July 24th, 2007
Mexico entrepreneur turns business-selling guru
MEXICO - Barbara Molvar sold her own business last year and then put her experience to use in a new venture selling businesses. Approximately 20 percent of all companies is for sale at any one time, says Molvar, creating a business opportunity for someone who can bring buyers and sellers together.
Molvar opened Amazing Business Broker to connect those looking to open a business with those seeking to exit. She operates the company from her home in the Town of Mexico. Business partner Rebecca Raymond owns half the company The pair spent $7,400 on startup costs, mainly for new office equipment says Molvar.
A successful broker earns a 10-percent fee on the sale of a business, she says. Amazing Business Broker hasn’t closed a sale yet but has two listings on its Web site (www.amazingbusinessbrokers.com).
One listing is for a restaurant and the other is for a Black Angus cattle farm. Molvar is in the process of obtaining her real-estate sales license, because some sales involve real property as well as business assets.
Molvar concentrates her efforts on Central New York businesses. She is also working with buyers who seek a particular business opportunity.
Last fall, she sold DeRegis Walser Monuments, a gravemarker company she created by combining two family-owned businesses in Syracuse. Trained in social work, she put her skills to work for Prudential Insurance before embarking on a career as, an entrepreneur in 1997.
Molvar purchased the Walser monument company in 1997 because she believed that the aging baby-boomer population would soon create a boom in the monument business. She also believed she could implement more efficient practices that could make the business more profitable. In 2000, Molvar purchased the DeRegis monument company and combined the two entities. She bought the businesses with the intention of selling the combined company. Enea Family Funeral Homes purchased the assets of DeRegis Walser in October and added it to its line of monuments businesses.
Molvar advises her clients to follow the same steps she used to prepare her monument company for sale. One of the keys to readying a business for sale is to ensure that every aspect of its operation is written down, she explains. Molvar spent many hours creating an owner’s manual for her company that explained the smallest detail a future owner might need.
“I even wrote down the procedure for starting up our old truck,” says Molvar.
Because many circumstances can force the sale of a business, finding companies for sale is not a problem, she explains. Finding a willing and financially able buyer is more difficult.
Bringing buyer and seller together is only the first step in a successful sale, says Molvar. The parties must agree to a deal and perform due-diligence to ensure each will get what’s expected from the transaction. Details such as whether the sale will involve only the assets or the stock of a business entity must be agreed upon.
The price of the business can also present a point of contention that can scuttle a potential deal.