Going to Atlanta

The Elephant in the Room

You’ve thought about it a long time. You’ve been doing this a long time. It’s time to get out. But…where do you start? Selling your business is no less traumatic than any other kind of divorce. It is emotional, stressful and scary. It takes time. It takes extra work. And it imparts a certain risk. The last thing you really want to do is to sell. You have put off even considering the possibility. Now you have to “bite the bullet.”

The reasons for selling your business are myriad. They may include: life changes; health issues, a divorce, aging, life style; economic issues; changing demographics, economic downturns, unmanageable competition; you’re just plain tired/burned out. The business itself is often the very engine that precipitates the need to sell.

Once you have finally made the decision, what’s next? Do you just put a sign in the window? Do you try to market your restaurant discretely among your acquaintances in the industry? Or, do you engage a professional who specializes in handling the unique aspects of marketing restaurants on a national level.

The single most important factor in realizing the maximum value from your restaurant/bar/club business is to keep the doors open. An open business versus a darkened one is 20 times more valuable to the purchaser. The value of an ongoing business is obvious and easily discernable to the client buyer. The paramount maxim in the sale of restaurants and of the food service facilities is to “KEEP THEM OPEN UNTIL THE SALE IS COMPLETE, IF AT ALL POSSIBLE”

Putting a sign in the window is one way to accelerate a declining trade. Depending on your colleagues to help is of small hope. The main reason is the lack of confidentiality. To preserve your staff, your clientele, the confidence of your suppliers it is always best for as few people as possible to know that you are interested in selling.

Once the word gets out that you want to sell, your employees start looking for other jobs. Ones they know will be there. Whether true or not, your clients perceive a decline in quality and drift away. Your catering clients enter into contracts with other competitors. And your suppliers start scrutinizing what you order and how quickly they get paid.

Sometimes they put an otherwise great client on COD, with or without good reason, just because of a rumor of an impending sale. If this sounds like an extreme overstatement then you do not understand the importance to your business of confidentiality surrounding a sale. Maintaining confidentiality helps maintain your ability to keep your business open until it has been successfully marketed.

On the street, your reasons for selling may be misinterpreted to the detriment of your gaining the most attractive sale price. The rumor mill has often destroyed a great business or brought a declining one down more quickly.

Every restaurant has a value as a going business and every restaurant has a buyer. You want the conditions of sale and the advantages of your business over another presented by people whom you know and trust. A firm that has a vested interest in your realizing the most you can from the business you have built. You do not want them presented by strangers on the street. Engaging a competent, knowledgeable, “restaurant savvy” broker can insure that your confidence is protected and your business is presented in the best possible light and as you wish for it to be presented.

Regardless of your reasons for selling, whether they are: personal, financial, or demographic; deciding to use a professional broker that specializes in the marketing and sale of food service facilities will insure that you realize the best price in the shortest possible time.

In order to market restaurants effectively your broker must have a thorough knowledge of the restaurant business and understand the unique concerns of both seller and the buyer in every transaction.

Before you close up, before you tell your friends, or before you put a sign in the window “Restaurant for Sale” call in a “specialist.” Call a “Professional Restaurant Broker.”





By: Doug Marranci

We Sell Restaurants and www.wesellrestaurants.com has detailed knowledge and understanding of restaurant pricing and valuation.  This is the single most important element of selling your restaurant.  Listing your business too high means it will just sit on the market without activity.  Listing it too low means you’re giving up potential value.  We can determine the correct price.

CASH FLOW METHOD



We Sell Restaurants uses their exclusively Restaurant Valuation Tool to be sure that we are accounting for all opportunities to find cash flow. This cash flow translates to the sales price for the seller.  We work on a daily basis with Restaurant profit and loss statements.  We understand the appropriate add backs and recast your financial statements using Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP).  From this baseline, we can then apply industry benchmarks and comparative data to reach a valuation.

ASSET VALUATION METHOD

If your restaurant is not generating cash flow, we rely on the value of the assets to help set pricing.  While this is much less than you may have originally invested, in most cases, a buyer will not pay a premium if you are not generating cash flow.  This is not always the case however, as a restaurant in a prime location with a good transferrable lease may be more valuable than assets alone.  We look at all variables in setting a price for assets that will get your restaurant sold including location, value of the lease and comparable sales in the marketplace for assets.

GROSS SALES VALUATION METHOD

There is a last technique by which gross sales may be used as a “rule of thumb” to gauge pricing.  This method is rarely used and often by those who don’t have the financial skills to conduct a strong review of the business and prepare a valuation.  Most buyers want to see detailed profit and loss statements to justify their purchase.  There are limited instances where this may be an appropriate method to but generally is only applied when someone is acquiring a location first and foremost for conversion to their own concept.

We Sell Restaurants has experience and education in the valuation process.  Our Broker spent a decade as a lender for small businesses and has been designated an Industry Expert in Business Valuation.  Our Director of Marketing holds an MBA in Finance and develops all valuation tools.

When packaging your listing for sale, we draw upon our financial knowledge to set the right price.  We know the common ratios – food costs and rent percentages so not only can we set the right price for your business, we also use our Business Analysis Tool to show buyers the opportunities for improvement.

We know what other restaurants are selling for.  As one of the nation’s largest restaurants brokers, We Sell Restaurants has access to business valuation comps for every listing in the states of Georgia and Florida  though access to the BizMLS system.  We can look at similar size, volume, profitability and pricing to gauge days on market and help determine pricing.

We Sell Restaurants has access to industry comparables for sales across the nation.  As one of the identified Business Industry Experts by Business Brokerage Press, other brokers rely upon our modeling to assist in their pricing.

Our professional team has a financial services background that translates into a first class listing and selling presentation package unrivaled by any other firm. Buying a restaurant is a complex transaction requiring skilled professionals. We Sell Restaurants has committed money and resources to this process to insure the transaction is completed as efficiently and quickly as possible.

We have established market dominance for the southeast, listing and selling hundreds of restaurants. Sellers rely on our ability to hit the right price to sell their restaurant.  Give one of our restaurant brokers a call to get a valuation of your restaurant today.





By: Eric Gagnon

An airplane traveling at an average speed of 275 m/s would take how long to fly from Atlanta to San Francisco (a distance of 4000 km)?

 

Atlanta Hotels hold their own pride as Atlanta holds some of the best tourists’ spots in the world. They even provide special tour packages to tourists in the World of Coca Cola, Centennial Olympic park, Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Site, White Water Atlanta, and many more. Each Hotel provides special tour packages among the places mentioned.

Atlanta Hotels have great reviews among tourists around the world. According to hotel reviews, tourists love atmosphere, convenience, and safety. They add value to their service that makes them standout among other hotels in the state.

There are more than 50 hotels in Atlanta to choose from if you are planning to visit Atlanta. All of them provide world class hotel services. They are very classy and provide a very good atmosphere. Most hotels have very good landscapes and hotel architectural designs that make them very satisfying.

Five Star Hotels In Atlanta usually provides luxurious outdoor pool for tourists who want to relax and enjoy the sun and the breeze outside. Also, first class spa for tourists who would just love to stretch and relax their tensed muscles, are also provided. You will get to experience first class head and body massage in most of these hotels.

There are a lot of accommodations facilities to choose from. You can even choose a hotel depending on the places or sites you want to visit in Atlanta. The best part of the hotels is that you will get the same excellent services that each hotel renders to their guests. The hotels posses’ sophistication and they are usually a few blocks away from major tourist spots in Atlanta providing comfort and convenience to your stay and tour.

Atlanta hotels are very particular with their bedding packages as they make sure their bed exceeds the comfort of your bed at home. Their comfortable beds are the highlights of most Atlanta hotel rooms. These superb amenities are not only available at 5 Star hotels but also at Cheap Hotels In Atlanta. With little research on internet, the travelers might find a host of good and Discount Hotels in this place.





By: Peter Fleming

I’m planning a family vacation to Hawaii sometime after my baby is born in August. I am just wondering at what time of the year is it cheapest to fly to Honolulu? The family would be flying out of Atlanta.

The modern day feature of team building serves the purpose of incorporating the elements of team spirit and coordination among team members. Through the interesting activities of team building the teams can not only recognize their strong and weak aspects but can also work on their qualities of coordination, cooperation and resourcefulness. With the help of self assessment techniques the teams can also gain regular feedbacks and can work on the improvement of their performances as well.

The event organizers working for the Atlanta Team Building activities to render a tech savvy experience to the ones attending conferences and meetings in Atlanta. They also take the responsibility of customizing games for the customers at the gaming zone. In fact, a visit to the Centennial Park will surely motivate you to go gaming and you may even end up running for a distance of 200 meters. The kids going with schools can enjoy quality time at the Atlanta Zoo and the adults instead can enjoy searching for the secret agent in the Gold Star Bakery.

While in Atlanta, Centennial Park, make sure to visit the Jocks and Jill’s, Hard Rock Café and Gordon Biersch giving you a feeling of enjoyment and relaxation with your colleagues. Ecco Restaurant is one of the places worth visiting giving you a taste of the culinary delights of Atlanta. In Zoo Atlanta the kids can enjoy the most as they help the Hawks win the championship or try to jump the populace at the kangaroo pit. A dance for the Komodo dragons is another interesting event for the school goers and the corporate staff alike.

The other sources of entertainment for the corporate staff in the realm of Atlanta Team Building are Battleship Adventure, the indoor treasure hunt, deep water adventure, high tech treasure hunt, intergalactic adventure, jungle adventure and the zoo quest. Fernbank Science Center organizes the intergalactic adventure and for deep water adventure you must visit the Georgia Aquarium. Centennial Olympic Park offers an interesting option of high tech treasure hunt that’s aided mostly by GPS units helping you to find out the hidden treasure.

Activities related to Atlanta Team Building not only help to develop closeness among the members of a team, but also bring them together to work with each other and coordinate with each other.





By: Ralph King

suggestions on hotels.

i was wondering because I hear a lot of people traveling to Alanta but I wonder for what? Awards, Games
well i was speaking of something for the younger crowd maybe somthing BET was hosting

I have a small auto business in Alabama. Sometimes I have to travel to Atlanta to pick up autos in my tow truck. DOT has recently started making tow trucks come through weigh station. I am only 79 miles away and they require log books also.

Between 2000 and 2006, when the housing meltdown began, Atlanta was the fastest growing city in the nation. It has grown from an important regional transit and manufacturing center into a global player. It is the ninth largest metro area in the nation, with a half million city residents and ten times that number living in the city and its suburbs.

That implies several things with regard to considering Atlanta as a good choice to find the right cosmetic plastic surgeon. Atlanta has a unique position in the Southeast, in the sense that it has for years felt like a cosmopolitan area built for business. Many residents are from elsewhere; it has lost much of its southern provinciality. Here’s what we see as special aspects of Atlanta and its cosmetic surgeons.

It’s a wealthy city, struggling with rapid growth that is based on solid business growth. It is drawing well educated young people and convincing established professionals to relocate. That sort of social dynamic means that services in general are going to be of high caliber, and that includes medical services.

The Atlanta Medical Center is a top flight multi-dimensional facility with a 460 bed hospital and several ancillary clinics. Summit has a swarm of clinics scattered through the area. Emory University established a Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at its medical school in 1971.

The Georgia Society of Plastic Surgeons was also founded in 1971 – its members are principally in and around the Atlanta area. The quality of cosmetic surgery practiced there is such that Atlanta has become something of a destination site for people seeking quality plastic surgeons. Several surgeons’ websites have information on nearby hotels, restaurants and civic attractions. You don’t see that in many cities.

The manner in which Atlanta’s plastic surgeons present themselves via their internet presence is different in a couple of other ways. Several doctors stress the importance of counseling and lead their comments on the issue by reviewing the limits of cosmetic surgical procedures. Others feature their roles in community issues such as breast cancer; there is more than one women’s medical clinic in the city.

Post-operative care is also prominent in many of the plastic surgery websites. These articles include discussions of post-op pain the options for dealing with it; the importance of following medical advice on recovery practices; and the fact that cosmetic surgery is still surgery. Many of these surgeons attempt to limit expectations to what is real and feasible.

Board certification seems to be a given. Not a single doctor with an established website failed to list his or her certification, education and practice experience. These descriptions established credibility, rather than promises and bombast.

Find information about all types of plastic cosmetic surgery procedures including breast implants, breast augmentation, face lifts, and liposuction. A Board Certified Plastic Surgeon Resource.com is the place to locate a Plastic Surgeon Atlanta.





By: Mary Hart