Learn from MY mistake…

 

Let’s start a business they said, it’d be fun they said….

 

Isn’t there a saying that goes something like you give up your job to open a business to have more time and end up working 18 hours a day – LOL the irony as I’m sitting writing this on a Sunday….

 

Anyway – powered by passion we buy or launch businesses and give it our all, but life happens and I’m seeing it more and more. Positioning, the economy, Covid, looting, floods…boy we have jumped through all the hoops BUT why is it that we, as business owners, don’t know about guys like Nic?!

 

Wow, where was Nic when I hit the skids with my Wakaberry, they told me there was "a lack of footfall in the centre" (granted 12 of us closed down in that centre and not even the GAME could survive) and there was “category fatigue” (all new terminology I had to familairise myself with), BUT where was Nic when I needed him? Instead of closing down, paying a fortune for all my equipment to stay in storage, and then eventually auctioning it all for next to NOTHING, someone with deep pockets and vision might have bought it and Nic would know that guy! I could have saved myself a whole lot of stress and drama and maybe had some bucks in the bank!

 

Nic Nortje is a really great guy that owns 2 Aldes Business Broker Franchises – one in Gillitts, and one in Johannesburg. Nic and I chatted and it turns out Aldes even facilitated the sale of Mum’s Mail for Alice! (we miss you, Ally!)

 

Here’s the thing – some folk are emigrating, some are tired, some are bored, some don’t think they can sell their business so just want to close it down. Was even so sad to see an iconic restaurant in Durban close down last week.

 

 

 

Sobering questions, I know, but seriously worth considering! In my case, I think it was also ignorance. I mean, what would I do.. place an ad on Gumtree “Business for Sale”? And then? Even if I found a buyer, I wouldn’t have known the true value or process to follow. Let alone whether I am being taken for a ride by someone who is just kicking tyres, or who promises to pay but never does, or who never signed my non-disclosure agreement, or worse, the sale agreement. There’s a whole lot more involved than exchanging cash for keys and riding off into the sunset.

 

I didn’t know guys like Nic have a base of buyers looking for businesses to buy and, as investors, might even buy it outright and run it themselves or buy it and pay you to stay on and run it without all the stress and hassle – there are so many models and options.

 

 

The converse is also true though, if you are about to retire or be retrenched (a lot of that on the cards) and get a payout, instead of blowing it all on a trip to the Bahamas, you would want to invest wisely (scoff at bank interest rates) and chat to Nic about a great business to buy. He’s like a matchmaker but for BUSINESS, not singles on the hunt ha ha. Hey Nic, maybe add “Matchmaker” on your next set of business cards. 😉

 

Having a coffee with Nic made me realise the phenomenal end-to-end offering they have at Aldes. He will take you right from an initial coffee chat (he even paid) to you either having the money in the bank (if selling) or keys in your hand (if buying). It’s actually incredible, PLUS you know you had the business valued correctly and it made financial sense.

 

I heard yesterday that friends of mine bought a business 10 days ago and I was like …"aaarrghhh, I wish I’d known so Nic could check it out for you!" Turns out they went it alone and overpaid by a large margin due to a lack of an objective and professional business valuation.

 

What our coffee chat did make me realise too, is that instead of being a hamster on a wheel in our businesses, we should all be working to make them saleable and, when you’re ready – call Nic!

 

I can tell you how great he is, but I wanted to hear it from one of his clients and got the following testimonial :

 

 

I can see my paths crossing with Nic and the Aldes team in future and have even asked him to do an evaluation of my husband’s business.