Jim Stein Sharpe

Seller Financing

Seller Financing

Seller Financing is one of the most significant source of funds that a searcher uses to finance their purchase. It demonstrates the seller’s confidence in the future of the business under new leadership, and gives the…

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Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Recruiting and working with a Board of Directors once your search process is complete can be one of the more significant learning opportunities as a new business owner. CEO’s find that a well-constructed and managed board…

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Funding the Search

Funding the Search

Determining how to fund your search process can have a significant impact while searching and afterward as a CEO and business owner. Over the past few decades, search has evolved in many ways, and in…

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Developing an Accountability Culture

Developing an Accountability Culture

All Searcher CEO’s strive to lead a profitable, growing business with shared values across the organization, a common mission, and a culture of accountability. This is a lot harder to reduce to practice than it…

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Working Capital

Working Capital

In many ways, search is all about the details. A detail that cannot be overlooked is the treatment of working capital in the transaction. If saved until the final drafts of the P&S agreement, the…

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Compensation

Compensation

During your search, and once you are operating the business you have purchased, you should be “reasonably” compensated for your efforts. Certainly, not at the highest level of your friends in other careers, but enough…

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Quality of Earnings

Quality of Earnings

During the final stage of your search, while under LOI, you will need to verify what the seller has provided as to their financial health. This level of accounting diligence is best done by an…

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Practice and Repetition

Practice and Repetition

Search cannot be mastered in a classroom, gleaned from cases histories, found on bookshelves or even in blogposts like this one. Instead, searchers must suffer through “rookie mistakes”, work outside of your comfort zone, get…

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Knowing Your Competition

Knowing Your Competition

Once you have purchased a business, get a solid understanding of how your competition thinks and behaves. Doing so will be critical to developing your strategy and tactics for profitable growth. It is often too…

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When to Stop Searching

When to Stop Searching

No searcher wants to be a quitter, especially after “sacrificing” so much to head down the path to become a CEO. However, it is important to assess your progress, the impact you are having on…

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Posts – Most Recent

Posts – Contemplating a Search

Posts – Launching a Search

Posts – Conducting your Search

Posts – Being CEO/Owner

Random Quote

45-“Strategic partners” are very important to the business searchers.You want to rely on some trusted providers to support your business, you can’t do everything yourself!(See Blog Post-Strategic Partnerships)

42-Start early on legal documents, they often delay closings while under LOIBoth the searcher and the seller are plowing new ground and it takes a while to comprehend the meaning of all of the legal details .(See Blog Post-Getting to closing)

63 Searchers make promises they can meet to build trust with sellers. It is important to provide incremental opportunities to show that you can be counted on to deliver.(See Blog Post-Building Trust with Sellers)

34 Searchers who get access to employees before closing are more likely to close. Once the seller begins to confide in their employees about the sale of the business and introducing you as the “new owner”, they are more likely to proceed to finalize the transaction than to change their mind at the last minute.(See Blog Post-Getting to Close)

07-You are not a PE firm, don’t act like one!
Potential sellers resonate with your taking over their legacy, a PE firm is simply adding to their portfolio. Make sure your website looks personal and non-intimidating.

04-Fight Seller Fatigue in Due Diligence!
Sellers get worn out in this process. It is highly emotional for them, probably their first time at relinquishing their “baby” to someone else. During LOI stage, make it a practice to communicate with them, in person or by phone, every 2 days.

53-Holding monthly “all-hands” meetings indicates your transparency. Trust employees with what is going on with the business and they will trust you more .(See Blog Post-Communicating with Employees)

06-Use metrics to drive decisions
Track what is most important for your search – getting in front of prospective sellers to make offers to buy their business. Track the number prospects, IOI’s, LOI’s and set goals for yourself! If you measure it, you can improve it.

22-When in conflicts arise, remind professional advisors they work for you.
Inevitably, you will disagree with some advice you are getting. After checking multiple sources, do what feels right to you and move forward. You will have to “live” with your own choices, not the professionals!(See Blog Post-Professional Support)

18-Every day that goes by during Due Diligence raises the chance that you won’t close!
Time is of the essence when it comes to moving from a signed LOI to closing on your business. Seller fatigue sets in as the closing date gets extended and the seller constantly re-evaluates their motivation to sell. Only you can push the process along.(See Blog Post-Due Diligence)

44-Plan ahead, give thought to the small details of how you present yourself as the new owner. The first introduction to the employees of the business has a huge impact so you want every word to be rehearsed!(See Blog Post-Taking over the business)

50-Don’t expect immediate “loyalty”, the previous owner earned it, it takes time. You will need to earn the trust of your employees by your actions, not your words. (See Blog Post-Seller Tranisition)

35-Searcher CEO’s need to be prepared to walk away from volume orders if margins will decline. It takes a forward thinking CEO to seek out higher margin, value added opportunities to grow profits, not revenue.(See Blog Post-Wearing the sales hat)

09-Learn from others – read case histories
Over 40 case histories have been written about funded and self funded searchers in a variety of industries and historical settings. Each have great “lessons learned” and are worth the $10 cost to read them. Searchers are learners!

39-The business seller is “hiring” you to run their business. The owner trusts you enough to turnover the “legacy” of their business to you. (See Blog Post-Searcher Profile)

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