June 23rd, 2007
Plethora Businesses facilitates buying and selling businesses
One of the most difficult decisions a business owner has to make is when to sell their business. Selling a business is like a high-stakes poker game. A smart player knows when to walk away from the table, hopefully with a stash of cash. and to move on to another game. Having an experienced business intermediary on your side is the first step.
Plethora Businesses, a full-service business consulting firm headquartered in the Los Angeles area, recently expanded their presence into the Inland Empire and Coachella Valley markets. Recognizing the dynamic potential in both of these markets. Plethora is positioning their operation for long-term, relationshipbased growth. One of the agents developing the Inland Empire market is Deborah Cramer, “With the L.A. and Orange County markets nearing development saturation, the Inland Empire area is the next frontier. That is where business is headed. Business growth and the residential market expansion happen simultaneously.”
Plethora offers services that cater to both business sellers and business buyers: business valuations & appraisals, seller listings, buyer representations. strategic planning, exit strategies, business consulting, and underwriting. George Lanza, President of Plethora Businesses, manages the mergers and acquisitions side of the business. George’s wife and business partner, Dora, handles the operations the staff. Dora explains, “Plethora Businesses is a boutique firm, with a professional support staff that is knowledgeable, attentive to details and prides itself on customer service.” Both George and Dora have decades of experience in all facets of business brokerage.
Statistics show that of the tens of thousands of businesses that are for sale every day in the United States, about one in five sell. According to Robert Fahrenhorst, Project Coordinator at Plethora, a seller can increase the probability of his or her business reaching the closing table “maintaining verifiable, organized records, growing or at least maintaining sales & profit levels, reducing the business dependency on the owner, and diversifying their customer base.” Dora Lanza adds, “The seller’s personal goals must be taken into consideration and our job as professionals is to match the buyer to the business.”
Similar to other business brokers, Plethora Businesses represents owners of small and medium-sized businesses when it is time to sell. However, that is where the similarity ends. Plethora’s sales strategy is somewhat different than other business brokers. Instead of first procuring listings by marketing directly to business owners, and then hoping to find a suitable buyer, Plethora initially lines up ready, willing, and able buyers, and then seeks saleable businesses that meet the buyer’s criteria. A large percentage of businesses that Plethora lists are already sold before the business reaches the market. Pre-qualifying and consulting with the buyer first - whether the buyer is an individual looking to buy a job or a lifestyle, a strategic buyer seeking to expand and grow a business, or an investor looking for a suitable return on investment — is the key to shortening the acquisition process and ensuring the fit between the buyer and the acquisition is right. George Lanza considers the buyer fit the most important part of the transaction, “Matching the right, qualified buyer who is also willing (with investment), and able (he or she has the necessary experience). with the right business, is key. We employ specialized acquisition searches that create a qualified match between buyers and businesses that are not currently on the market.” Plethora’s database of 100+ ready. willing and able buyers, facilitates marketing to a wide cross-section of potential sellers, improving on the odds of finding a suitable acquisition.
One of the first steps in the selling process is figuring out what the business is worth. Ask ten different experts and you are likely to get ten different valuations. Plethora employs in-house, certified business appraisers for this step. Whether the task is providing a broker’s opinion of value, a small business valuation, or a certified appraisal for a larger organization, the appraisal staff at Plethora has the experience and the tools to provide an accurate valuation. Another competitive advantage is Plethora’s in-house commercial lending division. Having certified underwriters on staff greatly reduces the probability that a transaction will fall apart due to funding problems. The Plethora lending team has close ties to both the traditional commercial lending sources and the private capital markets.