The Gazette ... Issue: 212 (09-15-2004)

• Do have as much information on your business, market and comps as you can possibly have (the more you don't have the more you leave it up to the buyer to fill in the blanks and trust me that never works in the seller's favor).
• Do plan on the sales process to take some time (3-6 months is pretty common but it can be much longer, of course).
• Do continue to run your business as though you were not selling it at all!! (I've mentioned this before but it needs to be said again and again).
• Do plan on giving a lot of private and intellectual information away (this is a double-edged sword of course - the less you give the less you can expect from the buyer but the more you give the more you expose yourself so how you do this takes experience and skill).
• Do protect yourself though with NDA's (Non Disclosure Agreements).
• Do ask any potential buyers if they are serious about the purchase and if they have the money to purchase should all move forward. Sounds simple enough but guess how often a seller will actually ask that question directly. It is your right to do so and is your prerogative to not discuss or share information with anyone you do not want to. Let no one tell you differently.
• Do research other similar businesses for sale/that have sold, if you can (this is not always easy, especially with Tech/Internet businesses).
• Do expect to sign a Letter of Intent, Non-Compete (NCC), Purchase & Sale (P&S), Bill of Sale and possibly a Promissory Note as well (more or less depending on the deal size, parties involved the States of each involved also).
• Do speak with an Attorney and a CPA before you sell/begin to sell so that you are prepared when you need to be (and most likely you will need them).
• Depending on the size of your business and the party buying your business the hours needed for each will vary greatly. I suggest doing what you can though so at the very least you are not beholden to someone else and remember this is your deal not theirs - too often attorneys and accountants forget that, from my experience.
• Do review and consider speaking with a business broker. Don't consider just any - review and research first then speak with a few and then determine to use one or not. You will probably get some good free advice regardless, which doesn't hurt.
• And finally, Do put a plan of attack together for the sale and close -- but also expect that plan to change (probably more than once) and be open to ideas.

• Don't lead with sketchy or incomplete information - after that you'll play catch up the entire time and will most likely lose trust for good… and then lose that buyer (and they may have been the best match!).
• Don't assume you will sell your business fast, for all cash and for 'full price'. Plan on being flexible somewhere and also plan on a lot of negotiating.
• Don't believe your own hype. Telling a buyer this business "could be Millions" in revenue or how "much promise" there is, etc. is just that - promise. Most buyers today will not pay for promise (save the Google IPO!).
• Don't believe every piece of information you have/know is "gold" and can't be shared. I wish I had a dollar for every time I have been asked to sign a NDA before reviewing a business only to then see how it is no different than 100 other businesses out there.
• However, Don't share anything that truly is "gold" until you have a serious buyer that can buy, has signed an NDA, and is moving forward (such items might be: actual programming code, vendor names, etc.).
• Don't waste your time with buyers that waste yours. Period.
• Don't assume you can handle all facets of the sale (legal, accounting, etc.) by yourself. The money you spend on that could save/make you 10 times that much.
• Don't turn over the "keys" until you have all in writing and a deposit on hand (you could hold the domain or put some of the assets into escrow along with the buyers money is the safest bet for any truly unsure situations).
• Don't flood the market with your own rip-off businesses - sell one and only one in the same space.
• Don't complain about or even negotiate the Non-Compete (NCC) unless it is very vague. I recommend specific -- but longer -- versions, and being upfront about your willingness to do so. That will show a lot.
• And finally, Don't expect everything to go as planned, for the plan will change without a doubt!

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    cursor:pointer;
    background:#e0e0e0;
    border:1px ridge silver;
    font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica;
    font-size:8pt;
    padding-left:5px;
}

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    cursor:pointer;
    background:#ffffff;
    border:1px solid #ffffff;
    font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica;
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}

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}

<h3>Validators</h3>

<div id="tool_v_html" 
     onmouseover="mover(this)" 
     onmouseout="moff(this)" 
     onclick="toggle(this); 
     document.location.href='/tools/validate/'" 
     class="off"
>
    <a class='amenu' href="/tools/validate/">HTML Validator</a>
</div>

<div id="tool_v_css" 
     onmouseover="mover(this)" 
     onmouseout="moff(this)" 
     onclick="toggle(this); 
     document.location.href='/tools/validate-css/'" 
     class="off"
>
    <a class='amenu' href="/tools/validate-css/">CSS Validator</a>
</div>

<script language="JavaScript">
   
   // First, we need to initialize some variables so that
   // the functions are able to operate on them later on.
   var last_obj = '';
   var set_obj = '';
   var sobj = '';

   /*
   The "mover" function is called when the mouse is moved
   over a div tag.   What we do is take a look at the div
   tag, make sure that it's not one that needs to be ignored
   and then CHANGE IT'S CLASS NAME to the one that matches
   the "look" we want when the mouse moves over it.
   The "moff" function works the same way, but is called when
   the mouse leaves the div tag.  The toggle function basically
   does the same thing as the "moff" function, but saves the
   name of div that we clicked on in case we need it later on.
   Note that in all of these functions, "obj" is the variable
   name assigned to the "div" tag that the mouse is currently
   in.
   */
   function mover(obj) {
      if ( obj != last_obj && obj != sobj ) {
          obj.className="over";
      }
   }

   function moff(obj) {
      if ( obj != last_obj && obj != sobj ) {
          obj.className="off";
      }
   }

   function toggle(obj) {
      if ( obj != last_obj && obj != sobj ) {
          last_obj.className="off"
      }
      obj.className="on";
      last_obj = obj;
   }

   // Other functions in here (like the one we'll introduce in the next paragraph ... //

</script>

<script language="JavaScript"> static_link() </script>
</body>

// This function is called after the page loads.  It must be
// Called as the last thing in your HTML, right before the "</body>" tag
function static_link() { 

   // "pname" contains the path and file name that we are currently
   // browsing, ie, for "http://www.jimworld.com/tools/validate/", this
   // variable would have "/tools/validate/" as it's value.

   var pname = location.pathname + location.search;

   // Now, a series of "if" statements.  We'll run through the list of
   // all known pages.  When we find one that matches where we are,
   // set the "set_obj" variable to the name of the div tag that we
   // want to "stay lit up"

   if ( pname.indexOf("tools/validate") >= 1 ) { set_obj = "tool_v_html" }
   if ( pname.indexOf("tools/validate-css") >= 1 ) { set_obj = "tool_v_css" }

   // Once we know the name of the div, create an object in JavaScript
   // and CHANGE THE CLASSNAME to the "on" style, so that it looks lit up.

   sobj = getElement(set_obj);
   if ( sobj ) { sobj.className="on"; }
}

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