Sell My Business
Your Trusted Brokerage for a Profitable Confidential Exit
Is it Time to Sell?
You’ve worked hard on building your business and now you deserve top dollar when selling. At Green Bridge, we’ll work with you at all stages of the selling process. Working with you early in the process we’ll help you prepare both financially and operationally to help you achieve your company’s highest potential valuation. Anyone can help sell your business. But it takes a focused, structured process to prepare your business for its next owner. Let us work together in accomplishing this goal.
Most brokers think step one is to quickly show you how much your business is worth to then immediately list it. While exciting, without ever taking the time to truly understand what your business actually does or how it’s positioned in the market, an honest broker could never give you a true valuation. Yes bottom line financial numbers are what we show prospective buyers and base selling price. However, you need a broker who will take the time to understand operations and everyone’s roll, including your own, within the business. At Green Bridge, we don’t just sell your company. Our relationship goes BEYOND the sale. We call the Vail Valley home and want your business to be sold to the right people for a fair price.
Things to Consider before listing your company for sale:
- Are the company financials and tax returns in order?
- Will I be able to replace my income in the next stage of life?
- What tax implications will the sale trigger?
- Will my key employees stay on with the company after I exit?
- What are some areas of the business that require some added attention and “clean-up”?
At Green Bridge, we foster an environment of honest and open dialogue. Selling your business is a big deal and we promise to listen and fully understand your business. You’ve worked hard and now is not the time to let your guard down. We will be there every step of the way and work with your attorneys, accountants and trusted advisors in securing the best deal for your company.
Ready to Sell?
Now that we’ve prepared your company for sale, we are ready to accurately value it. At Green Bridge, we do thorough research and analysis to present you with a fair, competent valuation. Our objective is to sell your company, to the right person, for a fair price.
Once we determine valuation, we’ll prepare a marketing presentation which we will use for prospective, qualified buyers. Buyers in the Valley want more than just a business, they want a lifestyle to go along with it. How your company fits into the community means more up here than anywhere else. We’ll work with buyers to assess their competence and ability to not only purchase your company, but also be a successful operator well into the future.
Once we have found the right buyer, we’ll handle everything from negotiating the terms of the deal to preparing your business for transfer. We work with your accountants, landlords, attorneys and other stakeholders to create a smooth transaction for all parties.
Once the deal is finalized, our job is not over. We ensure the buyer is well positioned to take over the reigns and succeed. We will also help you in making sure your CPA has all necessary documents to file final tax returns accurately and timely. At Green Bridge, we pride ourselves in being full service and will go the extra mile to make sure this is a fun and exciting process.
FAQs
Wait, you’re actually going to share this upfront? Of course we are! That’s the honesty and openness we value and what we believe will start our relationship out with Trust.
We have two billing arrangements when performing consulting services. We can either agree to a fixed project cost or an hourly rate starting at $250.00/hr (based on services required).
While all the above are the standard rates, we are always happy to have a conversation regarding our fees. Our goal is to provide value to a point our fees become immaterial to what we are able to provide.
Our relationship will extend much longer than the life cycle of the transaction.
The short answer…YES. We often get asked about co-brokering businesses. Firms that will not co-broker are not giving the best opportunity for their client’s business. This turns off many buyers who are being represented with a buyer’s rep.
Traditionally, business brokerage is done with a transaction broker. This is someone who adheres to a special set of fiduciary duties whereby they represent the transaction rather than a specific buyer or seller. At Green Bridge, we want what’s best for our clients and all parties involved in the transaction. We’re more than happy to work with your broker
Most definitely. One of the best things about working with Green Bridge is our first hand knowledge in tax, financial statement acumen and a robust legal understanding of contracts. This is what separates us from the rest. Christian is a former CPA at both RSM and Deloitte and worked in their tax, audit and consulting departments.
Simply put, Trust.
We believe someone with both experience and a great understanding of the asset you’re looking to buy or sell. If you’re interviewing potential brokers, make sure to ask them what businesses they have personally owned and operated. Their experience in the industry of your business or property. Many brokers are glorified sales professionals with no actual experience in owning or operating a company. How are they going to sell your business to a prospective buyer if they cannot relate? Christian has personally owned, operated, and started and sold his own companies over the past decade is many different industries.
We primarily focus here locally in and around the Vail Valley, Summit County or any of the mountains of Colorado. We love to work where we play. You can find us getting coffee and a burrito at Northside in Avon or riding up on the chair lift at Vail or Beaver Creek. We like to bring our global experience to an otherwise locally enriched community. While many brokers advertise they work in the mountains, they all too often live in Denver and will hardly ever be around. At Green Bridge, we can personally meet every client in person and… then go take some turns at Beaver Creek. We’ll see you out there on the slopes!
When you, your family AND the business are all ready. Because of the longer cycle to sell a company or commercial property (typically up to 9 months or longer), it is more important we get your asset ready to sell at its best time rather than trying to time the market. Many folks rush into selling, quite frankly, many brokers will list a company or property, when it is no where near the point to sell properly. You will get far more for your asset if we take the time to ensure all details are ready for the buyers. This is a huge decision. Just because some broker says they can list it this weekend, that's hardly ever the best idea. Once a buyer inquires, you need to be ready to provide solid, valuable information about your company or property. This can take some time to achieve but will always pay great dividends and save time on the back end of the transaction.
We market on our website as well on many syndicated websites like Bizbuysell.com, Loopnet.com, Crexi.com to name a few. We typically cover all marketing costs in our standard agreement. In addition, we send our emails to prospective buyers who have inquired with us on assets like yours. Don’t fall for the “We have buyers for your company or property” line from brokers. Of course they have buyers. They’re brokers. Retain a local broker who fully understands your company or property and can market it with a personal touch. All brokers advertise your asset in the same way online, but what separates Green Bridge is our local experience when talking with potential buyers.
Business Valuation Calculator
Discover the Value of Your Business
Use this business valuation calculator to determine a potential selling price for your business in the open market
How To Use This Calculator
Revenue & Expenses
Enter your revenue and expense numbers based on your last full years Profit & Loss statement in the Original Amount column of the Valuation Workbook tab. Add / change any expense descriptions or columns as necessary. Make no adjustments to these numbers or this column.
Adjust
In the Add Back column, adjust your expenses as necessary. To do this, enter the negative sum of the total of the expense to be added back. Expenses should only be added back if they were of personal nature or a one time expense, and they should not be necessary to maintain ongoing business operations. Some examples of Add Back expenses: owner salary, owner payroll tax, owner health insurance (if you would not offer it to a manager), personal supplies purchased by business, depreciation, amortization, interest.
Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
The adjusted expenses will automatically calculate and total the Adjusted Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE) which is used to determine the worth of most small businesses.
Industry Multiple
Our calculator will choose the appropriate industry multiples based on your chosen industry and will automatically calculate an estimate of the range for which your business would sell for on the external market.
