Leaving a Legacy: How Thoughtful Boomer Business Owners Are Retiring Without Burdening Their Employees or Their Communities

Leaving a Legacy: How Thoughtful Boomer Business Owners Are Retiring Without Burdening Their Employees or Their Communities

by | Jun 14, 2018 | B2B CFO® In The News

Source: http://seattlebusinessmag.com/business-operations/leaving-legacy-how-thoughtful-boomer-business-owners-are-retiring-without SEATTLE, WA – At 65, Charlie Lanasa has long grappled with how best to retire from BestWorth Rommel Inc., the Arlington-based sheet metal fabricator he acquired nearly two decades ago. After putting in 70-hour weeks for the company, which makes gas station canopies and custom siding for clients such as Krispy Kreme and Porsche Bellevue, he wasn’t sure he could let go. And, a couple of years back, he began to have another concern: “I started thinking, ‘What happens if I get hit by a truck?’” LaNasa says. “It would violate all my principles.” LaNasa has always taken pride in operating the business by three principles: Act ethically, provide good stewardship of the firm’s assets, and take care of his employees, customers, vendors and subcontractors. How could he find a new owner who shared his values and who would keep the business in Arlington and provide security for his 100 employees in a community of 19,000? LaNasa’s dilemma is one shared by many among the nation’s growing population of aging business owners. Project Equity, a Bay Area nonprofit, estimates baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 own 2.34 million businesses across the country and have nearly 25 million workers on their payrolls. In 2017, owners 65 years or older accounted for 36 percent of all small businesses with annual revenue between $100,000 and $10 million, and 45 percent of midsize businesses with yearly revenue between $10 million and $100 million, according to Minneapolis-based Barlow Research Associates. In a 2015 U.S. Census Bureau survey of Washington state’s 183,000 employers, roughly half of the business owners who responded were 55...
Why Many Businesses Don’t Sell

Why Many Businesses Don’t Sell

by | Mar 20, 2018 | National Releases

B2B CFO launches nationwide program to educate business owners on key issues involved in selling their companies MESA, Ariz. (2/21/2018) –   It’s not the lack of money, nor the lack of interested buyers that stands in the way of many owners looking to sell their businesses.  According to B2B CFO, the nation’s largest business transition firm, the main reason why most business owners are not successful in transferring ownership is because their companies are not ready to undergo the sale process. “Most business owners have never been given the proper information needed to sell their business,” says Jerry L. Mills, CEO and founder of B2B CFO. In the United States there are 20 million of privately-held companies. Of those, about 5 million have five or more employees, and only 150,000 of those have sales between 9 million and 100 million USD.  On average, since 2009, only 9,294 of these companies are sold each year.  This statistic immediately begs the question of why only such small percentage of businesses successfully transfer ownership. Michael Nall, Founder of the AM&AA (Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors) notes that according to their findings, the institutional investors and private equity groups are just as frustrated.  “There is an unprecedented amount of equity capital currently available on the buy-side,” said Nall.  “Private equity groups, institutional investors and corporate buyers want to add to their portfolios and have ample resources to do so.  The problem is that many privately held businesses lack a business model and a management team that can run the company without the owner and often do not have the systems and processes...
B2B CFO® Extends Leadership Position in Mid-Market Business Transitions

B2B CFO® Extends Leadership Position in Mid-Market Business Transitions

by | May 23, 2016 | Archives

Company sees widespread adoption of its proprietary exit strategy software, increased demand for expertise as owners of mid-market companies struggle to sell their businesses MESA, Ariz. [May 19, 2016] – B2B CFO, nation’s largest CFO and business transitions services firm, today released a summary of its Partners expertise in exit strategy leadership, highlighting a rapidly expanding client roster for business transition work and widespread adoption of the firm’s proprietary exit strategy software. The summary, completed through a survey of the firm’s 233 Partners in April 2016, showcased expertise featuring 1,621 completed business transitions with more than $51 billion in sales value. With an average of seven business transitions per partner, B2B CFO has moved into a leadership position as the largest source of mid-market business transition experts in the nation. “Reaching this milestone affirms our leadership role in mid-market business transitions,” said Jerry L. Mills, CEO and Founder of B2B CFO. “Our Partners bring unparalleled expertise and talent to guide business owners going through a sale or acquisition, which typically is an extremely turbulent time in their lives. Combined with the tools, technology and resources that we have created specifically for exit work over the last three years, it is no surprise to me that more and more owners are turning to our Partners for strategic solutions.” “We have dedicated ourselves and our resources to meet the growing demand of business owners who are ready to transition from their companies,” added Mills. “While we still continue to provide strategic CFO services, providing leadership in business transition was a natural fit for our Partners and their existing experience, measured in this...
The Entrepreneurs Library – The Exit Strategy

The Entrepreneurs Library – The Exit Strategy

by | Feb 2, 2015 | Archives

In this audio clip B2B CFO® Founder Jerry Mills shares all his insights on his book, The Exit Strategy Handbook, where he reveals the best way business owners can prepare themselves for selling a business.   About B2B CFO B2B CFO provides Management Advisory Services to owners of privately held companies. We focus on increasing cash and company value. Our services include improvements in finance, accounting and operations, company growth, as well as helping owners to transfer or sell their companies. Our professionals work directly with business owners, on-site. Each of our 200+ professionals is an equity owner and brings 25 plus years of senior-level experience. With a nationwide presence, B2B CFO is the largest company of its kind in the United States. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Mesa, Arizona, B2B CFO has ranked in the Inc. 5000 and was recognized in 2018 as one of Forbes Magazine’s “Small Giants.” For more information please visit...