Hands-on experience managing and owning small and large businesses.
Want to sell your business
Leopard business makes tailor-made solutions for the size and/or complexity of the business sold. Not one size fits all. Your $1Million to $20 Million business is a perfect fit for Leopard Business. We manage a disciplined and personalized process for closing the right deal for you. We do not require the typical $30,000 – $50,000 upfront investment banker fee. We work on commission, if we do not sell your business you pay nothing. That being said…we sell it!
We represent businesses with Annual Revenues from $1 Million to $50 Million. Rene Brandon has personally been involved in over 300 business transactions across a broad range of industries. We do not specialize in an industry because we believe that all buyers commonly view a business as a quantitative model. Buyers want to understand how the business interacts with its environment and inherent risk is the primary consideration. Our focused effort on a select, smaller group of sell-side clients results in less time on market and fast broker response.
Learn why you should use Leopard Business
The difference. Our value.
Want to buy a business
The businesses are always active, have been in the market for several years, and have already proven themselves through established products and/or services. The breadth of businesses ranges from tradition-steeped, family-run firms to younger companies with exciting potential for development. In the Florida Business Data Base (click here) you find several hundreds or thousands of companies that are for sale and can be filtered according to county, city, industry and price. New firms are being added on a regular basis, offering attractive points of entry into entrepreneurial life or help accelerate the expansion of an existing company. And we can provide a Merger Integration Planning and Strategy.
Whether you’re interested in a one-person business, or one with several hundred or thousand employees, with Leopard Business you’ll find companies in various market segments, size and locations, various sizes and different legal forms. From production companies and wholesale firms to online retailers and service providers, we are able to present companies from a huge variety of industries.Buying a business or implementation of expansion plans for one’s own company can bring considerable challenges. This begins with a targeted search for a suitable company and the establishment of a suitable search strategy. What are the possibilities? Are there essential skills I need? How will I manage my financial capabilities?
Leopard Business has various business opportunities that might be of interest to you. In the very early stages you should consider whether the company matches your talents, skills and lifestyle. Nevertheless, you also need to bear in mind that there is no such thing as a perfect company. It’s important that you make the leap from observer to entrepreneur. Are you prepared? With a purchase, you have to take the decisions. The company’s future will become your responsibility. Your company – your opportunities and risk.
Leopard will help you to gain clarity regarding your goals and motivation as well as your initial financial and personal situation. We manage a disciplined and personalized process to search for the the right deal for you. We can help structure the deal, including raising debt/equity capital. And, conduct operational, financial and legal due-diligence. We do not require the typical $30,000 – $50,000 upfront investment banker fee. We work on commission, if you do not buy the targeted business you pay nothing. That being said…you can depend on Leopard Business for independent and unbiased advice. To learn more call or email for a free initial consultation.
Business brokerage listings
What’s keeping you up at night
You’re a business owner and you may be thinking…What can I do to increase sales? Why is my business-model not increasing profits? How do I differentiate my business? How do I improve my cash-flow? How can I inspire my team? Why am I working more and enjoying life less? How do I delegate, and not abdicate, and stay informed? Do I make best use of current software technology and the Internet?
Leopard Business offers independent and unbiased consulting and advisory. We charge a fee-for-services provided. Leopard Business brings 50+ years of business experience to the table and the relationship — gain valuable insights and critical business intelligence. We can show you how to double sales and profits. Solve critical business issues. Provide contract project management to improve profits. Raise debt/equity capital -cash-flow. Undertake operational, financial and legal due-diligence.
Operational Turnaround. When a company that has experienced a period of poor performance moves into a period of financial recovery, it is called a turnaround.The turnaround is akin to a restructuring process where the entity converts the period of loss into one of profitability and success while stabilizing its future.Cutting costs in a company is the easy part. Maintaining operational performance after cutting costs is where things get harder. What any distressed business needs is to actually spend less money, but achieve more. More could mean increased sales, doing things quicker, reduced lead-times, getting product through your warehouse faster, holding less stock, reducing transport times, or managing projects better. Are we making the best use of internet technology? What we are actually looking to do is to improve customer service levels, reduce customer lead times, improve profits and put more cash into the bank. So, in actual fact, what we are usually trying to achieve during an operational turnaround is get more for less. This in turn increases profits. At its simplest level therefore, Operational Turnaround is achieving more for less. If you can do this during a recession when trading conditions are difficult, you are more likely to survive where your competitors won’t. You will then hopefully end up picking up their market share after they fail, and therefore grow your business during the recession. René Brandon has successfully completed a number of turnarounds. To learn more call or email for a free initial consultation.
Do you have an exit plan
Exit Plan or Succession advice. Leopard provides need-based solutions and efficient processes. According to many studies one of five SMBOs (small medium business owners) are currently facing the issue of exiting or succession. This means hundreds of business owners will be selling their business to new owners. Leopard Business offers a systematic, target-oriented process. An Exit or Succession Plan process is a complex undertaking that involves a number of both technical and emotional challenges. It is therefore particularly important that the process be executed step-by-step and with professional support.
Regardless of whether the company is to be passed on within the owner’s own family, transferred to one of its employees, or whether ultimately a buyer or investor needs to be found on the market, in order to take the right course of action, the individual phases of the process must be worked through systematically. Leopard Business is able to assist entrepreneurs who are seeking to sell to the right buyer, or successor, or those who have already found one with corresponding advice individually tailored to the relevant situation. Business succession planning. No one likes to think they are replaceable. Are you replaceable? Do you know who can replace you? Are you growing your people? Will your legacy survive you? To learn more call or email for a free initial consultation.
Selling commercial real estate
Real estate and company sales – challenges and possible solutions. Leopard Business provides licensed brokerage services for the sale of commercial real estate. We develop a marketing concept, identify hidden potential, create an attractive presentation and find a suitable buyer. Bespoke solutions guarantee the best possible sale.The sale of commercial real estate is characterized by specific issues that differentiate starkly from selling residential properties. Only those who are familiar with the needs of companies in various industries can provide competent advice on these specific property issues. Frequently, real estate plays a key role in the sale of businesses, and the sales process gains an additional degree of complexity when real estate is part of the business assets. The additional substance increases the sales price considerably, which can make the sale of the company even more challenging. Where a potential buyer is not in a position to take over the company’s real estate, then the best solution might be to sell the real estate separately.
If two sale processes are involved – the sale of the company and the sale of the commercial real estate – it is essential that they are optimally aligned with one another. Leopard Business is able to tackle this challenge with the necessary network, expertise and experience. With a unique, combined approach, we work with you towards an optimal conclusion. An “experiment” with the sale of real estate can cost a lot of time and money. Put your trust in a strong partner whose specialist knowledge and solid market experience proves its worth. With a professional approach and active marketing, it is possible to achieve a higher sale price. Risks are avoided and opportunities exploited. We develop a marketing concept, clarify any unanswered questions and put together an attractive sales presentation. Thanks to a huge number of completed projects and our database of potential buyers, Leopard Business will maximize your sales. And in the negotiations we will be by your side working towards an optimum conclusion. To learn more call or email for a free initial consultation.
Getting a good deal done
We create trust. We learn about each other. We need to understand your goals. We need to see-eye-to-eye on expectations, financial and personal. Rene brandon has personally been involved in over 300 business transactions across a broad range of industries. Your success is our goal, which is why we charge based on performance. Leopard Business provides a disciplined and personalized process in getting the best deal done for you. We work on commission, if you do not close a buy/sell deal you pay nothing.
For Leopard Consulting or Advisory services we charge a fee-for-services provided.
Valuations
Company valuation.We know the prices that are paid in the market for companies from various sectors. Therefore not only do we identify and interpret the theoretical value of a company according to the various recognized methods, but we are also able to create valuations based on specific transaction variables and multiples.Valuing companies is an extremely challenging task. The basis for any company valuation is the professional auditing of the numerical data, logical planning for the years to come. For this purpose, Leopard Business uses various appropriate and well recognized methods for company valuation. Each method of company valuation supplies different values. Without an expert interpretation of the individual results and knowledge of prices achieved on the market, company valuations are worth very little.
About goodwill.The difference between the capitalized value and the net asset value is referred to as goodwill. The goodwill describes the component of the purchase price that is paid in addition to the value of the physically available liquifiable assets, i.e. for the customer base, the reputation, the brand, the market position, the access to employee performance or other immaterial assets. The level of the goodwill sometimes depends on the industry. If a company with a capital-intensive business activity is sold, then the goodwill tends to be lower in relation to the sales price than in the case of a company that is a pure service provider, where less physical substance is available.
Bottom line.Valuing a business is not a matter of finding the absolute right value. Business values do not represent objective values, but rather are based on many assumptions and points of view that are established subjectively. It’s really about determining a price range that can be verified and communicated. When it comes to interpreting the results and the plausibility check, however, the brokers experience is crucial. Thanks to knowledge from past valuations of companies in a variety of industries and involving a huge diversity in terms of company-specific peculiarities, the experienced broker has over time developed a practice-and target-oriented perspective, and is very well able to judge whether the company value established, and the mix of methods applied, make sense or not. In combination with the broad basis of data on prices effectively paid for SMBs (small-medium-businesses) Leopard Business is able to ensure that valuations are not merely theoretical but are aligned with the reality of the market. If you not only want to know what your company is worth in theory, but also what price can be achieved on the market, then get in touch with us. To learn more call or email for a free initial consultation.
Fast-track Visa Immigration to U.S.A.
You may be familiar with the L-1 and E-2 visas. Both work visas can be obtained within a few months and are best for investors who want to immigrate quickly to the United Sates. There are differences and therefore it’s important to have a clear idea of your goals. Briefly, the L-1 enables a U.S. employer to transfer an executive or manager from one of its affiliated foreign offices to the United States. It also enables a foreign company which does not yet have an affiliated U.S. office to send an executive or manager to the United States with the purpose of establishing one. The E-2 visa allows a national of a treaty country to be admitted to the U.S. when investing capital in a U.S. business. If your country does not have an investment treaty with the U.S., unfortunately, your only option would be the L-1 visa.The E-2 investor visa does not establish a minimum amount of investment. However, the amount must be “substantial” relative to the total cost of either purchasing an established company or creating a new one. It must also be sufficient to ensure the investor’s financial commitment to the success of the company. Our guideline is a minimum of $ 100-150,000 U.S. in most instances.Even if you are eligible to apply for either visa, however, your choice will depend on the requirements involved and your intentions. Rene Brandon has himself successfully been through the entire process – Visas, Green Card and U.S. Citizenship and will be able to assist you when investing and living in the U.S. — this would include working with immigration lawyers and accountants.
Experience and Integrity
René Brandon provides executive management, consulting, advisory and mentoring, and financial services to business owners and entrepreneurs, and is a professional M&A Advisor and Licensed Broker.
Spanning 50+ years, René built an extensive business career with global and private companies. He has been hands-on as an owner, scaling start-ups and managing turnarounds and privately owned companies. Sales $500,000 – $125,000,000. Managed five to twelve hundred team-mates in the USA, Canada and Australia. As a top salesman, he quickly moved up the corporate ladder, through a variety of positions to CEO of several companies and successfully moved across different industries; including “bricks and mortar” – software technology.
René has a rare combination of business savvy and professional CEO management and financial experience in both large, complex corporations, and in small to large entrepreneurial organizations. He has worked internationally with Fortune 500 and privately owned companies.
René is a hands-on, results oriented leader with a pro-active management style. He has held senior executive positions as CEO, President, VP/General Manager with Transfirst International, GE , Eaton Industrial and Xerox and has significant experience in mergers and acquisition, joint venturing and financial restructuring of productive assets. And, has personally been involved in over 300 business transactions across a broad range of industries.
A strategic thinker, responsible for a number of turnarounds, his people management skills, together with strengths in planning and execution, and financial management, enable him to achieve results quickly and successfully. His enthusiastic, innovative, and decisive leadership spans several industries working with companies in the USA, Canada, Australia and Europe.
Integrity is foremost for René; his passions are marketing and treating people with respect and dignity.
He and his wife reside in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.
Why use Leopard Business. The Difference. Our value.
You need a very experienced advisor-broker who can give you unbiased insights and critical business intelligence.
You have a choice, a critical one. Random selection, or considered choice.
By choosing Leopard Business both sell-side or buy-side clients will benefit by having highly experienced, independent and licensed professional representation.
Leopard Business will only list and market your business if we are confident we can sell it.
We will only enter into a buy-side engagement if we conclude your acquisition criteria is realistic.
Leopard Business provides independent, unbiased professional consulting and advisory for business owners and entrepreneurs.
Risks-Rewards
Advantages dealing independently vs a licensed professional intermediary.
Risks dealing independently:
- Very time-consuming
- Lack of specialist knowledge and experience
- Limited circle of potential buyers
- No convincing sale presentation
- No solid real estate valuation
- Insufficient preparation – buyers lose faith
- Emotions prevent the conclusion of a contract
- Unsupervised sale process
- Lack of strategy
Rewards dealing with a licensed broker/professional intermediary.
- Huge time saving
- Ability to see the bigger picture
- Realistic real estate valuation
- Attractive sale exposure
- Professional marketing
- Highest confidentiality and discretion
- Extensive experience in dealing with potential buyers
- Emotion-free sale negotiations
- Efficient sale at a higher price
Who’s on your team?
The most important member on your team is you.
Yes, you need a lawyer, accountant and business appraiser.
Individually they provide specialised advice.
BUT this is usually compartmentalized.
Who will provide operational advice – you need an expert in execution, and who understands the nuts and bolts.
Of paramount importance – who will identify the strengths and weaknesses of the business.
Moreover, who will identify the skills-deficits — which need to be filled — in the ongoing successful management of the business.
Leopard Business provides first-hand proficiency in operational, financial and legal due-diligence.
Your choice of a licensed professional broker will make the difference!
No deal, no fee
We work on commission, if you do not close a buy/sell deal you pay nothing.
Leopard Consulting or Advisory services are charged fee-for-services provided.
Want to ask us a question?
Get in touch!
Contact
D. 941-402-4844
E. rb@leopardbiz.com
