You can be on Entrepreneur’s cover!

Businesses Bought and Sold...for Less

By Carol Tice

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

sold-4-less.jpgIt's been bargain week in the business-selling marketplace. The poster child: shrinking BusinessWeek's sale for less than $5 million to Bloomberg on Tuesday.

Also making news: California's largest and oldest independent bookstore, Vroman's, which purchased another indie, Book Soup. In both cases, the acquisition moves likely mean the difference between survival and death for the acquired.

Still, many commentators seem more sad than relieved as they contemplate how business values in so many sectors have declined. And it is sad to think of owners putting so much money, time and sweat into their businesses only to see them bring so little in the end.
The marquee selloffs reflect the general trend, a study from the business-marketplace BizBuySell.com shows.

On the good news front, BizBuySell's Insight Report showed the number of business sales is stabilizing. At the half-year, the site tracked a 50 percent decline in closed sales compared with the same period the year before. In the third quarter, sales were down half as much, 24 percent in a year-over-year comparison.

Comparing the second quarter of this year with the third, the trend looks even better -- closed sales actually rose 7.4 percent in the third quarter when compared with the second quarter. A year ago, that comparison showed a 30 percent drop.

One possible reason business sales are increasing? The data suggests it may be because prices are lower. Median sale price for closed deals in the third quarter was $149,000, down from $189,500 at the same point last year. Median revenue was $328,704 a year.

Clearly, it's time to fight for your business's life, unless you want to see it on the sale block for a pittance. I thought Steve and Jennifer of the blog My Wife Quit Her Job did a great job recently of talking about how important this is. Their online wedding linens site had been churning out a six-figure income for several years on cruise control. But they did a review of the business anyway, just to stay vigilant.

The review turned up three new competitors that had entered the market, and might well have eaten their site's lunch in time if they hadn't analyzed the situation and taken steps to maintain their market position. Just a reminder that now of all times, it's important for business owners to stay on their toes...or they may find themselves out of a job.
Carol Tice

Owner of Make a Living Writing

Longtime Seattle business writer Carol Tice has written for Entrepreneur, Forbes, Delta Sky and many more. She writes the award-winning Make a Living Writing blog. Her new ebook for Oberlo is Crowdfunding for Entrepreneurs.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

This Highly-Debated Piece of Cinematic History Just Sold For Over $700,000 at Auction

The wood panel from "Titanic" is often mistaken as a door. Either way, he couldn't have fit. (Sorry.)

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

From Tom Brady to Kevin O'Leary – See Who Lost Big in the Wake of the FTX Crypto Collapse

The crash exposed an $8 billion hole in FTX's accounts, leaving investors and customers scrambling to recoup their funds.

Fundraising

Avoid These 9 Pitch Deck Mistakes When Asking Others For Money

Crafting an efficient pitch deck requires serious effort, but at least it's not wandering in the dark since certain rules are shaped by decades of relationships between startups and investors.