Archive for May, 2007

Financing Your Home Business

Wednesday, May 9th, 2007

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Financing Your Home Business

2002 Elena Fawkner

So, you have a great idea for a business and, more
importantly, the know-how to bring it into creation. The
only thing you re missing is the cold hard cash to get
started. What are your options?

Assuming you don t have a ready line of credit, an
expansive bank manager, wealthy relatives or a substantial
stash of retirement savings you re willing to risk, you re going
to have to do some serious homework and legwork.
Fortunately, there are a number of sources of finance for the
fledgling small business entrepreneur, at least one of which
may be right for you.

SBA LOANS

Available only to U.S.-based businesses (but look for similar
programs in your own country if you re outside the U.S.), the
SBA (the U.S. Small Business Administration) has assisted
thousands of entrepreneurs start their own small businesses.
The SBA doesn t issue grants (money you don t have to pay
back) or make loans directly, rather, it guarantees loans made
by private lenders thereby reducing or eliminating the risk
inherent in new business ventures and making lenders more
willing to lend.

The primary consideration for the SBA is repayment ability
from the cashflow of the business as well as good character,
management capability, collateral and owner s equity . You
will be expected to personally guarantee your loan. This means
your personal assets are at risk.

As for the types of businesses eligible for SBA loans, the SBA
imposes the following criteria: the business must be for-profit
(all that means is that your business has a profit motive, not
that it has actually generated a profit yet), be engaged in
business in the United States, there must be reasonable
owner equity (what s reasonable will depend on the
circumstances) and you are expected to use alternative financial
resources first, including your own assets where practicable.

The SBA also imposes limitations on the use of loan proceeds.
For example, although the proceeds can be used for most
business purposes (the examples given by the SBA include the
purchase of real estate to house the business operations;
construction, renovation or leasehold improvements; acquisition
of furniture, fixtures, machinery and equipment; purchase of
inventory; and working capital ), you can t use the loan
proceeds for financing floor plan needs, to pay existing debt,
to make payments to the business owners or to pay delinquent
taxes etc.

As a general rule, loans for working capital must be repaid
within seven years and loans for fixed assets must be paid for
by the end of the economic life of the assets (but not to
exceed 25 years).

Interest rates are negotiated between the borrower and the
lender but the SBA imposes maxima which are pegged to the

Prime Rate.

Finally, the SBA charges lenders a guaranty and servicing fee
for each loan approved, and there is nothing preventing the
lender oncharging these fees to the borrower. The guaranty
fee for a loan of $150,000 or less is 2% of the guaranteed
amount; over $150,000 but below $700,000, it s 3% and above
$700,000 it s 3.5%. The annual servicing fee is 0.5% which is
calculated on the then-current loan balance.

Where the borrower meets the SBA s credit and eligibility
requirements, it will guarantee up to $85% of loans $150,000
and less and up to 75% of loans above that amount (up to a
maximum of $1,000,000).

For more information about the various SBA loan programs,
visit the SBA website at http://www.sba.gov.

PRIVATE GRANTS

At present, there are no U.S. government grants offered for
small business. If you’re outside the U.S. check with your own
government about the availability of small business grants. You
never know!

Various corporate grantmakers make grants available for small
business though. For more information, visit
http://www.fdncenter.org/funders/grantmaker/index.html .

ANGEL INVESTORS

Angel investors are good souls with a healthy sense of self-
interest. Figuring they can get a higher return if they re prepared
to take a bit of a risk, they re also often successful
entrepreneurs themselves and want to give their fellow travellers
a hand up.

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Think of funding from an angel investor as a bridge or gap-filler
between being a start-up and qualifying for venture capital. The
kinds of dollars we re talking about here are between about
$150,000 and $1.5 million. Beyond that point you re in low
venture-capital territory.

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The SBA estimates that there are around 250,000 angels in the
U.S., funding about 30,000 companies a year. So, how do you
hook up with one? Not an easy task, unfortunately. It comes
down to networking. Start by talking to professional and
business associates - they will often know someone who knows
someone etc.. Also, check out ACE-net if you re prepared to sell
a security interest in your company. It s an internet-based listing
service for securities offerings of small, growing companies. The
website is at https://ace-net.sr.unh.edu/pub/.

VENTURE CAPITAL

You re in the big leagues now. Generally you re in the ballpark
of millions (of dollars that is) rather than thousands. Venture
capital firms look for their return on investment from capital
appreciation rather than interest (unlike banks, for example).
They re generally looking for a return of 500-1,000% on exit.

It won t surprise you to learn that venture capitalists are
particularly leery of internet-based businesses right about now
and not without good cause. It also serves them right. But if
you have a solid business plan and strong growth potential, this
could be an option for you longer term.

One of the common concerns about this form of financing,
however, is that you may have to part with an unacceptable
amount of control over your own business. In return for their risk,
venture capital firms will usually want some control over how the
business is run and a say in business decisions. A venture
capitalist will expect a seat on the board, for example.

It s important to remember, though, that it s in the venture
capitalist s best interests for your business to succeed, so
giving up some control in exchange for outside expertise may
well be something worth thinking about.

To find venture capitalists, get a hold of Pratt s Guide to
Venture Capital Sources for a listing of 1,500 or so including
names, contact details and areas of interest. Of course, you’ll
find no shortage of information online as well.

For most readers of this article, your best bet would be to start
out by investigating the various loan programs offered via the
SBA (or your country s local equivalent). But don t overlook more
obvious, close to home sources first. For example, if you have
family funds at your disposal and you re confident that your
business will succeed, better to start out slow and ease into
outside sources of financing as your business cashflow can support
it. After all, Uncle Jack is much more likely to be understanding
about the occasional cashflow crunch than your bank manager.
Of course, if you’re NOT confident that your business will
succeed, don’t get into debt with *anyone*, let alone family
members.

——

** Reprinting of this article is welcome! **
This article may be freely reproduced provided that: (1) you
include the following resource box; and (2) you only mail to
a 100% opt-in list.

Well. Now that you have read till this point, we commit that along with this you will have something astonishing. Get an extra mileage by reading further.

Here’s the resource box to use if reprinting this article:

——

Elena Fawkner is editor of A Home-Based Business Online …
practical business ideas, opportunities and solutions for the
work-from-home entrepreneur.
http://www.ahbbo.com

About the Author

Elena Fawkner is editor of A Home-Based Business Online …
practical business ideas, opportunities and solutions for the
work-from-home entrepreneur.
http://www.ahbbo.com

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Do You Know What Your Body Shop Business Is Worth?

Sunday, May 6th, 2007

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Many smaller body shop owners have asked, How do I appraise my body shop? In the last month I have been asked to do two appraisals on body shops. The first appraisal was to assist in partnership dissolution; the second appraisal was for marriage dissolution. (That is what the attorneys call a divorce.) Would you like to know how to appraise the value of a body shop business?

Before we begin, I would like to make one comment. Whenever a CPA has done an appraisal of a body shop, I find that their opinion of value is much greater than the actual value the market place will pay. This is not because the CPA s do not know what they are doing because they do; it is just that the market place places a much higher risk on buying a body shop than the accountants do. The following is an excerpt from one of those appraisals.

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THE THREE WAYS TO APPRAISE A BUSINESS

1. The ASSET VALUATION METHOD. This method is basically used when a body shop does less than $400,000 a year in gross income and the seller is making wages, but no real profit above what he would be paid if working for another. On this size business, a buyer is willing to pay for the assets of the business but little or nothing for goodwill. The equipment is usually worth between $50,000 and $100,000, depending on how many frame machines the business owns and how nice a spray booth the business owns.

I have seen some specialized shops sell for more than the above number because they have a truck spray booth or another business attached to the main business. Examples of attached business might be an auto repair shop or towing operation. Also the location, size and real estate rental amount will influence the value of any business, to some degree.

2. The second method, I call the GROSS SALES METHOD. This is used when the sales are over $1,000,000 a year but the profit is unknown or financials are not available or reliable. Because of experience, a Body shop buyer can make reasonable estimates of future profits, if they have some basic information. The basic information includes rent, source of business (DRP, STREET, or a CAR RENTAL AGENCY), and the desirability of the location.

When this method is used, the value appears to be about 3 months sales or 25% of the last 12 months sales. This method is not very reliable on businesses with sales of less than $1,000,000, because the question of being profitable is very questionable. Why is this breaking point $1,000,000 in annual sales? Multi-store buyers will have well paid managers, so many figure their breakeven point is around a million.

Less than $1,000,000 in sales is not even worth their time. Of course we know that there are exceptions to the rules. Some of the exceptions are A. when a new location will be a satellite store to a bigger location. B. The buyer must have a location in a specific area to please a DRP. C. To get rid of a competitor.

3. The third and most used method of evaluating any business, including body shops, is the NET PROFIT METHOD. This method is based on the idea that a business is worth what it generates, in profit and benefits, for an owner. Body shops, like so many other small businesses, often do not show a profit, at the end of the year. Strange, how so many businesses of different sizes all just happen to end up with little or no profit. What I find really amazing is that the IRS doesn t audit more businesses then they currently do.

As a result of showing poor profits, on the books, it becomes very difficult to use the NET PROFIT METHOD for appraising many small businesses. Luckily for me, I can quite often find hidden profits, of a business, by adding to the books, items we call owner s benefits. These include: Owners salaries, if a corporation. Personal autos and all the related expenses used by the owner and his family that are written off against the business, fife insurance and health insurance for the owners.

Depreciation is also a hidden profit that is usually added back in to the taxable profit to help build up the total owners benefits. And lastly, personal utilities, phones, trips, etc. that are deducted on the tax return but are not really costs to run the business.

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After saying all this, what is the value of a business based on the Net Profit Method? Automotive businesses, especially auto body shops appear to sell for between 1.5 to 2 years adjusted profit (book profit plus owners benefits added back in). Larger body shops doing over $2,000,000 in annual sales may sell for much more, because the owner is making much more money, than just his salary and a buyer will consider part of the profit a return on his financial investment.

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Very large body shops that are being bought by public corporations are evaluated primarily on their return on investment (Percentage profit that is being made on the cash purchase price of the business.) These big buyers can afford to pay between 5 times and 10 times annual net profit, after deducting all officers salaries and perks.

Often these, public corporations, high purchase prices include two important restrictions, which is really why they are buying the business in the first place. First: The business is bought for little or no real money. They use restricted corporate stock that is not negotiable for two years. And second: The management is required to stay and run the company for some period of years.

The bottom-line, as I see it, is that you sold your soul, not your business. One last comment on selling to large corporations; heaven help the seller who sells his business for corporate stock or the buyers bonds and the buying company goes broke or the stock market crashes. I had a close friend sell his company for mostly cash and some seller carry back financing in Dec 1997. By Feb 1998 the buying company was in bankruptcy, making the paper my friend held worthless.

CONCLUSION: Appraising a business, especially body shops, is an art not a science. No two people will appraise the value of a business the same. I am amazed that the same thing one buyer thinks is a great asset is what another buyer thinks is a major negative. Differences of opinion are what make life interesting.

About the Author

Willard Michlin is an Investor, Business Broker, California Real Estate Broker, Accountant, Financial Distress Consultant, Well known Public speaker and Administrative/Business Consultant. He can be contacted at his Ventura, California office by calling 805-529-9854 or by e-mail at kismetrei@earthlink.net. See other article by Willard at http://www.kismetgroup.com

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How Denver Real Estate Appropriation Can Give Your Life A Better Chance?

Friday, May 4th, 2007

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