I hope you and your families enjoyed a nice holiday season. In my last article prior to the end of the year, I mentioned being relieved to say goodbye to 2008 for a number of reasons. The holidays truly allowed...

I may be one of the most optimistic people you ever meet, but I must admit, I am glad 2008 is coming to an end. From strictly a personal perspective, my family has dealt with too many difficult health issues...

As I watched the CEOs from the Big Three automakers get grilled in Congress, I couldn't help but marvel how much they had in common with the typical business buyer (I'll get to that in a minute). These so-called top...

One of the biggest issues that business buyers overlook is what happens after they complete a purchase. Quite often, buyers get so wrapped up in the sale that they forget they will soon have to run the business. There are...

Many people misunderstand the true meaning of due diligence. To the misinformed, it is the time when a buyer can check out a company's financials. However, it goes way beyond that. It is the stage of the business-buying process when...

I want to thank everyone again for all of your kind wishes regarding last week's column. Election Day was incredibly inspiring for my daughter and me. When the people in line at the polling station learned it was our first...

January 23, 2007 was the fifth best day of my life, preceded only by the births of my four children. That was the day I became an American citizen. The single biggest reason I decided to renounce my Canadian citizenship,...

I received an excellent question recently regarding business leases. While this component to buying a business can entail a wide array of issues, I want to cover off the most common questions that come up. Taking Over a Lease Versus...

I am in Montreal, Canada attending a family function. I ran into an old acquaintance who I have not seen since elementary school. He was, and still is, a very smart person, at least acedemically. Turns out he is a...

Years ago, in one of the first businesses I purchased, there were two owners. I initially met the managing partner and he told me from the onset that he made ?all the decisions?. Allegedly, the other owner was strictly a...