We regularly get vet practice buyers and sellers telling us that their accountant had advised them what a practice is worth. While I am sure that their accountant is good, competent and trying to be helpful… very few accountants have the experience with vet practice financials and access to comparable vet practice sale results to make that call.
If you are ever involved in a business sale transaction, you will hear the term “Due Diligence” being used and talked about as a necessary component of the sale. For many buyers and sellers, it will be the first time that they are encountering this term and might not quite understand what it is. This article was written to provide a basic understanding regarding what due diligence is, and the role that it plays in a practice purchase/ sale transaction.
When it comes time to sell a business, first impressions count. Unfortunately, many otherwise solid businesses can look a bit ugly at first glance. They are diamonds in the rough, with their true value and attractiveness buried under a layer of poor financial presentation and clutter.
Practice owners often misunderstand corporate deal terms. We have written this article to provide some clarity about “Earn-Outs”. What they are, how they are used, why they exist and when they are used.
During World War II, Japanese aviator pilots (called “Kamikaze” pilots) were known to have been sent on missions with no fuel in the tank reserved for the return journey. They were infamous for exhausting all of their resources on route to, and sacrificing themselves in collision with their target.
Buyers have limited time and patience when it comes to exploring practice opportunities for sale. They swipe through opportunities like people scroll through Netflix — and if your story doesn’t catch their eye in the first few seconds, you’re passed over.
Selling a business is one of the most significant financial and emotional decisions a person can make. For many vendors, their business is not just an asset — it’s a deeply personal creation. It represents years (or decades) of risk, resilience and relentless hard work. So, when it comes time to sell, the emotional weight can surprise even the most rational and well-prepared owners.
In business sales, one of the biggest mistakes a seller can make is entering into negotiations with a single buyer in isolation.
As experienced brokers in Australia, my team and I are always amazed at the misconceptions that some vets have about the process of buying and selling a practice. In this series of articles, we thought we would address some of the more commonly heard and persistent seller misconceptions that we hear: