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We Buy Your Business

In today’s dynamic business environment you’re either Growing or Going…out of business that is! If you’re part of the latter contingent and have made the decision to get out of a business but are unable to transition your business internally or sell it as an intact entity, full or partial liquidation of assets may be an appropriate exit strategy. Asset liquidation can provide quick cash and assist in diversifying equity. However, before you terminate your lease, sell a key piece of equipment, or disconnect your utilities, make sure you have a well-thought-out plan.

Getting out of business successfully requires careful planning from start to finish. If you are looking at asset liquidation as a part of your exit strategy, consider incorporating the following recommendations into your plan to increase your chances for success.

1. Talk to your lawyer and accountant.

2. Establish the liquidation value of your assets; remember liquidation vs. retail value can differ substantially.

3. Identify the best venue and timetable to sell your assets.

4. Arrange the sale at the most appropriate location with an expert.

5. Use a non-recourse bill of sale.

Understanding and incorporating these steps into your exit plan will not only help you recover as much money as possible, they may also help you achieve the freedom needed to pursue new endeavors.

It is important to note that the recommendations discussed above are intended to serve as a general overview to assist with the asset liquidation process. It is not a substitute for case-specific advice that only your lawyer and/or accountant can provide. Also, depending on the situation and necessity of business divesture, the cooperation of creditors may need to be considered. Cover your bases and talk to the experts before liquidating any assets that may be in question.

Initiate the process by preparing a current inventory of your business assets. Include photographs, serial numbers and a brief description of the condition of each item if possible. A thorough inventory will save considerable time and expense as you navigate the sale process and can be invaluable if you are asked to provide documentation for creditors or the Internal Revenue Service.

Next, start preparing your assets for sale. To elicit the best offers, take care that you do not diminish the appeal of your most marketable items by lumping them in with outdated or worn-out equipment, furniture or inventory. In most cases the most lucrative value of these lesser items may be in the form of a tax deduction, so why not donate them to an appropriate charity?

Finally, don’t overlook your intangible assets. For example, is your lease assignable? Are the business licenses, permits, patents or trademarks that you hold in demand? Can they be transferred? Is there a market for your customer list, contract rights or accounts? You may need to check with your attorney or accountant to determine what information and agreements are transferable but once cleared these types of assets can also provide a substantial return.

We Buy Your Business (WBYB) provides cash offers for all assets in order to assist in the liquidation process. Please contact your WBYB representative for more information at www.WeBuyYourBusiness.com

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What does a business analyst do? What course do you take to become a business analyst?
I came across a chart showing the avarage salaries of business analysts in IT/Computer software/Computer hardware. I do not know what a business analyst does exactly. What course should I take in college to become a business analyst.
Currently I'm planing on getting a degree in Business with IT in college, will that enable me to become a business analyst?

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The value of forming a structured and productive school-business partnership cannot be over-stated. Selecting your first business partner is the most important step in the beginning of this process. Other partnerships can spin-off of the first if this selection is made carefully. The right match pays big dividends and the partnership will continue to grow and become stronger.

Normally, personnel from the school select a partner from the business community. This certainly does not preclude a business from contacting a school, but educators usually make the first move. When a business makes the initial contact it is often because the school has already established a successful partnership with another company and the new business becomes aware of the mutual benefits of this program. Construct your first partnership well and others will follow.

To launch your partnership successfully and choose the best potential partner for your school, address the following guidelines: Location, Number of employees, Type of business or agency represented. Let’s take a detailed look at each of these guidelines.

Location: Preferably the business you identify as a potential partner will be located relatively close to the school. It is not necessary for it to be located within the school’s attendance boundaries. There are other exceptions to this local proximity rule. Some large companies may have their corporate offices located several miles away, even out of town. Company policy may require this office to be the designated partner. Additionally, some schools are located in areas that lack business and industry. Don’t let distance become a barrier. There are many successful partnerships described in the book Facing the Future Together that are far apart yet very productive. If the business or industry you seek as a partner meets the other two guidelines, go for the partnership!

Number of Employees: Available support is an important consideration when you are selecting your first potential partner. A business or agency with a relatively large number of employees may provide more human resources to support your partnership. Time is a valuable commodity in the business world. A large business with a greater number of employees is likely to spend more time and be more involved in your educational programs. However, there are also exceptions to this rule. Never exclude a small business from your list if the management and employees show a strong commitment to partnership as the following true example illustrates.

Linda’s Hair Styling Salon was basically a two-person operation but Linda provided tremendous volunteer support for a school in her area. She served on planning teams, the site council, and was a strong force in dropout prevention through her work as a mentor for students. Linda became a cheerleader for school-business partnership and helped to recruit additional business support.

Type of business or agency represented: Your selection of a potential partner must include the kind of service represented. Ask yourself the question – “What do I hope to accomplish through this partnership?” For example, if your goal is to expose your students to crime prevention ideas, then a variety of law enforcement agencies (FBI, Highway Patrol, Police, Sheriff’s Department) could make up your partnership. Some law enforcement agencies have already established a relationship with schools. That’s great!

By forming an official partnership you will diversify and strengthen this relationship. Or your goal may be to communicate the benefits of higher education to your students. Form a partnership with a public or private college, university, or technical training institution. Establish a partnership with a specific department within these institutions (Life Science, Math, English, Agriculture). These institutions may already visit your school but resources and benefits for your students will grow by formalizing the relationship.

There is no limit to the number of businesses, organizations and agencies that will make great partners. As you identify a potential partner and your plan develops your decision may change. Use the information provided in Facing the Future Together to help you make the best decision and guide you through the partnership process using key strategies described in the Twelve Commandments for forming successful school-business partnerships.

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School business?
Anyone have any ideas for good businesses around my high school? No drugs, alcohol or bakery please. (I'm pretty sure I'd be expelled for the first two and the third is not allowed because of our cafeteria)

school business

As business owners develop their small business loan plans for future financing and refinancing throughout the United States, there is an increasing awareness that there have been significant business finance changes that cannot be ignored. Some of these measures are likely to end up being permanent, and even the temporary commercial mortgage loan and working capital loan changes are expected to be in place for an extended time due to the severity of the current financial climate.

The net result from business finance changes has been a reduction in commercial lenders as well as stricter standards for acquiring commercial loans and commercial mortgages. Unfortunately there has also been no shortage of misinformation about the availability of commercial funding.

A significant reduction in business lending activity overall is perhaps the most dramatic change. This has been due to several events occurring almost simultaneously. Several major commercial lenders have gone out of business altogether. Even though they have continued consumer lending, many banks have stopped commercial finance lending. Numerous business lenders have enacted stricter standards for the commercial financing transactions they are still willing to consider.

It remains to be seen how many changes will be permanent or temporary. But from a practical perspective, commercial borrowers are left with no choice but to adapt to the changing business finance environment. Business owners must be prepared to operate within a more complicated climate for commercial mortgage loans and small business loans regardless of how long the changes might be kept in place.

What should borrowers do about this? A primary option that business owners should explore involves looking beyond their local market area for help with commercial loans. A commercial financing expert operating throughout the United States should be helpful in improving upon this situation.

In addition to fewer business lenders to choose from, there are two other significant changes which must be anticipated by business owners before seeking new commercial loans. First, commercial lenders are increasingly demanding more collateral for virtually all business finance funding. Second, most lenders have cancelled or are about to eliminate unsecured lines of credit (usually called working capital loans) for many businesses.

Considering a business cash advance program based on future credit card processing transactions is likely to be an effective commercial financing strategy for overcoming the combined obstacles of more collateral, reduced unsecured credit lines and fewer lenders. This is proving to be one of the few sources of business funding that has not been adversely impacted by recent events. It will be productive to discuss the potential with a business finance expert who can provide advice about small business financing solutions including business cash advances and other financial options.

It is increasingly obvious that many banks will continue to modify their business lending programs in response to changing conditions. This means that another key change issue for working capital financing and commercial mortgages is the likelihood that more changes will be forthcoming in the near future.

To adequately prepare for future commercial finance changes that might (or might not) occur is a daunting task for a business owner. A commercial financing expert familiar with Plan B contingency financing for small business loans will prove to be a valuable resource for any borrower wanting to seriously deal with both current and future changes impacting the financial health of their business. By having a candid conversation with a commercial loan expert, business owners should be more capable of implementing an appropriate strategy for the vast changes which have recently occurred or are about to become effective for most business financing and working capital finance funding.

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What are good careers with a bachelors in business finance degree?
I’m currently going for my associates degree in business management with an emphasis in administration, however I feel that this degree choice is limiting. I graduate in September and I’m thinking about continuing on to get a bachelors degree in business finance. I’m 21 and I don’t know EXACTLY what I want to do but I feel I would enjoy a career in finance (not accounting exactly), what kind of careers would be an option for me with a bachelors degree in business finance?

business finance

To achieve financial independence, experts encourage even currently employed individuals to consider entrepreneurship. Setting up your own business, no matter how small, is touted as one of the best ways toward building the foundation for wealth. Those who are concerned about having a safety net need not take the plunge recklessly. One can start setting up a small business even while employed.  

Of crucial use to small businesses are credit card services and small business loans. The entrepreneur needs to know how to avail of these tools and how to effectively wield them for maximum business growth.

Credit Card Services

A small business would do well to get reputable credit card services in order to prosper in the current business climate. Availing of credit card services will enable it to accept both credit card and debit card payments. This is true either for brick-and-mortar businesses or internet based online businesses. After all, most consumers nowadays routinely use credit cards or debit cards for payment purposes. It only makes good business sense to be well-equipped for the needs of credit card users and debit card users as well as for the needs of customers who pay in cash.

Merchant services provide credit card services covering a wide range of solutions for the processing of credit cards and debit cards as payment options. These credit card services include traditional terminal equipment at point of sale, where credit cards or debit cards are swiped. It also includes software and high speed IP solutions for both traditional commerce and e-commerce. Credit card and debit card payments can, therefore, be accepted in person or through the internet, by phone or by fax.     

Small Business Loans

Any business – whether a small start-up business, a medium-scaled one or a big business company – will be needing an infusion of additional capital sooner or later. Additional capital is always needed for expansion, additional inventory, additional manpower, new systems, new equipment or a new physical layout.

Capital is not always easy to come by, though. The original investors’ personal coffers may have been emptied by the earlier outlays. Prospective investors may not be keen on shelling out funds in times of crisis. Businesses, therefore, have no choice but to seek business loans.

Getting business loans is a difficult process. Even small business loans are not readily approved. Be prepared to present a lot of documentation and paperwork. For small business loans, the proprietor’s personal credit history is taken into account and related references need to be submitted. Of course, the company’s financial statements are just as important in proving the feasibility of the business and its capacity to repay its business loans. Having a detailed business plan will show your business strategies and projections, demonstrating your business acumen.

Unfortunately, even with all the requirements completed, applications for business loans – including small business loans – are, more often than not, disapproved.

Solutions

Some merchant services provide a comprehensive solution for the needs of small businesses in relation to credit card services and small business loans. The set up is elegantly simple. A small business need only avail of the company’s credit card services to be eligible for merchant cash advances. These cash advances are actually small business loans, except that there is no need to go through the complicated application process for business loans. Repayment is made very easy and worry-free, too. A certain small percentage is built into the credit card processing rates to take care of the advances. This way, repayment is actually done automatically in a very affordable manner and according to income flow.

Small business owners would, indeed, be wise to look into these timely business solutions.

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business loans

SBA business loans are one of the most popular commercial mortgages in the nation, and for good reason.  They boast flexible underwriting, high leverage and the ability to roll real estate debt, equipment, debt consolidation as well as working capital debt into one loan.  They have been created specifically for the needs of small business owners. 

One of the major benefits to the SBA business loan programs are the high level of financing offered.  For example, 90% on purchases and 85% on refinances.  Conventional commercial financing in contrast is capped at 60-65% loan to value.  This can be a huge difference for a small business owner that needs to keep as much cash on hands as possible.   

SBA Business Loan Guidelines

As far as the SBA guidelines are concerned, the borrower must fit their restrictions as well.  Repayment ability from the cash flow of the business is vital.  Typically borrowers will have to show enough net income off of their last 2 years of tax returns to cover the proposed loans payments.  So again, cash flow is critical.  In addition, good character, meaning decent credit scores, and management experience are important.  The collateral’s condition and value are also important and reviewed.  The borrowers “equity contribution” in the case of purchases is also considered.  The SBA also requires a personal guarantee from all borrowers with a 20% or more ownership. 

The SBA guidelines have been written to be as broad as possible, though a few more restrictions include that the business must be for-profit, and not already have the internal resources to do the loan, are required to get the requested financing.

SBA Business Loan

A major misconception with borrowers is that all SBA business loans and lenders are basically the same, i.e. “if we get declined from one source, we must not be eligible.”  This is not the case, as mentioned above most loans get declined from banks, not the SBA.  So it pays to keep looking. 

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www.bplans.com – Business planning expert Tim Berry explains how to develop your business by developing a business plan in this 8-part web seminar was cosponsored by the Small Business Administration and Palo Alto Software.

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Are SBA small business loans easier to get then other loans?
-What can I do to increase my chances of getting approved?-

My business plan is looking good so far!

sba business

Students and their parents can use student loan consolidation that will allow them combine their education loans into one loan from a single lender. That new loan – consolidation loan – will be then used to pay off the balances of the originating loans.

The process of consolidating student loans is similar to refinancing a mortgage. It’s a great way to improve own finances as it gives the borrower a number of benefits, such as: lower monthly payment, lower interest rate, longer repayment schedule, lack of application fees and of credit check as well as deferment and forbearance options.

Not all of those benefits are available in every consolidation loan; which of them a borrower receives depends on whether he or she takes a federal or private consolidation loan. While both federal and private consolidations provide similar results with regards to lowering monthly payments and longer repayment schedules, there are significant differences regarding the interest rates and deferment and forbearance options.

In this article I will discuss the issue of the student loan consolidation rate and how it is determined in federal and private consolidation.

First of all, it’s important to remember that usually it is not a good idea to include any of your federal education loans if you decide to take a private student consolidation loan. Why? For two main reasons. First, doing so may increase your effective interest rate and second, you will most likely lose a number of important borrower benefits, such as: flexible repayment terms, generous loan forgiveness, deferment, forbearance and cancellation provisions. In most cases, they don’t come with private student consolidation loans.

Interest rate is always among the most important factors in every loan as it determines the cost the borrower pays to the lender for using the money being borrowed. The higher the interest rate, the longer the total cost of taking the loan will be. Also, getting a fixed interest rate is preferable to a variable rate, as it is just much easier to live with the fixed rate and not to worry that it may significantly go up and negatively impact your financial well being.

Many people believe that all student loan consolidations – both federal and private – result in a fixed-interest rate loan. However, it’s only true for the federal student loan consolidations, but in most cases the private consolidations don’t feature fixed interest rates. Because the private consolidation loans belong to the consumer loans, they are credit-based and have to carry variable interest rates.

To the contrary, all federal student consolidation loans carry a fixed interest rates, because they are taxpayer-supported. They are government-funded and policed by the Department of Education (ED). Some of them are also directly provided by the ED; they are called “Direct Loans”. Those federal consolidation loans are based on government programs and not only the federal Direct Consolidation Loans (Direct Loans), but also the federal loans provided by private lenders under the FFELP (Federal Family Education Loan Program) follow the same formula for determining the fixed interest rates. That formula is simple – the fixed interest rate on a federal student consolidation loan is calculated as the weighted average of the interest rates on all loans that get consolidated. The result is then rounded up to the nearest 1/8th of a percent and capped at 8.25% (i.e. the federal loan interest rate can’t be higher than 8.25%). The fixed interest rate means that it is locked in for the whole term of the consolidated loan; it makes the life of the borrower much less stressful than that of somebody that has to take a private consolidation loan.

On the other hand, interest rates in most of the private consolidation loans are variable – they change during the length of the loan, according to the changes in the base. Those bases differ from loan to loan, but the lenders usually choose one of these – either the Prime Rate or the 3-month LIBOR Rate. The second one has been significantly lower over the last few years, thus it’s more advantageous for the borrowers. The lenders arrive at the final interest rate by adding a margin determined by the borrower’s credit rating.

There are a few ways available to the borrowers to bring down the consolidation loan interest rate and they are available in both federal and private consolidations. For example, you can get a 0.25% instant rate reduction when you agree to have your monthly loan payments direct-debited from your bank account. Later on, you may also earn another interest rate reduction if you continually make on-time monthly payments for a certain number of months (e.g., 24, or 36, or 48 months).

Any interest rate reduction will usually mean thousands of dollars in savings, so try as much as you can to use all opportunities to earn those reductions and save a lot of money.

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Watch the www.bills.com student loan consolidation video to discover the rules regarding federal and private student loan consolidation.

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What is the difference between credit card consolidation and loan consolidation?
I am confused. What is credit card consolidation? What is loan consolidation? What is a debt consolidation loan?

loan consolidation