Ditch the Templates: Protect Your Future

Hello, visionary future business leaders!

It's Deb here, guiding you through the exhilarating yet intricate journey of acquiring a business. This path is filled with dreams and aspirations, but navigating the legal aspects is crucial for a smooth transition.

Let’s delve into why having a seasoned business attorney is not just beneficial but essential for your success.

The Unseen Protector: Your Legal Advisor

Imagine embarking on an expedition through uncharted territory. Would you proceed without a guide?

The process of buying a business involves navigating a complex legal landscape. A seasoned attorney serves as your guide, ensuring you avoid hidden pitfalls and confirm the venture is as promising as it appears.

Consider a lawyer as your GPS, guiding you through the twisty path of business acquisition. -Roy Albenheim, Oppenheimer Law

Deep Dive into Due Diligence

Due diligence is the foundation of your acquisition process. It’s a thorough investigation into the business's operations, financial health, and legal standing. This stage is critical for several reasons:

• Financial Verification: Ensuring the financial documents, statements, tax returns are accurately filed and reflect the business's value.
• Legal Obligations and Risks: Examining employment contracts, search for potential legal disputes, and any potential liabilities that could affect the business.
• Operational Integrity: Evaluating the strength of supplier agreements, customer relationships, and the overall operational framework.

Strategies for Funding Your Venture

Choosing the right financing strategy is a pivotal decision in your acquisition journey. Whether you opt for personal savings, bank conventional loans, Small Business Administration loans, or seller financing, each option has its own set of legal considerations and implications.

Tales of Acquisition Success

• A buyer utilized their attorney's expertise to develop a contract that safeguarded their investment, ensuring the business lived up to the seller’s promises.
• Through meticulous due diligence, another entrepreneur uncovered significant issues before they became their problem, consulted next steps with their attorney, avoiding a costly mistake.
• A strategic approach to financing, guided by legal counsel, allowed an investor to secure favorable terms, setting the stage for future success.
• Remember, the bank, the seller, the broker, the landlord and more ALL have their attorney, so should you.

The Risks of Shortcuts

Lack of Tailoring to Specific Needs:

• Generic templates may not address the unique aspects of your deal, leaving you vulnerable.
• Inadequate Protection: Each business acquisition is unique, with specific legal requirements that templates cannot fulfill.
• Possible Conflicts of Interest: Relying on a broker’s attorney or templates might not serve your best interests.

Moreover, the recommendation to use an "in-house" attorney for both sides, often at a "discounted price," is fraught with potential conflicts:

• Divided Loyalties: An attorney cannot fully represent the interests of both buyer and seller without compromising on advocacy for either side.
• Generic Approaches: Your acquisition deserves focused attention, not a generalized legal strategy.

Deb's Top Advice

Secure the services of a reputable business attorney. This step is an investment in your future success, offering protection that far outweighs its cost.

Remember, the initial savings from using templates or discounted legal services are insignificant compared to the potential risks and costs of inadequately protected investments.

Acquiring a business is a journey that necessitates thorough due diligence, legal expertise, and intelligent negotiation. -Roy Albenheim

As you embark on this journey, prioritize your legal protection to ensure your business acquisition is not only successful but secure.

Let's approach this adventure with wisdom, ensuring our dreams have the solid foundation they deserve.

I am not a licensed attorney and cannot provide legal advice. I can guide you to reputable legal business attorneys knowledgeable in change of business ownership loan projects, backed by the SBA.

Here’s to a successful and legally sound entrepreneurship through acquisition journey!

Warm regards,

-Deb Curtis

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Deb Curtis’ love for small businesses all started with her hero: her daddy. At just 9 years old, she observed him conversing with a local bait shop owner for hours on end. Through the experience, she discovered that one can learn a lot about small business owners by just listening. This event ignited her passion for small businesses and launched a 20-year career in SBA lending.

After spending her career in all facets of the lending world, she found herself gravitating more and more toward clients who wanted the freedom of stepping out of the corporate chaos and into executive harmony. Thus, she decided to launch her own business in 2018 to help seasoned corporate high earners become their own bosses.

Every day, as a symbol of that empowerment, she remembers the wise words of her daddy, “If you keep working hard, you’ll find your way.”?

Today, Deb is known for helping seasoned corporate high earners buy a proven, profitable business using SBA loans and unlock their Entrepreneurship by Acquisition.

She advocates for and educates motivated high earners on entrepreneurship by acquisition so they can go from the boardroom to the boss. Her experience includes over three decades in small business lending where she specialized in creative and custom solutions.

She has a special affinity for small businesses, and calls them “the heartbeat of America”. With this as a guide, she encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to skip the startup and embrace opportunities to buy their own businesses.

Deb is also the co-host of the No BS Business Buying Banter livestream, where she focuses on providing listeners with advice for unlocking business ownership through SBA lending.

Personally, Deb is referred to as the Equality Advocate due to her passion project of helping women advance from being passed over to empowered by buying their own established business through SBA loans.?