As the Baby Boomer generation begins to decide they would like to spend less time working, many are looking to sell their businesses. There are not as many people interested in buying businesses as there are in selling businesses. Because of the reality of the demographics, businesses owned by Baby Boomers will be sold in a buyers' market.

The fact it is a buyer's market does not mean you will be unable to sell your business. There are still buyers out there. Some of them may be working right in your business, as your trusted partners or employees. You need to consider all the possibilities to find the best buyer.

Partners Or Shareholders

If you are not the only shareholder in your business, it is possible one or more of the other shareholders might be interested in purchasing your shares. If this is the case, your shareholder agreement likely covers this situation.

Employees

The advantage of selling to the employees who work in your business is they understand the business. The disadvantage is they do not usually have the money required to buy you out. If you are considering selling to your employees you will most likely end up doing some of the financing as a vendor take-back, due to the lack of funding on the part of the employees. The length of time you want to wait for your money will determine the length of the vendor take-back.

Competitors

Competitors understand the business and may have the money to purchase your business. The process has to be undertaken carefully. You will want a non-disclosure agreement signed before you give any competitor your financial statements. Recognize they will still know your business even though the agreement says they cannot tell anyone.

Customers

Maybe one of your customers is interested in purchasing your business. Let's imagine you are a drafting business and one of your biggest customers is a firm of architects. They may decide it makes sense for them to buy your business and set up their own drafting department within their business. Take a look at your customer list and see if you can spot any likely candidates.

Giant Corporations

Maybe your business would be a good fit for a large conglomerate which does not yet have a business in their stable which does what you do. These organizations can certainly afford to buy your business, but recognize they will drive a hard bargain. Foreign Nationals

Perhaps your business could be sold to a person who wishes to immigrate to Canada. Individuals in this position may be eligible for a government program which requires them to make some sort of investment in Canada to be permitted to immigrate.

Strangers

If you cannot think of anyone to approach about selling your business, it is possible to advertise your business for sale. It might be time to consider hiring a broker. A broker will assist you with the whole process of selling your business.

Take the time to evaluate all potential sources of buyers for your business. You want to get the best possible price. To do this you need to be sure you have exhausted all the realistic possibilities.

Debi J. Peverill CA is an accountant with a sense of humour. She has written 11 books for business owners and is in demand as a speaker. Learn more business strategies at www.Peverill.ca.

By Debi Peverill

The ultimate goal of every business is to gain more sales and profits. They would want to get ahead of their competitions so people would notice them. They try to create the best products or services to ensure that customers flock to their store. But how can they achieve this without an effective marketing plan? Without a gripping marketing tool, how can they encourage people to patronize their offerings? This is why it is vital that you arm your business with an effective marketing tool to ensure that you achieve your bottom line.

The question now is which marketing tool to use. There are various tool your can use. If baffled, you can always start with envelope printing. A lot of businesses often overlook envelopes. Because they are simple, they are often ignored as an effective way to boost profits. Oftentimes, businesses see them as additional cost, which keeps them away from high return on investment. But you have to understand that when used effectively, envelopes will maximize your profits and ensure you get the most return on investment.

So, do you boost your revenue with envelopes? Here's how:

1 - Create an attention-grabbing design. The first thing you need to do to ensure that your envelopes generate the response you desire is to make sure they have a catchy design. Keep in mind that your material will be competing with dozens of other mails from different companies. If your envelope is plain, it won't likely get noticed first. You don't have a chance to stand out making it extremely hard for you to get the attention of your potential customers. But if you use a brightly colored envelope, you can easily capture attention and greatly increase the chance that your mail will be read first.

2 - Entice with the design. In order to encourage recipients to open your envelope first, you need to put something enticing in the design. For instance, you can put a teaser or introduce your offers in front. This will stir the curiosity of the recipient and decide to read what the letter inside have to say.

3 - Brand the material. It is important that you put your logo, tag line or brand color in the design of the envelope templates. This promotes recognition and builds credibility. People will think that the communication inside is important so they will read it first. What you ensure though is that the letter included inside delivers a compelling sales pitch that will encourage prospects to act at once.

4 - Personalize. Drawing attention is much easier if the design of your envelope is unique. You can create the same personalized design in the envelope as what you have used in your brochure or sales letter. You can even consider handwriting the address to complete the personalization. Keep in mind that the more your customers and prospects feel that you are a trusted business, the greater the chance that they will open your mail.

Although you might consider envelopes as a simple mail carrier, they are effective marketing pieces as well. Why not create your own personalized mail carrier and you can be sure to achieve great return on investment. This will surely establish strong customer relationships and eventually drive profits to your business.