Deal Story: Trusting the Deal

For many business owners, the choice to sell the company they worked hard to build is years in the making. They take their time to come to terms with what life after the sale will look like and then begin to prepare for it. However, life doesn’t always give you time to plan. Vinny and Thu Nguyen learned this first hand. The two had built a successful liquor store, Wandering Spirits Liquor, and were continuing to grow the company when health issues derailed their plans. Since they were no longer able to operate the company, they had no choice but to look for a partner to help them sell it. On the recommendation of their landlord, they reached out to Calhoun Companies where they met Chris Lappen and Duane Johnson.

“The business was actually in a really great position for a sale,” said Lappen. “The company was healthy and had grown significantly throughout 2020, proving it was resilient and could stand the test of time, and even a pandemic.”

The business also benefited from being in a great location and having full-time staff already in place.

“Vinny’s health issues made it essential to sell the business quickly,” added Lappen. “We priced the deal accordingly, focusing on making it attractive to potential buyers. It even included nearly $40,000 worth of inventory. We knew the business would sell, we just needed to find the right buyer for Vinny and Thu.”

With a well-positioned business hitting the market at the right time, a buyer quickly emerged and luckily proved to be a fantastic fit.

“For a smaller transaction like this one, it is essential to find a buyer and seller that are able to work together,” explained Lappen. “The buyer and seller got along great and quickly built trust with each other. The seller even helped the buyer secure the lease with the landlord and pledged some of his own capital to make sure the transition went as smooth as possible.”

Because of the dedication, motivation, trust and flexibility of the buyer and the seller, they were both able to achieve their goals. Vinny, the seller, was able to sell his business quickly and at his asking price, freeing him up to focus on recovering from health issues and spend time with family. Meanwhile, the buyer quickly got acclimated to a business they are excited to own and immediately got to work with the help of the full-time staff and inventory that were already in place.

 We call that a successful deal!