Richard Cowles Insurance Agency, Inc. - Apr 8, 2011

Posted by: Shane Campbell in Testimonials

Extremely impressed with Shane's process and interpersonal skills in evaluating and communicating my Insurance Agency's current financial picture. As a small business owner there is no doubt Shane was able to fill my skill gap, providing the focused professional attention to my cash-flow, debt management and capitalization concerns. Shane's recommended Action Plan was implimented immediately and has made a significant impact to my business. I Highly recommended Shane, with no reservations.

But I Don’t Want to Sell My Business… - Jan 20, 2011

Posted by: Shane Campbell in Articles

I hear that frequently, and good for you if your business brings you satisfaction and a level of income that you are comfortable with.  Nevertheless, there will come a day when you will exit your business, which preferably will be on your terms and in accordance with a carefully constructed exit plan.

That won’t be the case for most business owners though.  There are presently over 22 million businesses in the United States, of which the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that only 20% will transfer successfully to a new owner. That is one business out of five. Why so few?  According to John M. Leonetti in Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth, the answer is several fold, including:

• Owners are too involved in the business for them to transition successfully
• Keeping family and key employees in the business is more important to owners than selling to an outsider.
• Buyers in the industry cannot achieve financing.
• A poor economy is reversing the trend of company profitability
• Inappropriate or unreasonable price expectation of sellers.

So it is a given that you will need to exit your business at some point in time.  What is the right time, assuming that you as a business owner are now open to the consideration of a transaction?  The answer is when the market will pay you the price you want for your business.  The problem is that you don’t know when the planets will align (economic conditions, the identification of interested prospects, etc.) sufficient to achieve that target price. The key then is to be ready when that day comes.  When might that day come?  It might be more predictable than you think.  A study by Robert T. Slee, Private Capital Markets: Valuation, Capitalization, and Transfer of Private Business Interests revealed that over the last 30 years, the middle of the decade is usually the best time to sell.
           

There is no guaranty that this trend will continue.  However, it does underscore the need to be ready when the window period of time for a successful exit arises.  You may only get one shot, so being prepared is of utmost importance.

As I have grown older, one of the things I miss most is participation in team sports.  I always enjoyed being part of something much bigger than myself. Any successes were so much more enjoyable since I had teammates to share the experience with.  The many failures were also more palatable since we failed together.

To be honest, my experiences in the business world have rarely approached the feeling of teamwork and camaraderie that I enjoyed during youth sports. Most people in the workforce, in my view, are not team players because they never realized the exhilaration of a big win or championship while participating on a team during their youth.  That inevitably carries over into their adult life where self is paramount in business, and the concept of team is dismissed as childish or naïve. 

I did encounter a glaring exception many years ago.  I was performing year-end accounting services for a company in the construction industry.  It was a long-standing, moderately successful company, but saddled with "me-first" personnel which caused the company to underperform.  Every year when I arrived, the accounting was only partially completed, the schedules I had asked for were either not prepared or were wrong, and bad attitudes among the employees abounded. I truly dreaded the first two years of the engagement.

Then something happened in year three. I went out to the client’s location and was immediately  greeted, “Good to see you Shane.  We have your office and materials all ready for you.  Can we get you some coffee” Sure enough, the accounting was done accurately, my requested schedules were completed, and the same dreadful employees I had worked with before had suddenly been transformed.  What happened?  Who were these people?  Had my client’s personnel been taken hostage to the mother ship and replaced by clones?

I soon learned that during the year, ownership had instituted a profit-sharing plan.  No, this wasn’t your garden variety defined contribution, tax deferred profit-sharing plan.  Those rarely motivate anyone other than ownership/top management.  This one was done right.  The plan stated that 50% of pre-tax earnings above 8% of sales would be paid to employees every quarter, in cash.  

Once the first two quarters were completed and cash distributions made, the employees quickly realized that t....

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Napa Smith Brewery & Winery, LLC - Sep 2, 2010

Posted by: Shane Campbell in Testimonials

Smoky Market Foods, Inc. - Sep 16, 2008

Posted by: Shane Campbell in Testimonials

I've worked with Shane since June 2004 and would hire him as our full-time CFO employee if he wasn't enjoying his B2B practice so much and not wanting a change.

Edward Feintech, CEO

Smoky Market Foods, Inc.

www.smokymarket.com

SMKY.OB

Petaluma Preservation Group, LLC - Sep 16, 2008

Posted by: Shane Campbell in Testimonials

Shane's work on our pro forma was extremely valuable in managing our development project. Shane was quick, insightful and thorough in developing the financial model for our business.

Michael Troy, CEO

Petaluma Preservation Group, LLC

Real Estate Development

American Gas & Technologies, Inc. - Sep 16, 2008

Posted by: Shane Campbell in Testimonials

I was starting a new business out of an old bussiness and needed a real financial professional with a fresh perspective. Shane has helped us see the future with complex yet understandable forecast modeling.  He has also been instrumental in meeting with prospective financiers of our start up.
Ray Tate Jr., CEO
American Gas & Technologies, Inc.
www.agtlng.com

About Records, LLC - Sep 16, 2008

Posted by: Shane Campbell in Testimonials

Our B2B Partner, Shane Campbell, is the finest CFO I've worked with.  My background includes senior management at both CBS and Time-Warner, Inc., so I am relatively hard to impress. Shane is impressive.

George Daly, CEO
About Records, LLC
www.aboutrecords.com

(877) 4-B2BCFO

info@b2bcfo.com

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