EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) has become the standard value metric when it comes time to sell a business. It is what both buyers and sellers look to in order to determine the value of the company in question. While many factors come into play when a business changes owners, no…

A common phrase you hear in business is “you have to spend money to make money.” Unfortunately, too many small business owners spend more money than they actually have…all in the name of getting their company off the ground or taking advantage of the next perfect opportunity. They hope that the money they bring in tomo…

What if you had a quick way to measure how your company is performing from year to year? An often-used phrase in business is that you can only “expect what you inspect.” If you aren’t regularly checking to see how well your company is doing, you are missing out on valuable information and quite possibly setting yoursel…

2020 dealt a significant blow to nearly every sector of the U.S. economy, and bank stocks were possibly the hardest hit. While the overall stock market began to improve in the second half of the year, the banking sector continued to suffer. Concerns over low interest rates and loan losses from struggling businesses cre…

2020 was a pretty wild ride for all kinds of businesses. While we’re all glad to see it in the rearview mirror, there are some after-effects regarding valuations that you might want to consider. Many businesses report “goodwill” on their balance sheets. Goodwill is an intangible asset on a company’s books that refle…

When it comes to the process of selling your business, there are several things that can ruin an otherwise good deal. Over the years, we have seen plenty of deals go off the rails. It’s always an unfortunate event. Like we mentioned in our previous post, it can happen when owners and buyers can’t see eye-to-eye on the…

Here’s something you don’t usually hear a transaction advisory firm say: sometimes we can’t sell your business! It’s not for lack of preparation. At Southard Financial, we go over every client’s business situation with a fine-toothed comb to accurately determine the value range of what their company is worth. It’s n…

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” – Michael Jordan In 1992, the United States assembled what has been called “the greatest collection of basketball talent on the planet.” For the first time in Olympic history, at the Barcelona summer games, professional athletes were allowed to parti…

Bob had built a booming business before he died. It was something he’d built from the ground up with blood, sweat, and tears. He had grown from a single truck with some tools into one of the area’s most reputable fine home builders, with multiple crews working all over the city. He was the 100% owner, and had run th…

In the first eight months of 2020, M&A activity in the banking sector essentially ground to a halt. The industry saw 173 transactions worth over $45 billion take place from January to August of 2019. So far this year, however, there have only been 66 transactions valued at a total of $7.44 billion. Considering t…