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Are you thinking about putting up your computer repair business for sale?

Or are you on the other side of the table and looking to buy an existing computer repair business for sale?

Either way, don’t let this major transaction be an afterthought.  Planning ahead is key for buyers and sellers alike.

Future planning and especially having an exit strategy is something many computer repair business owners don’t necessarily think about as they build their companies.  However, you have to think about how you can make your business not only profitable, but also appealing to future buyers once you decide it’s time to move on, for whatever reason.

The following 3 tips can help you develop an exit strategy so you are ready once you decide to move on and put your computer repair business for sale.  And if you’re looking to buy an existing business, consider this a quick checklist of what determines tangible value.

Set Your Prices Right from Day 1. Many new and inexperienced owners make the mistake of charging too little, often WAY too little, for their computer repair services.  One of the biggest causes of this is a copycat billing rate structure.  New computer computer repair business owners often will find out what a competitor is charging down the street and will simply charge the same, without looking at the company’s business structure or whether that rate really works for their specific type of business.  Also, how do you know this competitor knows what he/she is doing when it comes to setting prices?  And do you know anything about this competitor’s technical competence?  You need to determine your own pricing structure based on sound financial projections and your value proposition.  And make sure that your pricing structure makes your business profitable and thus appealing to future buyers once you decide it’s time to put up your computer repair business for sale. Focus on Getting Clients … Not Customers. New and inexperienced computer repair business owners often spend a lot of time chasing down one-shot deal customers, keeping their fingers crossed that these people will call them in a few months or a few years.  Your business is not going to be successful or appealing to future buyers if you base your services on the needs of one-shot deal customers.  Spending all that time and money acquiring customers for tiny, unpredictable projects is not going to be financially lucrative.   A computer repair business that offers on-going service agreements will grow a stable client list and have recurring revenue and predictability, as well as the ability to hire more staff.  And all of these benefits will make the business very appealing to those that might want to buy it when you need to or want to get out. Create Curb Appeal for Your Computer Repair Business for Sale. If you’ve ever watched one of those real estate TV shows that detail how they fix up a home about to be sold to make it more appealing, you’ve probably heard the term “curb appeal.”  However it’s also easily applicable to a computer repair business for sale.  If you ever want to be able to sell your computer repair company – if you move, get bored, get burnt out, get injured or pass away – the list of your clients on annual service agreements will become one of your few tangible assets.  For the overall valuation of your computer repair business, you of course need to consult your trusted accounting advisor.  But, as an example of how valuable on-going service contracts are, if your company has been averaging $200,000 per year in pure consulting revenue for the past 3 years and ¾ of that ($150,000) is locked in on annual service agreements, you have a pretty nice asset for someone thinking about acquiring your business at a multiple of your overall gross revenue.  On other hand, how much do you think a competitor would pay to purchase a list of one-shot deal cheapskate customers that just call once in a while?  Without on-going service agreements, you are starting from scratch every single month.  You need to cultivate your list of service agreement clients to prepare a very desirable computer repair business for sale… one with curb appeal.

In this article we talked about 3 ways to make your business more appealing for sale and plan for an exit strategy.  Learn more about how to succeed on either side of the table with a computer repair business for sale that attracts great, steady, high-paying clients now at http://www.ComputerRepairBusiness-ForSale.com

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Not all Scores are Equal

There are many credit scores available, but the only one that matters is your FICO score. FICO, by the way, is an acronym for Fair Isaac and Company, the developer of the score. This is the score that virtually all lenders use. Other scores attempt to approximate the FICO score, but frequently vary by a significant margin.

One Score with Three Names

The FICO score may be referred to by three different names. This is because the three bureaus have branded it for their own marketing. Equifax calls it a BEACON score, TransUnion calls it an EMPIRICA score, and Experian calls it the EXPERIAN/Fair Isaac Risk Model. Because of this you will hear of three different scores, although they are all a product of the same formula.

Why Are Your Three Scores Different?

Your three scores are different because each bureau gathers information from a slightly different mix of creditors. If you were to look carefully at your three reports you will notice that some accounts are missing on each bureau. Timing also plays a roll. A recent change in your credit may be picked up sooner at one bureau than another.

What is Included in Your Score?

Are you working on credit repair? Be proactive. But in order to influence your score it is essential to understand how it works. Here is an overview of the contributing factors.

Pay History

Your pay history is the big ingredient. This category includes installment and revolving accounts, as well as public records and collections. The age of a derogatory item diminishes its impact on your score. The first step in the credit repair process is to examine your report for obvious errors in this category which makes up 35% of your score.

Balances

Your account balances make up the next category. The relationship between the balance and the credit limit on your revolving accounts is a major factor. Anyone involved in a credit repair effort should minimize their revolving balances as much as possible. The relationship between the current balance and the original balance on installment loans is also taken into consideration. This category makes up 30% of your score.

The Age of Accounts

New credit will have a negative impact on your score, and those accounts that you have kept alive and healthy for years have a good impact. Closing old accounts is a common credit repair error to be avoided. This category makes up 15% of your score.

New Credit & Inquiries

New credit and recent inquiries are a factor. Many credit repair candidates open new secured credit cards for the long term benefit. But generally, anyone involved in credit repair should limit new credit activity. Either way you will lose a few points on this one. Fair Isaac weighs this at 10% of your score.

Type of Credit

The type of your credit is the final 10% of the calculation. Fair Isaac won’t define the perfect mix of mortgage, installment, revolving, and consumer debt, but in our experience the key to a long term successful credit repair effort is to be a moderate user of credit, make your payments on time, and try to keep those revolving balances down.

False Credit

As you begin your credit repair effort it is important to have reliable information. Amazingly, the same three credit bureaus that sell authentic FICO scores to lenders also sell unreliable estimated scores to consumers. Every day untold numbers of consumers go to TransUnion’s “True Credit” website and pay for what they believe to be their credit scores. What they get are deceptively named “TrueCredit” scores which vary significantly from the FICO scores used by lenders. Here is the (almost impossible to find) small print from the TransUnion website. “TrueCredit is not connected in any way with Fair, Isaac and Company; the credit score provided here is not a so-called FICO score. The credit scores of TransUnion may not be identical in every respect to any consumer credit scores produced by any other company.”

Real Credit Scores

Are you starting the process of credit repair? Do you want to see your real FICO scores? MyFico.com is the only place that consumers can purchase their authentic FICO scores. Want to save some money? It is handy to know that mortgage brokers typically look at all three FICO scores when pre-qualifying you for a mortgage. If you ask, they just might give you a copy of your report along with all three scores. It can’t hurt to save a few dollars!

Copyright © 2007 James W. Kemish. All Content. All Rights Reserved.