Fernando Simo's Page

As I mentioned in one of my previous blogs, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has relaxed some of their policies in regards to lending. I said before that they “became a lot more flexible by making changes to the acquisition policies impacting purchases which included Intangible Assets. These changes give “Preferred Lender Providers” (PLP) more flexibility to provide business loans WITHOUT going through the SBA for final approval. In addition to providing PLPs with greater flexibility, the… Continue

Many foreign nationals come to Central Florida to purchase a business in order to get visas into the US on a somewhat permanent basis—so long as the business is viable the visa holder may stay, if not, they may have to get back to their country of origin. The two most common types of visas are the L1 and E2 visas.

The L1 visa is normally available to foreign business owners who wish to acquire a business in the U.S. and assign a person-- on an inter-company transfer—to manage the business. The… Continue

In one of my recent articles, I discussed profitability (Owners Benefit) as one of the key elements in determining a business valuation. I mentioned that if a business generate limited or no cash flow, it normally can only sell its tangible assets—receivables, inventories, furniture and fixtures and equipment.—for a nominal amount. Yes, you may get more than the book value, but I find it rare. Unfortunately, over and over again, sellers come to me wanting to sell their business at a point of no… Continue

Last week I talked about the Selling Criteria or areas that can make your listing a lot more competitive, such as good financials, proper documentation (such as lease and franchise agreements), equipment lists and others. These are areas that brokers look into to determine how viable and competitive your listing is—the probability of success.
During my discussion last week, I purposely omitted two additional elements (c’mon, I don’t want to tell you all in one week!!): Price and Seller Financing… Continue

As I go on listing appointments, I caution sellers that there are two ways in which one can normally value small businesses (notice the word “normally” and “small”). One way values Tangible Assets, such as inventories, receivables, furniture, fixtures and equipment. The other uses a multiple of Owners Benefit (Operating Profit plus owner’s salaries, depreciation, amortization, interest and personal benefits charged to the business). In other words, if your business generates minimal or no Owner’… Continue