Financing the Purchase of a Small Business
If only I was paid a dime for every buyer that has came to me thinking they can finance a business with no money down. The truth is and this has absolutely nothing to do with the current financial crisis. You cannot finance a business with no money down. Now before the emails start filling my mailbox up with exceptions please let me explain myself.
Financing a small business requires one of these 2 options: A down payment from the buyer and seller financing for the balance, or a 100% purchase by the buyer with no seller financing. Let’s discuss them in more detail.
Down Payment & Seller Financing:
No seller in their right mind will sell a business without some form of down payment. The buyer must have an equity investment into the business for the seller to feel comfortable financing the balance and more importantly turning the business over to a new owner. Without this equity, the buyer has no exposure and could simply walk away at any time.
The typical down payment on a small business with seller financing will completely vary from deal to deal. The motivation of the seller will play a huge roll in this equation. One seller may accept 20%, another can be as high as 80%. Typically sellers would like to see the down payment close to 50%.
Terms of the Seller Financing Note:
Negotiate with the seller financing so that you are 100% comfortable in being able to cover the debt service out off the income from the business. A good place to start would be to look at a seller note amortized over 5 years (60 months) at 6 or 7% interest. (Use a mortgage calculator or auto calculator at Bankrate.com to calculate the payment) On larger transactions, the financing can spread over possibly 10 years with a balloon payment due in 5 years. A balloon payment means you will be required to pay the balance off on the last payment.
So now that we know a down payment will be required, where and how do we get the money? There are several sources from personal savings, family, friends, private investors, and banks.
Bank financing the down payment or 100% of the Purchase:
If you decide to use a bank for your financing method on the down payment there are a couple key facts to understand. Today banks are requiring buyers to put down a minimum of 15 – 20% down payment. This is money you must come up with to get the loan. In addition, you will need to have experience in the industry or least management experience and a good credit score to even qualify for the loan. Yes, that’s right. You will need to have a good credit score. Next, they will take a very close look at 3 years financial history on the business. If the business does not have strong financial tax records then you need to be considering a personal loan from the bank because a business loan is out of the question.
Personal Loan:
If you have good credit you may be able to qualify for a personal loan from the bank to use as the down payment or purchase. You may have a home you can refinance, a CD to borrow against, or another asset that can help secure the loan.
The Common Misconception from Bankers:
It is very common for bankers that do not specialize in SBA loans to unfortunately mislead buyers into believing they can easily give them a loan. It is not the bankers fault in this; they are just trying to bring in new business to the bank. The truth is very few bankers know anything about buying or financing a business. In my opinion, they just bring the new application in, process the loan and it’s the team of underwriters behind the scene that are the decision makers and who have the restrictions set in place. The best way to find a qualified SBA loan broker is to contact your local Business Broker and ask for their opinion. Business Brokers are an excellent resource for financing.
Why Early-Stage Startup Companies Should Hire a Lawyer
Many startup companies believe that they do not need a lawyer to help them with their business dealings. In the early stages, this may be true. However, as time goes on and your company grows, you will find yourself in situations where it is necessary to hire a business lawyer and begin to understand all the many benefits that come with hiring a lawyer for your legal needs.
The most straightforward approach to avoid any future legal issues is to employ a startup lawyer who is well-versed in your state’s company regulations and best practices. In addition, working with an attorney can help you better understand small company law. So, how can a startup lawyer help you in ensuring that your company’s launch runs smoothly?
They Know What’s Best for You
Lawyers that have experience with startups usually have worked in prestigious law firms, and as general counsel for significant corporations.
Their strategy creates more efficient, responsive, and, ultimately, more successful solutions – relies heavily on this high degree of broad legal and commercial knowledge.
They prioritize learning about a clients’ businesses and interests and obtaining the necessary outcomes as quickly as feasible.
Also, they provide an insider’s viewpoint and an intelligent methodology to produce agile, creative solutions for their clients, based on their many years of expertise as attorneys and experience dealing with corporations.
They Contribute to the Increase in the Value of Your Business
Startup attorneys help represent a wide range of entrepreneurs, operating companies, venture capital firms, and financiers in the education, fashion, finance, health care, internet, social media, technology, real estate, and television sectors.
They specialize in mergers and acquisitions as well as working with companies that have newly entered a market. They also can manage real estate, securities offerings, and SEC compliance, technology transactions, financing, employment, entertainment and media, and commercial contracts, among other things.
Focusing on success must include delivering the highest levels of representation in resolving the legal and business difficulties confronting clients now, tomorrow, and in the future, based on an unwavering dedication to the firm’s fundamental principles of quality, responsiveness, and business-centric service.
Wrapping Up
All in all, introducing a startup business can be overwhelming. You’re already charged with a host of responsibilities in which you’re untrained as a business owner. Legal problems are notoriously difficult to solve, and interpreting “legalese” is sometimes required. Experienced business lawyers know these complexities and can help you navigate them to avoid stumbling blocks.
Although many company owners wait until the last minute to deal with legal issues, they would benefit or profit greatly from hiring an experienced startup lawyer even before they begin. Reputable startup lawyers can give essential legal guidance, assist entrepreneurs in avoiding legal hazards, and improve their prospects of becoming a successful company.
Think Twice Before Getting Financial Advice From Your Bank
This startling figure comes from a recent review of the financial advice offered from the big four banks by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).
Even more startling: 10% of advice was found to leave investors in an even worse financial position.
Through a “vertically integrated business model”, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac, ANZ and AMP offer ‘in house’ financial advice, and collectively, control more than half of Australia’s financial planners.
It’s no surprise ASIC’s review found advisers at these banks favoured financial products that connected to their parent company, with 68% of client’s funds invested in ‘in house’ products as oppose to external products that may have been on the firms list.
Why the banks integrated financial advice model is flawed
It’s hard to believe the banks can keep a straight face and say they can abide by the duty for advisers to act absolutely in the best interests of a client.
Under the integrated financial advice model, there are layers of different fees including adviser fees, platform fees and investment management fees adding up to 2.5-3.5%
The typical breakdown of fees is usually as follows: an adviser charge of 0.8% to 1.1%, a platform fee of between 0.4% and 0.8%, and a managed fund fee of between 0.7% and 2.1%. These fees are not only opaque, but are sufficiently high to limit the ability of the client to quickly earn real rates of return.
Layers of fees placed into the business model used by the banks means there is not necessarily an incentive for the financial advice arm to make a profit, because the profits can be made in the upstream parts of the supply chain through the banks promoting their own products.
This business model, however, is flawed, and cannot survive in a world where people are demanding greater accountability for their investments, increased transparency in relation to fees and increased control over their investments.
It is noteworthy that the truly independent financial advisory firms in Australia that offer separately managed accounts have done everything in their power to avoid using managed funds and keep fee’s competitive.
The banks have refused to admit their integrated approach to advice is fatally flawed. When the Australian Financial Review approached the Financial Services Council (FSC), a peak body that represents the ‘for-profit’ wealth managers, for a defence if the layered fee arrangements, a spokesman said no generalisations could be made.
There are fundamental flaws in the advice model, and it will be interesting to see what the upcoming royal commission into banking will do to change some of the contentious issues surround integrated financial advice.
Many financial commentators are calling for a separation of financial advice attached to banks, with obvious bias and failure to meet the best interests of clients becoming more apparent.
Chris Brycki, CEO of Stockspot, says “investors should receive fair and unbiased financial advice from experts who will act in the best interests of their client. What Australians currently get is product pushing from salespeople who are paid by the banks.”
Brycki is calling for structural reform to fix the problems caused by the dominant market power of the banks to ensure that consumers are protected, advisers are better educated and incentives are aligned.
Stockspot’s annual research into high-fee-charging funds shows thousands of customers of banks are being recommended bank aligned investment products despite the potential of more appropriate alternatives being available.