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Jim Stein Sharpe

Jim Stein Sharpe

Sharing about searching, searchers and running an SME. Always learning.

  • Most Recent Blog Post
  • Contemplating Search
  • Launching Search
  • Searching
  • Being a CEO
Launching Search

Searcher Identity

Jim Sharpe November 10, 2015 Searcher Identity2016-01-02T11:54:46-05:00 Launching Search 1 Comment
Conveying "who you are" during your search is both a lot easier and more challenging with the advent of the Internet. There are now a myriad of ways to put yourself "out there" to attract…
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Launching Search

Preparing your search brochure

Jim Sharpe March 7, 2016 Preparing your search brochure2016-09-19T16:32:47-04:00 Launching Search 3 Comments
Creating a "leave behind" document for a prospective seller is a very personal and unique opportunity to get your message across to a business owner. A single page presentation is also useful for the intermediary…
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Launching Search

Searching with Interns

Jim Sharpe July 20, 2015 Searching with Interns2019-11-28T22:02:36-05:00 Launching Search No Comment
Your search process has to be as efficient and effective as possible to achieve the result of owning a business in two years or less. Interns can be used to scale up many of your…
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Searching

Seller Profile

Jim Sharpe May 18, 2015 Seller Profile2016-09-04T14:53:00-04:00 Searching 4 Comments
Finding and buying the right company is the prime objective of your search, yet it is often the seller who is essential to your success. Working with an unsuitable seller can drain your most precious…
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Searching

Company Profile

Jim Sharpe April 6, 2015 Company Profile2015-08-30T21:49:11-04:00 Searching 6 Comments
        Searchers often make the mistake of searching for a “great” business. The search model would classify a great business as one with 3 years of expanding profits, recurring revenues, a simple…
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Searching

Establishing seller trust

Jim Sharpe April 25, 2016 Establishing seller trust2019-11-28T21:58:32-05:00 Searching No Comment
The relationship you build with the seller, between the initial contact and your running of that business, is much more important than the "transaction" that you conclude with them. Like any relationship, it is based…
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Searching

Proprietary Prospecting

Jim Sharpe June 15, 2015 Proprietary Prospecting2018-05-12T17:31:02-04:00 Searching 6 Comments
Your proprietary search for prospective sellers should be viewed as a carefully scripted marketing campaign. Your "pitch" should quickly capture the attention of business owners and trigger a conversation about turning their legacy over to…
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Searching

Brokers & Intermediaries

Jim Sharpe June 10, 2018 Brokers & Intermediaries2021-02-25T17:20:26-05:00 Searching 2 Comments
Brokers, M&A advisors and other intermediaries may stand between you and your ideal seller or they may facilitate the process.  Developing the skills to manage this source of prospects is critical to the success of…
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Searching

Making Offers

Jim Sharpe April 23, 2019 Making Offers2020-11-13T15:31:11-05:00 Searching 3 Comments
Making offers quickly and often in your search is critical to buying a business. As in sports, taking frequent "shots on goal" is always better than waiting for the "perfect" opening. After all, the offer…
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Searching

Working Capital

Jim Sharpe June 1, 2017 Working Capital2019-11-28T21:33:39-05:00 Searching 7 Comments
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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Posts – Most Recent

  • Managing a Blue-Collar Workforce

  • Learning About Search

  • Searching Mid-Career

Posts – Contemplating a Search

  • Learning About Search

  • Why Search? Is it right for you?

  • When to Search?

  • Where to search from?

  • Searching Internationally

  • International Searchers Inside the USA

  • Choosing a search partner – or not!

  • Funding the Search

  • Searching Mid-Career

  • Searching as a Veteran

  • Searching as a Woman

  • Searching as a Couple

  • Your significant other

  • Wearing the coat

  • Compensation

  • Cost of searching

  • Blog Purpose and Objectives

Posts – Launching a Search

  • Selecting your search name

  • Building your search website

  • Searcher Identity

  • Preparing your search brochure

  • Searching with Interns

Posts – Conducting your Search

  • Seller Profile

  • Company Profile

  • Establishing seller trust

  • Proprietary Prospecting

  • Brokers & Intermediaries

  • Making Offers

  • Working Capital

  • Bank Financing

  • Seller Financing

  • Raising Equity Capital

  • Due Diligence

  • Quality of Earnings

  • Customer Concentration

  • When your LOI falls apart

  • Getting to Closing

  • Why deals fall apart

  • Managing Professional Support

  • Searching Efficiently

  • Reaching out for help

  • Reporting on search progress

  • What to expect while searching

  • Practice and Repetition

  • When to stop searching

  • Life after winding down search

Posts – Being CEO/Owner

  • Managing a Blue-Collar Workforce

  • Taking Over the Business

  • Seller After Closing

  • Early Years as Searcher/CEO

  • Board of Directors

  • Communicating with Employees

  • Selecting your direct reports

  • IT Systems

  • Wearing your sales hat

  • Knowing your competition

  • Growing Revenue

  • Pricing for Value

  • Sharing profits, not equity

  • Developing an Accountability Culture

  • Strategic Partnerships

  • Downsizing your business

  • Exit and/or Recapitalization

Random Quote

70 Searchers find that a QoE early in due diligence helps them understand the business better Confirming EBITDA add backs and verifying accounting systems has to be down before getting the legal team engaged with their documents. (See Blog Post-Quality of Earnings

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