Crawford Partnership launches Business Exchange to help establishments stay open
The Crawford Partnership announced the launch of an initiative called Crawford Business Exchange.
CBX is a service for investors, entrepreneurs and other community members to learn about business acquisitions, franchises, investments and other start-up opportunities in Crawford County, according to a news release.
“We support this new effort to help good Crawford County businesses stay open and continue for years to come,” said Crawford County Commission President Tim Ley. “These businesses are the backbone of our economy.”
CBX is an initiative designed to facilitate the flow of entrepreneurial talent and capital to the existing opportunities. The Crawford Partnership came up with the idea in the wake of previous business closures and missed franchise opportunities in the county.
Over the years in Crawford County there have been successful businesses that closed because management was ready to retire, and no family or employees wanted to or were able to assume the business, according to the Crawford Partnership release.
In addition, there have been franchise opportunities that failed to find the capital and management needed to establish themselves, and some entrepreneurs have not been able to find the capital they need to start.
Goals are to let people know a business is for sale, connect to resources
The goal of the initiative is twofold, said Crawford Partnership President David Zak. One goal is to let people know there is a business for sale and the other is to connect the business with the resources available in the community in a friendly and yet competitive environment.
He said sometimes when business opportunities are put on Facebook it brings about negative consequences for the businesses. For example, employees start to look for other job openings once they hear a business is being sold.
In addition, Zak said, those social media announcements as a rule do not generate a lot of interest, reaching only those in that media. It is also often the case the people who get interested in the opportunity do not have the capital or other resources to run it.
“It doesn’t get out to a wider audience,” Zak said. “A lot of times, that approach is not very successful in helping a retiring business owner to sell their business.”
He said in some cases the community could show the road to running the business to the potential new owners or help connect them with financial resources.
“It tries to increase the probability of successfully keeping the business in the community,” Zak said.
A community aimed at business sales also generates more interest in each case and facilitates more productive discussions when the potential buyers feel the competition, he said.
First sale opportunity is 30-year-old business
The first opportunity that will be posted with the initiative is Project Award for a 30-year-old business for sale with multiple revenue stream possibilities, from rental housing to food, accommodation and more.
The current owner wishes to retire this year. The lead will remain open until Monday, Feb. 5, according to Crawford Partnership.
The name of the businesses for sale on the CBX typically will be kept anonymous to preserve the businesses from closing ahead of time.
For more information, review the lead details on the CBX page and contact Zak at davidz@crawfordpartnership.org or 419-912-1150.
There will be an email list people can sign up for to be notified of opportunities and receive status updates on existing ones. To sign up for the email updates, contact Zak. Online information about the CBX can be found at crawfordpartnership.org/cbx.
“Any individual can sign up to get notified,” Zak said. “That would be people who are interested in opportunities.”
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Crawford Partnership launched Crawford Business Exchange initiative
