Recent Articles from David Tolson
The flight to quality
Many buyers or investors are still searching for quality opportunities. The recession has highlighted both weak and strong companies. The identification of good investments, from a buyer’s perspective, has taken more time and diligence. In addition, there have been a lot of struggling companies looking to sell which has tilted the supply and demand curves in […]
Those 20-year employees
Business is about relationships – whether customers, suppliers or your employees. Employees, as one stakeholder in the business relationship equation, can create a highly valuable business or can doom a business to perennial underperformance. As business owners, we are all faced with the prospect of having to recruit, hire and retain talent. While any one […]
How to bridge the personal-corporate goodwill gap
Finally some good economic news! Economic activity in the service sector (also defined as the non-manufacturing sector) grew in August for the 21st consecutive monthly, according to the nation’s purchasing and supply executives in the latest Report on Business®. For the most recent period studied (August), the non-manufacturing index (NMI) registered 53.3 percent, indicating expansion [&hel[...]
Bring me a rock
We’ve probably all worked for a boss or a client who can be difficult to please. It’s even more challenging when he or she plays a game called “Bring me a Rock.” The game consists of you doing your work and getting what you think the “boss” wants, only to present it to him and […]
The great stewards of capital
Where have they gone? With our politicians (Republicans and Democrats alike) lacking financial responsibility, we find a group generally unwilling to make difficult decisions that must be made today. Turning to “big business,” we find a similar financial turpitude that, to most Americans, is downright frightening. So where are we to look to find the […]
Selling the business to your favorite employee
Successful business owners have been successful because of hard work, a great staff and a little bit of luck. As a result, some business owners want to consider transitioning their business to a key employee as a reward and out of a sense of loyalty. While this notion is initially attractive; pragmatically, there are some […]
The top four causes of seller’s remorse
The day you sell your business should be one of the greatest days of your life. Financial independence (wealth), freedom from employee responsibility, and the relief of no longer having the operational responsibility are huge pressures that are frequently removed on the day of sale. On occasion, however, the sentimentality and romantic notion of selling […]
Crucial questions for every business owner
How do you compare against your industry peers? Are you more profitable or less profitable? Is your collection period faster than the industry average? These are questions that every business owner should ask themselves. When applying for a bank loan, soliciting investment from a professional investor, or marketing your business, these third parties size you […]
Risk vs. value in mergers and acquisitions
Risk is perceived – and it is subjective. Value is simply an estimated, financial quantification of the risk associated with a stream of cash flows (with risk being the key component). As business owners, we typically underestimate the risk in our businesses relative to the way a third party views risk. This makes sense because […]