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American Business Brokers & Advisors Founder & President MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS BUSINESS VALUATIONS
NOVEMBER 2024
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the amount of money it was making was not enough to sustain the growth of the business.
has always been the same when I hear about this kind of plan. I tell them I commend them for having a plan; however, the marketplace doesn’t care about your plan. The marketplace goes up, and it goes down, and it goes sideways, too. Nobody planned on living through a pandemic. Nobody planned on there being a war that would create turmoil in their business. Nobody planned for a competitor to come into the towns where half of their stores are located, either. My point is that you may have a plan, but you owe it to yourself and your family to assess your business on an annual basis because things change, and plans change. This is why we came up with our “3 Point Market Valuation.” With just three pieces of information about a convenience store business, we can generally come within 90% of what the convenience stores would be worth in the present marketplace, and it gets even better because we don’t charge anything for doing this service. We do it all over the United States, and it is entirely confidential. Plus, our “3 Point Market Valuation” incorporates more than just looking at a store’s EBITDA or net profit; doing a market valuation is an art and a science, not just the numbers of a business. Don’t be like Darren. Instead, take us up on our offer and let us implement our “3-Point Market Valuation” for you. Then, you will know where you stand financially and in the marketplace. By the way, Darren’s story did not end well. By the time he took us up on our offer, his business had decreased in value by over 35%. The other businesses I mentioned did do well, and they were able to get top dollar because they acted when the value for convenience stores was high, and now, they are retired and enjoying themselves. –Terry Monroe
I talk with many people every day because I have information about the convenience store industry, and I share with them how this information affects their daily lives and businesses. Sometimes, I talk with convenience store owners about their marketing or succession planning for their business, or I may talk with them about what convenience stores are selling for in the marketplace. One particular individual was Darren, whom I had been talking with for about two years. Darren was a second-generation owner of the business and had 10 convenience stores, a bulk plant, a fuel wholesale business, and a tank wagon business. Darren was a great guy, and we had a lot of good conversations, and I continued to offer our services of reviewing his business with our “3 Point Market Valuation,” in which, with minimal information from a convenience store owner, we can come within 90% of what the stores would sell for in the marketplace. But instead of taking us up on our offer of letting us apply our “3 Point Market Valuation,” all he would say was, “I have a plan.” Eventually, Darren’s situation in the business changed, and he said he wanted us to do the market valuation of his stores and wholesale business. What we found was not good. The sales and income of the business had been declining for several years, and his wholesale business, tank wagon business, and convenience stores were all in one financial statement whereby not allowing anyone to distinguish which area of the business was making money and which was not. Overall, the business was making money in total, but It Is Okay Because ‘I Have a Plan’
If Darren had a plan, it was not a good one because this could have been avoided by allowing us to implement our “3 Point Market Valuation,” for which we do not charge , and we would have gotten his numbers cleaned up so we could determine where he was making money. I know the first thing you are thinking when you read this story is why didn’t Darren have an accountant? If he had an accountant, they would have taken care of this issue. Well, Darren did have an accountant, and the accountant never said a thing or changed a thing because that is the way the first generation had always done business, so they just kept doing things the same way. This is where Alcoholics Anonymous talks about the definition of insanity, which is “continuing to do the same thing but expecting different results.” But wait, it gets worse. Darren wasn’t alone. In the last year, we have had at least four businesses, which were all second-generation businesses just like Darren’s, where all their numbers were consolidated into one statement whereby, not allowing them or a prospective buyer to determine where they were making money. All the business owners in each of these situations told me the same thing, and that was this is the way their parents did the books, so they just kept doing the same thing and using the same accountant. And in each situation, it took us months to get their numbers straightened out in such a way that we could all figure out where the money was coming from, and which part of the business was profitable. The businesses I am describing all told me the same story and that they had a plan. Their plan was to continue to operate the business for five years, and then they were going to consider selling the business and retiring. My response
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INFORMATION IS THE KEY TO EVERYTHING
Every day we are bombarded with information, whether it comes from the newspapers, television, emails, social media, or from friends and family. Much of this information is meant to sway our opinions toward the source of the information’s point of view.
over the years that major convenience store companies and appraisers contact us to share with them what we believe the value of convenience stores may be. As a company, we have a fiduciary responsibility to the companies we work with and the clients we work with to give them what we believe is the correct information as to what their convenience stores are worth in the marketplace. This is the information the owners of these convenience stores are looking for, and you can’t make an intelligent decision without the correct information. It doesn’t make a difference if you have one store or 50 stores you still need the information. In addition, we don’t charge the companies or the individuals who contact us for this information, and we do this because someday, they may need our services from the other side of American Business Brokers & Advisors, the brokerage side. Recently, I was talking with someone who is in the convenience store business, and they wanted to know how much their convenience stores were worth. They said they knew how to figure EBITDA, and they could determine the value themselves if I would just share with them the multiple that buyers were paying. I told them I wished it was that simple, because EBITDA or net profit is just part of the equation when it comes to determining market value. Other factors come into play, such as the quality of the assets being sold, the location of the store, whether it is rural, city, or major market, and competition. And these are just a few of the factors needed to determine market value. I then shared with them that they would probably be surprised if they knew how many convenience store owners I tell NOT to sell their stores. Why? There are many reasons, such as the store hasn’t been developed to its full potential, or we have uncovered a possible succession plan that may work for the owners, or it may be just a simple fix as selling a portion of the stores, thereby reducing debt and workload. There are many different reasons, but the bottom line is that we are really in the information business. You see, nobody but you can decide whether to buy or sell something. The decision alone is yours. We are nothing more than a company with information that can be used to make an intelligent decision. As an owner and operator of convenience stores, you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to have an idea as to what your business is worth. It doesn’t cost you anything, so why wouldn’t you do it? If you think it is too much work, you are wrong. To get a 5,000-foot view of the market value of your convenience stores, all we need is a list of the stores with addresses, three years of income and expenses of the stores, and three years of gallons of fuel sold. This is the same information every operator should already have in their files. To learn more about how you can find out what your convenience stores are worth, contact me at Terry@TerryMonroe.com . We can arrange for you to get a confidential market valuation of your convenience stores.
This applies to all walks of life: medical, political, food, friends, relationships, everything.
Then we have this thing called disinformation, where the source is trying to get us to believe something the source knows is not true, but here again, it is a tactic to sway our opinion toward their point of view. Next, we have very wealthy people like George Soros, who has a far-left opinion of how the world should be run and is in the process of buying 200 radio stations (which are being fast-tracked by the present FCC to obtain licenses) so he can share his political point of view with us. Then we have Elon Musk, who bought Twitter, which is now called X and is using this platform to share his point of view with the world, too, with his opinion of free speech. In reality, nothing has really changed. Because he who has the printing press or control of the media controls what information the people will get and will always be used to sway people’s mindsets about things. The name of my business, which I started 25 years ago, is American Business Brokers & Advisors. To be totally transparent, in the beginning, it was called American Business Brokers, and over time, we added Advisors to the name because we discovered the longer we were in business, the more knowledge and data we had accumulated, especially in the convenience store industry. We have accumulated enough data
–Terry Monroe
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TERRY’S QUOTES OF THE DAY “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” –Maya Angelou “The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence — it’s acting with yesterday’s logic.” –Peter Drucker
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HAVE A LAUGH!
Bob ran out of gas, and a bee flew in his car window. “Are you out of gas?” said the bee.
“Yes,” said Bob. “Gimme a minute,” said the bee, and the bee flew away. Minutes later, the bee returned with the entire hive of bees, who all flew into his car’s gas tank. Moments later they emerged. “Try it now,” said a passing bee. Bob tried, and the car started. Bob said, “Wow, what did you put in the tank?” (Wait for it ... wait for it.) The bee answered, “BP.”
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INSIDE 7824 Estero Blvd., 3rd Floor Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931 1 It Is Okay Because ‘I Have a Plan’
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Information Is the Key to Everything
Terry’s New Book Is Here!
What Happens to Your Digital Assets After You’re Gone?
assets. This inventory should include usernames, passwords, and any other relevant information. 2. Determine where you’d like them to go. Specify what should happen to each of your digital assets. For example, you may want your social media profiles memorialized or deleted and your photos shared with family members. 3. Select a digital executor. Choose a trusted person to manage your digital assets according to your wishes. This person could be the same as your estate executor or someone more tech-savvy.
Secure Your Legacy With a Digital Estate Plan FROM SOCIAL MEDIA TO ONLINE BANKING
In today’s digital age, we spend much of our lives online. Our digital footprint covers everything, from online banking and bill payments to social media interactions and photo sharing. But what happens to these digital assets after you pass away? This is where a digital estate plan becomes crucial. Your digital legacy includes all the interactions and content you’ve created online. This might encompass your social media profiles, email accounts, online conversations, photos, and even your blog. Managing these digital assets is essential not only for practical and financial reasons but also for emotional ones. Your emails, documents, and social media posts constitute an incredible legacy of content that might be meaningful for your loved ones. WHAT ARE DIGITAL ASSETS? Digital assets cover a wide range of online accounts and information, such as:
• Email accounts • Social media profiles • Online banking accounts • Subscription-based services • E-commerce accounts (e.g., Etsy, Amazon, eBay) • Cloud-stored photos and files • Cellphone apps • Online dating or gaming accounts • Online accounts for utilities • Loyalty program benefits (e.g., frequent flyer miles) • Any other personal data stored on your computer, cellphone, or tablet CREATE A DIGITAL ESTATE PLAN. Follow these essential steps to ensure your digital assets are properly managed and distributed.
4. Secure and legalize your digital
estate plan. Ensure your plan is legally binding and stored securely. Your digital executor should know where to find this plan when needed. Planning your digital legacy is an important step in today’s connected world. When you take the time to create a digital estate plan, you can provide peace of mind for yourself and your loved ones, ensuring your online presence is handled with care and respect after you’re gone.
1. Identify your digital assets. List all your online accounts and digital
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