JPAbusiness

One of the lessons I’ve learnt over 35 years of running my own businesses – and also advising on and observing others – is that very little value is generated in a ‘fast foot race’.

Good things come from time, careful execution, trial and error, and patience.

I'm spending a few hours in the gym these days trying to tone and trim up a bit. As a tall guy who’s less than perfectly coordinated, there are some exercises that are a bit of a challenge – barbell squats for one. My form is not a picture of symmetry and grace.

Topics: Business Value, Business Planning, Succession planning, business advice, Business valuation, Business advisor, JPAbusiness, Parramatta, Central West NSW, business transaction advisor, sustainable value, business sustainability

We have helped some clients find the right business within six months while, for other clients, it has taken over three years.

The key phrase is ‘the right business’; I’m sure we could speed up the process if our aim was just to help our clients buy ‘a’ business, but that’s not our job.

In this video I explain why it's important not to rush into buying a business, and share four tips for managing risk during the business buying process.

Topics: Buying a business, infographic, Video, business advice, Business valuation, Business advisor, business broker, vendor due diligence, business buying funnel, JPAbusiness, Parramatta, Central West NSW, business buyer, business transaction advisor

The simple answer is ‘no’, you don’t need a valuation to sell a business.

However, in terms of engaging JPAbusiness to sell your business, the answer is ‘yes’: we always recommend clients have their businesses independently and professionally valued before they invest time and money in a sale process.

In this video I explain how our first experience of helping a client sell their business – combined with our many years of subsequent experience – has shaped this philosophy regarding valuation and its role in a successful sale process.

Topics: Business Value, Video, business advice, selling a business, Business valuation, Business advisor, Business selling, JPAbusiness, Parramatta, client case studies, Central West NSW

When it comes to valuing businesses – listed or private – you will often hear people refer to ‘rules of thumb’. Some will say the value of a business is:

• ‘x times its revenue’ or
• ‘x multiples of its earnings’ or
• ‘a function of its after-tax profit’ or
• ‘a function of its gross profit’ and so on.

These ‘rules of thumb’ tend to be industry based i.e. “a business in Industry A is worth ‘x’ times multiple of earnings” while “a business in Industry B is worth ‘x’ times revenue”. (I won’t repeat the actual ‘rules’ I’ve heard – I don’t want to encourage anyone to use them!) 

Topics: Business Value, business advice, Business valuation, Business advisor, business valuer, JPAbusiness, Parramatta, Central West NSW

We recently helped facilitate the sale of a client’s business for twice its assessed value – a value we had independently appraised!

The valuation was based on the business’ sales performance, its recent past earnings, our assessment of the repeatability of those earnings given internal and external business health factors, and the assignment of a multiple of earnings.

So, how did the business owner achieve a sale price that so far outstripped our initial valuation?

The short answer is that he had an open mind and was willing to work with us to explore all options for exit.

Topics: Selling your business, Exiting your business, strategic value, business advice, Business valuation, Business advisor, Business selling, business broker, James Price, JPAbusiness, Parramatta, Central West NSW, succession, business sale, exit strategy

Goodwill ­is a key component of business value, alongside factors such as working capital and plant and equipment.

Many people think of goodwill as an ‘intangible’ and therefore its value can’t be proved, but that's not necessarily the case.

Goodwill value relies on being able to prove the sustainability of a business’ earnings going forward.

In this blog we’re going to explain how record-keeping is a critical component of proving that sustainability, and provide some simple templates to get you started.

Topics: Business Value, contracts, business advice, Business valuation, JPAbusiness, goodwill, Parramatta, Central West NSW, work in progress, WIP, tendering

Last year we told you about our move to Parramatta in Western Sydney. Well, it’s been just over 12 months and we’re loving it!

It’s now time for us to consolidate our physical footprint within one office, which will be the Parramatta office. As a result, we have closed our Orange office, but our corporate address and roots remain firmly in the central west, at Blayney, NSW.

Topics: business advice, selling a business, Business valuation, Business advisor, business valuer, running a business, James Price, JPAbusiness, Parramatta

Business market appraisals and valuations are both robust assessments of a business’ worth and are appropriate for use in different circumstances.

In this video I explain the difference between a business market appraisal and a business valuation, and when each should be used.

Topics: Business Value, Advice, Valuations, Video, Business valuation, market appraisal, valuing a business, Parramatta, Orange NSW

Business valuation is not an exact science and nor is it a simple science. However there are some factors you should always consider when assessing a business’ value.

The following video lists 3 key factors to consider when valuing a business and 3 questions you need to ask to uncover this important information.

Topics: Business Value, Advice, BME, Video, business advice, Business valuation, Business advisor, Business maintainable earnings, Parramatta, Orange NSW

When business owners come to see us, wanting to sell their business, we often get involved in providing ‘vendor due diligence’.

This basically involves us 'pretending' we're a buyer and has two main components:

1. Understanding what the business is really worth i.e. conducting an independent valuation or market appraisal

2. Understanding how the business appears to a potential purchaser.

That second component is the core part of vendor due diligence and involves looking at the business from a purchaser’s point of view:

Topics: Selling your business, infographic, selling a business, Business valuation, vendor due diligence, business valuer