers or real estate agents
• advertising online
• your existing networks (e.g. family, friends, or employees)
• advertising in the newspaper
• advertising in trade publications or using your industry contacts
• word of mouth
• notifying customers of your sale (as long as you’re confident it won’t harm your business if your customers know you’re looking to sell).

The way you advertise will depend on your business type, industry and contacts.

Check whether there are any requirements in your state or territory about what information you need to give potential buyers.

For example, if your business is in Victoria and is being sold for less than $350,000, you must provide a Vendor’s Statement (or Section 52 Statement) to all potential buyers. This statement gives recent financial information about the business and should be provided by your accountant.

5. Negotiate the sale

When negotiating the sale, make sure the information you give about your business is accurate and true. If you say anything or provide information that is later found to be untrue, it may be considered misleading or deceptive behaviour.

You’ll need to agree with the buyer on a range of things, including:

• the sale price
• the deposit amount (usually 10% of the sale price)
• the settlement period
• handover training (if any) for the buyer
• arrangements for existing staff.

You may need to compromise on some things to get the best outcome. For example, if you’re keen to settle quickly, you could encourage the buyer to agree to this by offering a lower sale price.

6. Prepare the contract

Generally, an intermediary draws up the sale contract (except in NSW where a solicitor does it). Most small business owners will ask a solicitor to review the contract, and the contract will also be checked by the buyer’s solicitor.

Solicitors should check that the contract doesn’t include any false statements, and covers all aspects of the sale, including:

• all the relevant assets that are being transferred, including property, equipment, fixtures, fittings, stock, and any rights to use any names
• all the relevant liabilities, including creditors (people or businesses that your business owes money to) and the lease of the business premises
• responsibility for employees and employee entitlements, including whether employees are to be transferred with the sale (if the new owner isn’t an ‘associated entity’ – related to the old business in some way – they don’t have to recognise some entitlements)
• statements about what will happen if any issues arise (for example, the buyer decides not to proceed, inaccuracies are discovered in the contract, etc)
• any restrictions on trading in your profession after the sale (to prevent you from competing directly against the new owner).

Find out more about documentation when selling a business on the Business Queensland website.

7. Take care of your employees

When you sell your business, your employees may either:

• transfer with the business to the new owner, or
• end employment with the business.

It’s important to communicate with your employees and let them know whether they’ll be transferring across to the new owner or ending their employment due to the sale of the business.

In both cases, a transfer of business ends an employee’s position with you, the former employer, so you must give your employees notice of ending employment or provide payment in lieu of notice.

When employees transfer with the business, you’ll need to give all relevant employee information to the new owner. There are some employee entitlements that the new owner must recognise and others that the new owner doesn’t have to recognise.

Find out more about Employees and selling or closing your business.

8. Deal with legal matters and tax implications of the sale

Consider any insurance requirements for your business, such as run-off cover (where you are insured for any legal claims that are made after you sell your business).

Also consider whether Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and Goods & Services Tax (GST) applies to the sale of your business. For example, if your business is registered for GST, you may need to include GST in the price of individual business assets or repay GST credits.

If you are selling a small business, CGT concessions may be available.

If you cannot pay your taxes on time, you may be able to get help through an ATO payment plan.

Find out more about taxes when selling your business on the ATO website.

9. Transfer your business to the new owner

Once your business is sold, you’ll need to transfer your business to the new owner. This includes:

• transferring leases, licenses and permits
• finalising tax returns, activity statements and instalment notices
• cancelling your ABN and transferring or cancelling your business name.

Find out more about what you need to do when changing ownership of your business.

10. Look after yourself

Selling your business can be an emotional time. After all, you’ve probably put in countless hours, money and energy.

It’s important to know that there is assistance available. These include:

• financial advice through the MoneySmart website, to help you take care of yourself financially
• career advice through the myfuture website if you’re looking for a new career direction
• employment assistance through Australian JobSearch, if you’re looking to find a job.

The Department of Human Services can also offer employment and financial assistance.

Childcare Snatches Star status

Why buy a Childcare Centre?

Exponential rental growth in childcare assets is outstripping that of all other property sectors, creating a new “golden child” of property investment and prompting a rash of research.

It was declared that childcare centres are Australia’s fastest growing commercial real estate investment class, underpinned by the fact that the economic benefit of workforce participation far outweighs the costs of funding assistance for childcare

Also, most of the federal Government spending in this sector, tipped at $8.8 billion in 2018-2019 and $10 billion by 2019-2020, was paid directly to childcare operators, ensuring operators can pay the rent.

Reason why childcare should be at the top of every  investors wish list

• With sharp yields in the current low interest rate environment and excellent lease conditions, childcare centres are Australia’s most desirable new investment class.
• Demand to purchase is high as both local and interstate investors can see the value and attractive yields still on offer
• Childcare assets have a greater ease in obtaining financing, than say service station business and other service businesses
• Childcare centres were seen as higher-yielding lower risk investments, creating a “ growing pool of buyers hungry for childcare business and property investments”
• The long term need for childcare across Australia adds urgency and interest to this somewhat new asset class

{Source:  The West Australia}

HOW TO BUY A BUSINESS AND KEEP YOUR NEW EMPLOYEES HAPPY……..Your employees are the lifeblood of your business and a happy workforce is a productive one. Here’s our advice on building strong relationships with your new team.

Buy a profitable business and – unlike when starting one from scratch – you’ll have an income from day one.

But you’ll also inherit a workforce – one which you’ve played no part in hiring (again, unlike a start-up).

If this makes you anxious then you can expect apprehension on your new employees’ part too. They’ll be wondering if their jobs are safe, whether their roles will change and how you compare to the previous owner.

Here’s some tips on buying a business and building strong relationships with your new team.

Respect the business’s strengths

Avoid changing things for change’s sake or because you feel compelled to stamp your authority on the business. By all means change things that aren’t working. And identify what the business does well and build on those strengths.

But abandon the processes and products that helped it thrive in the first place and you’ll alienate your new staff.

Assess existing staff

However much you seek to foster a harmonious, rewarding working environment, some staff may simply not feel comfortable with the new regime and the changes you make. Some may leave quickly, solving the problem for you.

Should they stay on, begrudgingly, and resent the business’s new direction, then you may need to take a tough decision. Offering redundancy might be expensive, but it could be a lucrative way out for them and a salve for overall employee morale (though there are, of course, conditions you must meet to make people redundant legally).

Foster a sense of ownership in employees

Building a strong connection between the workforce and the company can ensure that workers recognise they are more than just cogs in the machine.

Engage with staff, seek their views on how best to take the business forward – and heed their advice. This isn’t just an exercise in charming your new employees; after all, having worked there much longer, they will understand the business better than you.

This open engagement should extend beyond the products or services to business practices and policies.

Open two-way communication will flag up issues before they become problems and nip resentments in the bud.

Set expectations

Employees should have a clear understanding of what is expected of them.

To this end, consider introducing a periodic performance review for each individual, if such a system isn’t already in place. The review should assess their performance in reference to meeting pre-established goals – for example, targets for output, sales figures and so on.

Some staff might not like it, but it at least gives them fair chance to rectify any problems and offers the motivation of a clear pathway to promotion and financial rewards.

You should also encourage them to air their own thoughts – positive and negative – about their own progress and that of the company. This gives both parties a chance to improve performance and the employee-employee relationship.

Show appreciation

It’s vital to recognise and reward strong performance. If, say, the company has a good track record for handling enquiries, it’s worth drawing attention to it and identifying those responsible.

Showing appreciation doesn’t just mean material rewards – though some combination of bonuses, pay rises and other perks (such as an extra day’s holiday or gift vouchers) are obviously necessary incentives. Verbal praise is an often underrated form of reward.

The performance reviews offer the ideal framework for judging when recognition and rewards are merited.
Create socialising opportunities

One way of showing appreciation, while also promoting company cohesion, is providing plenty of opportunities for socialising.

Informal get-togethers beyond the pressures of the work environment – and yes, aided sometimes by alcohol – can be enormously helpful in cementing budding friendships and cooling animosities.

{Source – www.businessesforsale.com}

HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL CAFE OWNER…………The following article is based on the chapter “attributes of a successful cafe owner” from “The Complete Guide to Buying a Cafe” by cafe expert Craig Reid.

Craig’s books are available for purchase via his website www.thecafeninja.com

Knowing where your strengths and weaknesses lie is an essential part of running your business, since those facets determine your style of management.

If you are thinking about buying a cafe, there are a number of crucial questions you should ask yourself which can help you to identify the role which would suit you best.

Are you a people person?

A significant part of life in a café revolves around dealing with customers. No matter how good your food is, if you can’t make people feel welcome, they won’t continue to bring you their custom. Equally, if you are unable to cope with the pressures of facing difficult customers, you will be unable to maintain a pleasant atmosphere in the café and your business is likely to suffer.

However, if this aspect worries you, as the owner, you can simply choose a more suitable role; try making the coffee, rather than serving, for example. The important thing is to recruit staff who have the attributes you lack.

Are you well organised and numerate?

Good time-management skills are vital, so you can ensure suppliers and staff are paid in a timely and accurate fashion and appropriate supplies are ordered when necessary, as well as other crucial aspects of a business’ day-to-day running, such as completion of accounts and advertising.

Obviously, to cope with complicated financial issues, your numeracy skills must be of a high standard. If you don’t have sufficient capability, there is plenty of expert assistance available, as long as you recognise the necessity to ask for it.

Are you IT literate?

Whatever level of involvement in the financial dealings of the café you feel able to undertake, you will need a reasonable amount of competency at using IT. Software packages will make life easier for you, if you master their use, and the higher the percentage of the accounts completed by you, the less you will need to rely on your accountant.

This will save you money. Additionally, much of your communication can be carried out more efficiently using the internet, via e-mail and through your website and social media, providing a low-cost additional form of advertising.

Are you physically and mentally strong?

The food industry is a hard taskmaster. You can be certain to spend long hours performing physically demanding activities such as serving customers, cleaning work spaces and organising heavy containers of supplies.

Furthermore, you will need to withstand a considerable amount of stress, most of which relates directly to running a business. In busy times, you will have the stress of providing a good service in a limited time, while quieter periods can bring the stress of lower earnings.

Which role should you take?

By answering these questions honestly, and also by appraising your general skills and preferences, you will gain insight which will equip you to decide what your optimal role would be within the business.

You must assess how much trust you could place in others, for the purpose of delegating, and weigh up the pros and cons of each position. When all is said and done, it is likely that the role you adopt will be the one for which you are most suited.

{Source – www.businessesforsale.com}

5 TOOLS TO INCREASE YOUR DAILY PRODUCTIVITY……………..

Every business owner wants to leverage as much efficiency as possible from a working day. But it can be tricky to reign in wasted time and keep operations as streamlined as possible. Fortunately, there are plenty of tools available today to take energy spent on thinking, planning and organizing and use it to ramp up productivity.

Here are our favourites:

Task Managers

A good first step to a more efficient enterprise is a task manager app – and the simpler, the better.

Wunderlist gets high marks from users precisely because it requires next to no tech knowledge. This straightforward app enables you to share lists and deadlines with easy to manage groups and the dashboard is intuitive enough to allow customized organization solutions – making it a neat tool for students and families too.

If your requirements are a little more intricate, Hitask and Basecamp are more comprehensive time management alternatives that help you assign, manage and organize tasks. With the ability to share files as well as calendars and progress reports these apps are well suited to businesses with more complex team structures.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Beyond a certain point, keeping sales, marketing, tech support and customer service perfectly synchronized can become a nightmare.

Instead of creating a sales engine that guarantees mangled customer interactions and endless back and forth between departments, use CRM software to smoothly line up every step of your sales funnel.

Zoho isn’t free, but is a great place to start to get a full overview of your sales trends and cycles.

For those that already use CRM but are looking for a little more return on investment, Colabo offers even more targeted solutions. It has made the leap from cold emails and phone calls to what it calls ‘the new world of LinkedIn Groups, Meetups and Quora’.

Intelligent File Storage

The clutter never left – modern day business has merely moved the piles of paperwork online.

Intelligent File storage can shave off those wasted hours sharing files via email or directly on a server. There are many options, but a good solution will be quick, secure and take almost no time to set up.

The obvious choices are Dropbox and Google Drive (most people are already using one or the other) but if you’d like to get your team on a slightly more secure setup, Huddle is a brilliant choice.

If you’re nervous about cloud storage, it may be a good idea to investigate insurance options, or at least reliable backup for your most sensitive data.

Password Management Tools

Remembering a string of passwords can be stressful even if you’re not trying to run a business.

A clear winner that makes sure you’re not left staring dumbfounded at an empty password field again isLastPass. The app has a free desktop option, but at a mere $12 a year for mobile and full a full feature option, it isn’t bad for improved security and some more personal memory space! The app Includes useful features like automatic password changing in suspected hackings and suggestions on creating better passwords.

KeePass and 1Password are other much loved alternatives but take slightly longer to get going.

Finance Management

Lastly and most importantly, you’ll want budgeting tools for your business that do the trick without you needing an advanced bookkeeping degree.

Epensify is a truly nifty little app that will take the pain out of managing your receipts and expense reports.

Another option is FreshBooks – it’s the perfect all-in-one accounting app for businesses with 50 employees or less and claims to save its users two days a month spent on paperwork and lengthy invoice creation. It also says that, on average, Freshbooks customers double revenue in the first 24 months of usage.

If you are looking for budgeting software products, a great business software comparison site is Capterra. It will help you fine tune a search for software that perfectly suits your company’s needs. If you’re going to splash out on more advanced software, it’ll pay to start your research here.

Article by Nick Tatley, BusinessesForSale.com