Home
>
Small Business
>
Cashing In Your Chips & Pastures New

Cashing In Your Chips & Pastures New

No, I'm not talking about gambling or dairy cows ? although business is often referred to as a gamble, I'm referring to your exit strategy. That time when you decide to 'play no more' and go off and practise your golf swing. Yup, I'm talking about selling your business?

So you own the show, good for you. You may even have a sign on your desk that says "The Buck Stops Here?But Not For Long" or some other humorous sign. The reality is though that selling your business is deadly serious ? here's why.

--- Split Personalities

You are not just one person. You are two. You are the owner of a business, if the business has shares I imagine you own them. And you are also an employee of the business (probably the GM or CEO). This means you work there too.

So what? Well those two roles, those two people have different objectives. Permit me to explain. The owner is looking for value and wealth, an increasing asset, maybe dividend payouts and other shareholder perks.

The CEO/GM wants a high salary, wants the increased income and they want it now. After all, what the heck has all this hard work been for? Again, what's the big deal you ask? Well if you are a financial whiz then you'll know already, but for most of us its all about the posted business net profits.

If you 'piggy bank' the business and take a high salary then the business probably reports very little as net profit at year end. You will probably pay less business tax to be sure, but you'll also be showing that the business is not profitable? at least on paper.

--- A Low Company Net Profit Is Not So Bad ? Is It?

Yes and no is the answer. We all know that the financial picture you present can be made to look many different ways (and I'm not talking about cooking the books here) just how you choose to allocate certain costs and expenditures. As the CEO/GM you would likely have worked closely with your accountant to develop a suitable tax reduction strategy.

Often times this works against you when it comes time to sell because of the way that businesses are often valued. There are no hard and fast rules but there are a few obvious guidelines used by many for evaluating a business for sale and purchase.

The book value: All the liabilities are subtracted from all the assets and the resulting figure is the equity or book value. (A ? L = E) Boring, but it gives you an idea.

Fire Sale: The value of the business is calculated at liquidation prices. Think pennies on the dollar. EEK!

--- My Personal Favourite

The Net Earnings equation: This formula like all of them is fairly generic, however it does give you a great way to think about things. First of all, it uses the business net profit or earnings, to calculate the figure (Now do you see why piggy banking your business when it comes time to sell is bad!) If you've got three to five years showing a nice steady net profit you can use this to calculate the next part of the equation.

Then using the NE figure you treat the business like an investment and assume that the NE is like the return you'd get on some income sitting in a bank somewhere. If your average net income for the past 3 years is $50,000 then you treat that like the interest you'd make, and figure out how much you'd have to have in the bank to make that much in interest.

For example, if you made 10% ROI then your imaginary savings would have to be $500,000. So if you think you can get 10% and you've been steadily churning out $50K in net profits, then your business would be worth about $500,000 (give or take a few modifiers.)

--- In The Next 3 to 5 Years

So if you plan to sell your business in the next 3 to 5 years you might want to take a good look at the profit your business is showing. Sure moving things around to show a greater profit will likely increase your tax liability, you may even have to forgo some of those bonuses and perks you take. However your business will then look more profitable and this will factor greatly into the overall value that you will achieve when you eventually sell your business.

And that's the whole point in the end.

Author: http://www.jamesburchill.com - James is a freelance writer and consultant

same day cleaning service Mundelein ...

In The News:

x47.c Windows malware uses xAI's Grok to maintain persistence on infected PCs while stealing passwords, browser cookies and API keys from victims.

Frankie LaPenna fought three robots in a cage, including two modified EngineAI T800 humanoids that can kick with up to 850 pounds of force..

MacSync malware hides malicious commands inside iCloud calendar events to download additional payloads onto infected Macs without raising suspicion.

Joseph Holycross dismissed his racing heart for nearly two years until his Samsung Galaxy Watch detected atrial fibrillation and changed everything.

Home title fraud begins when criminals forge your signature on a deed. Here is how to check your own property records and set up free alerts.

Jeffrey Ladish, a former Anthropic security team member, warns AI agents are colluding and hacking with no reliable solution to keep them in check.

Instinct Concierge and Meta Muse can now place phone calls to businesses on your behalf, but the privacy and data access tradeoffs are significant.

Olivia Moore spent $100 to create a fake RushTok influencer using ChatGPT and MiniMax, and thousands of Bama Rush fans couldn't tell the difference.

RatHat Android malware uses AI to steal banking credentials, intercept two-factor authentication codes and reconstruct your PIN from touch inputs.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Apple and Google password managers can flag compromised, weak and reused passwords on your phone before credential stuffing attacks can strike.

Researcher Peter Garrigan says Moonshot AI's Kimi model was manipulated into providing instructions for biological weapons and assassination plans.

iPhone, Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy phones now offer call screening that asks unknown callers to identify themselves before your phone rings.

Ransomware can lock your irreplaceable photos and documents in seconds. A tested backup strategy and stronger cybersecurity habits are your best defense.

ShinyHunters claims it breached FBIJobs.gov and stole Social Security numbers, home addresses and sensitive assignment details of FBI personnel.

Find My iPhone, Google Find Hub and Samsung Find have critical tracking settings to enable now, before your phone ever goes missing or stolen.

The FTC proposed a new enforcement policy on personalized pricing, warning companies that hide how personal data shapes the prices shoppers see.

The $250 million Apple Siri AI settlement is now accepting claims, with eligible iPhone owners potentially receiving up to $95 per device.

ShareAScan turns T-shirts into scannable digital business cards with QR codes that link to profiles the owner can update anytime they choose.

BragJack research reveals how a single malicious browser extension could hijack Gemini, Perplexity Comet and Edge AI agents with zero clicks.

A phishing campaign impersonating OpenAI uses fake ChatGPT billing emails with a convincing login page to steal credentials and payment details.

Startups are helping modernize America’s defense industry with new technology and innovative ideas as the War Department diversifies its inventory.

New account fraud victims jumped 31% in 2025, reaching 5.4 million. Criminals open accounts you may never see on your regular bank statements.

Flytrex says its AI-powered Rooftop Dock system in Dallas-Fort Worth positions drones at restaurants before orders arrive, cutting delivery costs by 60%.

Samson Sky's Switchblade flying car secures $80 million from Dubai's Matin Group, but the redesigned hybrid-electric aircraft still needs more testing.

Cashing In Your Chips & Pastures New

Small Business