Anyway, happy to contribute. Keep up the good work! I love seeing entrepreneurs like yourself fired up and ready to go for it (especially with the New Media!)

I’ve never been involved with a sale that required a NDA so certainly this is an area I have no experience with so I appreciate your contribution to the discussion.

That’s a blanket statement and certainly does not apply to all types of companies. This is really a question of whether it’s a “systems-based business” for sale, or what we call a “personality-based business.”

Both types, in order to have any resale value at all, must be well structured and systemized. But the former type allows for anyone willing to follow the proven systems and provide excellent customer service to thrive. The later requires a specific type of personality and communication style at the helm in order to thrive — no matter how well systemized that business is. (Note: that does not mean that required personality is actually “doing” the work, just piloting the ship.)

I have sold three businesses so far as a serial entrepreneur. The last two I sold in NJ before relocating to Hawaii are a perfect example of this dichotomy in the way business sales are (or should be) handled.

The first of the two was completely systems-based. The business focus was on delivering what would normally be considered a commodity type service. However, the unique system we developed for delivery and execution of that service set it apart from competitors.

Under the advisement of my mentor and advisory board we shouted the sale of that company from the rooftops. We didn’t care which of our competitors found out about that sale. We actually approached competitors ourselves about the sale, and in the end, that is how we sold that company.

The second company was a personality-based company. As opposed to the first company, this business was focused on high value projects, with high ticket price tags, serving high net worth customers. This company had a unique and exclusive end product, and behind that was a system for delivery. This business was systemized to run like a BMW M3 GTR on race day, but it still needed the right kind of driver behind the wheel. That company sale we kept quiet and private, with anyone that was even remotely interested signing a non-disclosure agreement before revealing the company name and geographic coverage area.

The bottom line is in business, like everything else in life — painting everything with a broad brush leads to disappointments and failures. Competition is part of business … but so is strategy. Knowing when to use New Media tools for reasearch and when to use them for promotion is the key.

* Monitor trends of what businesses are for sale, and what businesses are most searched for.
* Monitor asking prices and markets for existing businesses.
* Evaluate an industry you are considering a move into.
* Compare inventory stock levels to existing businesses.
* Take Mr. Hardwicke’s advice, and watch for your competitors to appear on the list.

Like any business purchase/sale transaction, confidentiality does make a difference. But it is not always possible, so I don’t think that this is an ironclad rule for every business, of every size, in every setting.

In the three business purchases I have been involved in (two were completed, one fell through), some people knew the business was for sale, and some didn’t. None were “completely” confidential, but none were offered on this type of list.

My personal lessons learned in buying a business are to do your homework, deeply, thoroughly, completely, as much as humanly possible and then some. Ask a lot of questions. Trust, but verfiy.

By the way – I had a look at your website and I think you could use an online marketer to take a look and give you some advice. Splash pages are not a good idea no matter what industry you are working in.

Ignore if you wish………… however to establish our credentials, we deal in the £1m-£100m deal market and we do not get things wrong.

M