As part of Jessica’s training we are reviewing one chapter a week from Russell Robb’s book, Selling Middle Market Companies (which is really about selling non-micro but still small to mid-sized businesses). Chapter four had a few topics near and dear to me.
- It started with the topic of preparing a business for sale. He strongly said sellers should not take on any big, new projects or purchases (that will hurt short-term performance but has long-term potential). In my book, If They Can Sell Pet Rocks Why Can’t You Sell Your Business (For What You Want?), I say owners should run their business on a day-to-day basis as if a sale won’t happen. And, to discuss any big plans with their advisory team before just doing something.
- Next was his explanation of how buyers will look at EBITDA and how smart ones will factor in upcoming capital expenditures. He calls it EBITDA-CAPX and discusses this to warn sellers they can’t skimp on replacing assets that need to be replaced. For example, if a company normally replaces two vehicles a year but stops getting new ones a year or two prior to selling the buyer will factor into their valuation the cost of more new vehicles than normal.
- Finally, he warns sellers not to delay paying their bills (accounts payable) in order to pay off long-term debt. He states sharp buyers will peg a working capital amount that will stay in the company and therefore won’t be fooled by this tactic.
One of the pieces of good news from our weekly study is Jessica is always saying things like, “I’m familiar with this because it’s just like in your books.” Continuing education is necessary, especially in industries like mine where things are so different than they were in years past. It’s good to have multiple sources of information to get both different viewpoints and confirmation of the basics.
“You can only hold your stomach in for so many years.” Burt Reynolds
