M&A Talk, by Morgan & Westfield
175 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 90 ratingsM&A Talk is the #1 show exclusively focused on mergers & acquisitions. At M&A Talk, we bring you interviews with experts in private equity, business valuations, law, finance, and all topics related to M&A. We speak with the most experienced professionals in the industry to share their insights. Our past experts have included CEOs, authors, investment bankers, attorneys, CPAs, private equity partners, business appraisers, VC investors, and more. Brought to you by Morgan & Westfield (www.morganandwestfield.com), a nationwide leader in M&A. Access show notes on all M&A Talk podcasts at https://morganandwestfield.com/resources/podcast/.
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Episodes
Foreign Buyers Want Your Business
December 07, 2015 11:53 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBAmerican businesses are very attractive to cross-border and overseas investors looking to gain access to the highly coveted American market. Many of these investors are willing to pay top dollar; however, with so many companies in so many industries to choose from, foreign buyers can afford to be selective. So how do you attract the attention of these wealthy overseas buyers? Where are they located, and what are they looking for in an American company? Our guest shares his deep knowledge of ...
Other Important Reasons for Appraisals
December 06, 2015 03:57 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBYou should always consult a professional appraiser for a business valuation when you are selling your company, but that’s not the only time you should have your business appraised, according to Michael Gould, director of Litigation Support and Valuation Services at RotenbergMeril. Mr. Gould discusses some of the other common reasons you should seek the services of a valuation consultant, some of which you may have never considered. Failure to do so could mean reduced value for your business ...
Legal Guidance on Commercial Property
December 06, 2015 03:51 - 29 minutes - 27.5 MBIf you’ve been leasing your building or your business is growing and you’re thinking about buying commercial property for the first time, our guest on this edition of “Deal Talk” tells you why you shouldn’t do it without the help of a real estate attorney. From structural problems to environmental issues to zoning laws, our guest expert, Chris Cali, an attorney specializing in real estate and M&A at Latimer LeVay Fyock in Chicago, talks about all the concerns that come with buying commercial...
Positioning Your Business for Sale – Keep it Simple
December 03, 2015 07:56 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBHaving a good understanding of what is included in the valuation of your company may help you to better understand what you need to focus on when preparing your business for sale, whether you intend to do that now or in 25 years’ time. The timing of the sale and even the appraisal of your business could affect its value. It’s important to know about the inside and outside factors that can negatively impact your business’ value so that you can take the right steps to build it back up. Join...
The Key Drivers of Value in a Successful Business
December 01, 2015 12:57 - 29 minutes - 27 MBYou can’t get to where you want to go if you don’t know where you are. Have you taken a close look at your numbers? If you need to build the value of your company, where do you start? Our guest on this segment of “Deal Talk” tells us why a professional valuation (or appraisal) is critical to understanding your company’s current situation. He also discusses the key value drivers for businesses looking to improve more than just “top line” growth. Mr. Marcus Sullivan is a Certified Valuation...
The Importance of Specialized Accountants to Reveal your Company's Value
November 25, 2015 12:42 - 29 minutes - 27.8 MBBusiness appraisals and financial audits are necessary, but sometimes the numbers just don’t add up. If you suspect that everything isn’t being properly accounted for, you may have to call upon the services of a forensic accountant. But what is a forensic accountant? We have one on with us today in this edition of “Deal Talk.” Darrell Dorrell is a CPA and principal at Financial Forensics who has delivered more than 100 addresses on financial topics to many national bodies, including the FBI,...
Businesses are for Selling! (Think Like a Serial Entrepreneur)
November 25, 2015 12:32 - 29 minutes - 27.7 MBIt requires a different mind-set to be the owner of multiple businesses. This is especially true for serial entrepreneurs who build businesses for one reason: to sell them. Serial entrepreneurs can teach the rest of us a lot about what it takes to build a company from scratch, develop it, make it profitable and sell it at a premium value. Gregg Sharp, CEO of A2M Entertainment in San Diego, is one such serial entrepreneur who will reveal the keys to his success growing multiple businesses fo...
Great Customer Relationships Great for Your Bottom Line
November 24, 2015 12:28 - 28 minutes - 26.7 MBDo you know what your customers really think about you and your company, or are you just happy that the orders keep coming in? Truth is, your best customer could be this close to leaving you and doing business with your competition. So how do you keep your best customers truly happy while working on attracting new ones? Our guest on this segment of “Deal Talk” started his career knocking on doors before leading a successful national sales team. He joins us to share important tips that apply ...
Stay Organized, Stay Legal
November 23, 2015 12:34 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBYou’re ready to sell your business. You’ve shown steady revenue growth with expanding market share. You’ve cut costs, you are practically debt-free, and you even have an interested buyer, only to discover that you haven’t filed your annual business report. What about your other legal obligations? Deborah Sweeney, owner and CEO of MyCorporation.com, tells us why it’s critical to stay on top of your documentation and corporate filings, or run the risk of substantial financial losses that could...
The Experience of Selling a Business and Leaving a Legacy
November 20, 2015 12:27 - 28 minutes - 26.8 MBThe best way to understand what it’s like to sell a business is to learn from someone who has experienced the process. Ed Antonowicz, former co-owner along with his wife of a successful ComForcare home healthcare franchise in Prescott, Arizona, discusses the process of selling a business and what it’s like to separate yourself from “your baby.” In addition, he shares his philosophy on the importance of building customer relationships and the requirements for building up a business so that y...
Franchising Your Business: A Path to Growth
November 19, 2015 08:05 - 32 minutes - 29.7 MBYour business is growing, and you’re thinking of expanding into other markets or maybe adding a new product or service line, but you don’t yet have the capital—both financial or human—to do it. Have you considered expanding through franchising? This option is catching on with small business owners all over the country looking to develop or acquire great brands for long term success. Pete Baldine, President of Accelerated Development at the Moran Family of Brands shares some of his 20+ yea...
Why SBA Loans are Great Finance Options
November 19, 2015 07:42 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MBSmall Business Administration loans may be one of the best kept secrets for business owners or those interested in buying a company. SBA program loans can provide businesses with several thousands to millions of dollars depending on individual needs. So what can you use the money for? Can you qualify even if you’ve been turned down for other financing? How quickly can you receive funds? We’ll address these and a host of other questions in our chat with Mr. Thomas Meyer, Sr. Vice President ...
Ready or Not—Which Seller are You?
November 12, 2015 11:50 - 29 minutes - 27.6 MBIf someone walked up to you and made you an offer for your business that you couldn’t refuse, would you be ready to sell your company right away? How about six months from now? A year from now? Two years? How about five years from now? The sales process takes time, but why are some business owners more prepared to sell sooner rather than later, and what do you have to do to be one of them? Listen to this edition of Deal Talk for sound advice from Jonathan Siebers, transactional business l...
Get Your Money’s Worth from Your CPA
November 11, 2015 12:17 - 29 minutes - 27.7 MBJust what exactly are you paying your CPA to do? Sure, CPAs are great for keeping the IRS off your back, but they can--and should--do more than that. A competent CPA can help raise the value of your company and be one of the best partners you can have. According to a recent poll, most businesses change their CPAs two or three times. Are you one of them? Learn all about what your CPA should be doing to help your business. (Hint: proactivity has a lot to do with it.) Scott Shields, founding...
Entity Formation and the Importance of Staying Up to Date on your Filings
November 10, 2015 12:34 - 28 minutes - 26.8 MBFrom sole proprietors and partnerships to LLCs and S corps, the legal entity you choose for your business should provide your person with reasonable protection against financial and legal challenges, but understanding which entity to form for your organization can be complicated, and so can the paperwork that goes along with it, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Connecticut-based attorney Diana Bartolotta advises select small business owners, real estate developers and entrepreneurs on the...
The Power of Coordinated Public Relations Campaigns
November 07, 2015 13:38 - 26 minutes - 25 MB“Build it, and they will come” is an ideology best left for blockbuster baseball flicks, not for 99.9% of small businesses. On this edition of “Deal Talk,” you’ll learn about the most important benefits of a well-crafted PR campaign to your business, and the essential components no PR campaign should be without. Also, you’ll find out about the correlation between improved business valuations and intelligently executed PR when we welcome guest expert Debra Vilchis, chief operating officer at ...
Advice from an Investor to Business Owners
November 05, 2015 12:42 - 30 minutes - 28.5 MBTo find out what makes a business attractive to a prospective buyer, you need to talk to the person who writes the check, or in this case, several checks. Robert Ritch, CEO of Secured Equity Group, is such a person. And as an owner — and seller — of multiple businesses, Ritch knows what it takes to build value and succeed at attracting the right buyers or investors to practically any business in any industry. From startups to seasoned companies, Ritch tells you which attributes are most impo...
Why you should Avoid "Quick Fixes" to Raise your Company's Value
November 04, 2015 08:19 - 29 minutes - 26.9 MBThere are many reasons for declining values of small, privately held companies. On this edition of “Deal Talk,” we’ll talk with Russell Glazer, CPA and partner at Gettry Marcus in New York, about some of the most common ones, and why you should think twice before attempting any “quick fixes” to improve the value of your business. We’ll discuss smarter alternatives to those quick fixes, as well as how often you should have your business appraised, and the best approach to setting a value for ...
Expert Ideas on Cost Cutting and Saving More Money
November 02, 2015 05:11 - 32 minutes - 29.7 MBJust when you thought you’ve made all the cuts you can make, believe it or not, there may be more that you can do to help your business save money. Investors, business brokers and buyers themselves are on the lookout for profitable companies that are run efficiently and that have trimmed all unnecessary expenses and costs. The question is, what costs can you reduce — or cut further — to improve profitability? Our guest has some thoughts on this subject because he has made it his job to help...
Prepare to Sell Your Business 2 to 5 Years from Now: Part 1 of a 3 Part Series
November 02, 2015 04:35 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBIf you plan to retire within the next five years, this series is for you. As a business owner, there are steps you can take now to save you stress, time and money later on. Have you reviewed your exit plan? Is your team as effective and productive as it can be? Have you or your managers documented your operational systems and procedures? Do you know how much your business is worth … now? Jennifer Martin, owner of Zest Business Consulting, kicks off this three-part series with the kind of in...
Important Reasons to have your Business Appraised Now
November 02, 2015 03:57 - 29 minutes - 27.9 MBBusiness valuations — or business appraisals — are an important part of a successful transaction of any M&A deal, but valuations are also important for a number of other non-transactional purposes. In this edition of “Deal Talk,” you’ll learn about the other business and personal uses for business valuations. If you have business partners, are involved in forming a new entity, are married with a family or have special considerations, this show will be of special interest to you. Join Jeff Al...
Buying a Business 101
November 02, 2015 03:06 - 29 minutes - 28 MBThe last thing anyone wants to do is invest in a bad business, and yet bad investment decisions are made every day by well-meaning people who base their decisions on insufficient due diligence or an altogether lack of research. In this edition, we visit with Walter Zweifler of Zweifler Financial Research to discuss why it is important to remain objective when looking to acquire a business. Mr. Zweifler will also address how and why it is so important to thoroughly research your target busine...
Tips for Writing Buy-Sell Agreements
October 28, 2015 21:45 - 29 minutes - 28.2 MBProperly written buy-sell agreements are essential to the smooth transaction of any deal involving mergers and acquisitions. So why are most written so poorly, if at all? If the agreement in any way favors one party over the other, is based on an unreliable calculation method or excludes any pertinent information, the seller can find themselves in court. So how do you avoid litigation? What steps should you take to ensure that your buy-sell agreement is as iron-clad as possible? Those are ju...
Know more about Five Star Painting
October 28, 2015 21:38 - 12 minutes - 12.8 MBIn this episode, we talked to Mary Kay Liston who was named President of Five Star Painting when the Dwyer Group acquired it in 2015. Working with a team of talented franchise consultants, the company realized double-digit growth each year. Mary Kay’s career in franchising began in 2003 when she joined the Valpak Direct Marketing Systems. During her six years there, Mary Kay led the company’s largest operation and turned it from having a negative cash flow to a highly profitable entity. In j...
What Every Business Owner Should Do Whether you're Selling your Business or Not
October 28, 2015 12:56 - 30 minutes - 28.5 MBHaving tight financial records sounds like a no-brainer, but do you know how often a business appraiser, CPA or business attorney finds errors or omissions or just evidence of generally poor bookkeeping that could actually kill an M&A deal? Oftentimes owners are completely oblivious. T.J. Liles-Tims, a certified valuations analyst and co-founder of BVFF Partners LCC in Oklahoma City, talks about the importance of having properly prepared financial statements and working with someone who can ...