From 20/20 Advisers:
20/20 Advisers is a unique new website that is designed to help entrepreneurs buy and sell small businesses and provide them with an opportunity to connect with professionals, specifically accountants, lawyers, lenders, insurance agents, appraisers and consultants, who can provide services critical to their success. Its author, Jeffrey Zalles, is a San Francisco-based consultant who has owned and operated a number of small businesses and has been working with business buyers since 2003.
The premise of 20/20 Advisers is that the public market for small business sales is, at best, dysfunctional. Typical buyers are unfocused and limit their searches to classified ads and broker listings. After many months of looking at businesses, most of which are either overpriced or not viable, nine out of ten buyers give up in frustration. On the seller side, and according to Dunn and Bradstreet, the main reason small businesses fail to sell is price.
20/20 Advisers has created a structured methodology designed to help business buyers bypass the public market and find the business that’s right for them. At the same time, sellers who join the site are taught to view their business from a buyer’s perspective and arrive at a price that would make economic sense to potential suitors. In addition to tutorial material, the site offers a toolbox filled with everything from forms that calculate value to sample documents and links to important websites. There’s a Conference Room where members can chat, a Bulletin Board to post notices and professional listings section to put buyers and sellers together with professionals.
For those whose primary function is to provide services related to mergers and acquisitions, this is a great place to build new relationships. Most business buyers lack prior connections to professionals like accountants and lenders. 20/20 Advisers has created a low-key, non-solicitous environment where it’s the buyers and sellers who seek out those who can help them. To foster a more personal and less intimidating atmosphere, listings are of individuals, not companies. When your listing is viewed, the potential client sees your photo, background, affiliations and a personal message that you create. To help you build your online profile, every professional member can set up a personal blog through the site. It’s easy.
Here’s how to take a tour:
Go to: www.2020advisers.com
Login as user: lauralender
Password: ll2020 (those are Ls, not ones)From there, you can view the buyer and seller modules, see what a personal Dashboard looks like, and access the other features of the website by clicking on links embedded in the unique moving hallway. Keep in mind that the site is not officially launched and the majority of members are fictitious.