Placing a good Ad is a good step, but its just one step, and in most cases, should probably not be the first.  First steps should probably address “what is the business worth today; how-to figure it out, how-to find a ready buyer, and how-to keep it all QUIET and CONFIDENTIAL.”

Preparation: Much about the buying/selling processes is described throughout this section. The author is an experienced business broker; (see: background) and begins the discussion with the decision to sell; frequently asked questions; suggestions about business valuation; pricing and terms of payment; the benefits of a share sale or an asset sale; how-to find a qualified buyer; what confidential disclosures are appropriate, and when; what to expect in an offer to purchase; when, where and what levels of due-diligence to be prepared for; and more, until finally, how-to close the sale formally and, importantly, why and how-to keeping it all quiet, confidential and undetectable until after you’ve done so.

Valuation: Business-Trader.com offers “hands-on” business valuation/profiling services, as well as business valuation/profiling software that can walk you through the calculation of a fair market value based largely on discretionary cash flow, and that will help with the preparation and presentation of the relevant information buyers are seeking.

Presentation: Such relevant information will inevitably include confidential information that business owners are apt to be reluctant to disclose, at least until quite certain of the legitimate intent and capabilities of the inquirer, and confidential information that buyers are similarly reluctant to disclose, until confident the business holds real opportunity and is a potential fit.

Mediation: Conflicting interests, such as confidential information, can surface early and will sometimes posse an impasse that can derail what would be good opportunity for both. Thus, our resources include a new on-line intermediation service through which such information can be safely and confidentially conveyed between buyer and seller, in appropriate detail, at appropriate times, with appropriate agreement, caution and reserve, in a manner that does not identify buyer, seller or business, until value, opportunity, fit and the legitimate intent, capabilities and interest can all be appropriately measured.

Objectives: Your objective will be to SELL the business, or to BUY a business. Our objective will be to help our “Seller subscribers” create “for-sale Ads” that are the most quantitative and substantive a buyer will find on the web. Why; because that’s what buyers want to find. 

Unless a ready buyer finds your Ad to be relevant and representative of the opportunity they seek, there will be no point to posting an Ad at all.  And, unless that same buyer is satisfied all the way to the close of sale, there will be no sale. The objective will be both while maintaining the full measure of CONFIDENTIALITY necessary to the safety and future of the business.

Equally, our objective with our “Buyer subscribers” will be to help create “Wanted Ads” that are the most descriptive and quantitative possible. Why; because that’s the information sellers need in order to identify a potential fit.  And again, the objective will be to do that while maintaining the CONFIDENTIALITY necessary to the buyer as well.

In this matter, you’re success lies in the satisfaction of your audience. Our success lies also in the satisfaction of your audience, and our objective will be to help you in anyway we can to reap that success, for both of us. That won’t be as simple as “running an Ad.”  It must be an Ad that works, but that begins the process.  We’ll walk you through the rest as we continue.

Suggestions, Tools and Services are described, illustrated and demonstrated in detail throughout this “How-To” section, the full review of which will take a bit of time. Some content may be of interest and value to you, and some may not. Thus, detail is broken into smaller sub-sections and, in providing context to each, there is sometimes repetition.  Sorry about that.    

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Contact Us: We encourage you to contact us.  Please let us know what you find helpful and what you do not.  Our site only works for us, only when it works for you.