Technology Company
I would certainly recommend VR and would use them again if I had the need. They kept their promises, worked hard and sold my business to a buyer from across the country. Choosing VR was one of the best decisions I ever made with my business.
Sign Code
Mohan and Troy at VR were great to work with. The entire process was great. They really know their business.
eSupplyStore.com
Troy - thank you for all your hard work with eSupplyStore. I know we found the right buyer at the right price. I don't see how the process could have gone any smoother.
Learning Center
VR did an excellent job of selling my franchise. This is actually the second time that I have used their services and I have been impressed both times.
Health Gazette
I owned the Health Gazette for over 30 years and it was important for me to find the right buyer. VR gave us a fair market value for the business and sold it for exactly that amount. I could not have been more pleased.
VR really took the time to understand my needs. I think their expertise was a big reason the transaction happened.
Publishing Company
VR stood out from the competition. They were the best fit when it came to selling my business.
Retail Bookstore
I was extremely impressed with VR. They approached the sale of my business with a very professional system. I knew my business wasn't large, but I still got a high level of service. I would certainly recommend VR to anyone thinking about selling their business.
Diamond Design
I hired VR to sell me construction company. They worked hard through the whole process and found the right buyer. They did a great job and I would use them again.
Sylvan
I wanted to send a note and thank you for all your hard work. This has been a great experience and I really enjoyed working with VR.
Pure Air Systems
I tried other brokers in town and they just put some ad in the newspapaer and it didn't result in much.
Carrell Welding
VR did a very good job for us. They set the price for my business, found the buyer, and worked through all the details.
Commercial Business Systems
I first used another brokerage company to try and sell my business, but it did not work. VR was totally different, very professional and they sold my business for almost full asking price.
TheEasyForms.com
VR exceeded my expectations in selling my online business. I got the full asking price of the business. We got several offers within the first couple of weeks. The entire process took less than 6 weeks from start to finish.
Should You Sell To An Employee?
At first glance, a loyal, trusted and effective employee(s) or manager may seem like an ideal buyer. He or she:
- Knows the business and needs minimal training
- Likely has good relationships with key customers, suppliers and other employees
- Eliminates the need to look for other buyers, reducing the risk of a confidentiality breech
- Would presumably enable a simpler transaction, eliminating the need for intermediaries, attorneys, CPAs and the like
- Satisfies the owner’s desire to reward the employee for long and loyal service.
Seems like a good idea, right? Wrong, in the vast majority of cases.
Here’s why:
- Very few employees have enough money to invest a significant portion of the purchase price, meaning the owner will have to carry an excessive amount of paper, greatly enhancing the risk and providing little money to invest in another venture or purpose.
- Most employees lack the leadership, management, ambition and risk taking characteristics of an owner. (Employees with such skills typically leave to start their own business.) As any owner knows, a profitable business can quickly become unprofitable or even bankrupt under incompetent leadership.
- Virtually all feel they deserve a discounted price, making it harder to reach agreement or reducing the proceeds to the owner. This belief arise from any number of reasons:
- To reward their years of service (forgetting that they were already paid for that work)
- They believe the business would be worth much less without them or if they quit
- Fairness; they don’t have nearly as much money as you.
- If a deal is not reached and you start marketing the business to outsiders, it is quite likely than not the employee will quit, damaging the company at a critical time
- Whenever only one buyer is being pitched, regardless of who the buyer is, the sales prices tends to be lower
- Other employee(s) not participating in the purchase may feel resentment or quit the company.
- All the usual legal documents, disclosures, financial analysis, complex negotiations, etc. that are required in sale to an outside party are also necessary in a sale to an employee. Given this and above points, it is simply not true that the transaction is any simpler.
Now, obviously there are exceptional employees for which a deal makes sense. Feel free to call us for a confidential discussion of your situation. We do provide a discount for situations such as these where you have a prospective buyer in mind.
