When Catherine Chandler is abducted, beaten and slashed and left to die in Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public urban park in the heart of Manhattan in New York City. It is visited by approximately twenty-five million visitors each year. Central Park was first opened in 1857, on 770 acres of city owned land…

, she is rescued and cared for by Vincent, who has taken her to his Father (Roy Dotrice
Roy Dotrice
Roy Dotrice OBE is a British actor known for his Tony Award-winning Broadway performance in the revival of A Moon for the Misbegotten.-Life and career:…

), to their hidden community of people dwelling in tunnels below the city of New York. Ten days later, she returns to the surface with the promise of keeping Vincent’s secret and the challenge to go on after her terrible attack. After completing her recovery, her life begins a serious transition: she takes self-defense lessons, leaves her comfortable job at her father’s law firm and joins the Manhattan District Attorney
New York County District Attorney
The New York County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for New York County , New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws….

‘s office as an Assistant District attorney.
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction’s legal department and supervises a staff of…

During the course of the first season, the production team fashioned a blend of romance and crime drama which used both Catherine’s position as an ADA and her will to help Vincent and his world to place her in moments of physical danger which would bring the idealized romantic figure of Vincent to the surface world as her guardian angel.
Season 2

During its second season, the series shifted its focus slightly to add more character development, as the central characters spent considerable time exploring their relationship and with the inhabitants of the Tunnel World, where Catherine had now finally been accepted as a friend and “Helper” (someone who assists the Tunnel community with what they need to survive and by keeping their secret). More people from the world Above turned up for emotional support and healing in the World Below’s welcomingly secure environment.
Near the end of the season, however, in an effort to boost faltering ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States…

, the action orientation returned as a result of the misleadings of the recurrent villain
Villain
A villain is an “evil” character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters…

Paracelsus (Tony Jay
Tony Jay
Tony Jay was an English-American actor and voice actor. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he was known for his voice work in animation, film and computer games…

). (See also: Personality
Personality Development
An individual’s personality is an aggregate conglomeration of decisions we’ve made throughout our lives . There are inherent natural, genetic, and environmental factors that contribute to the development of our personality. According to process of socialization, “personality also colors our values,…

). In a cliff hanger final episode, Catherine is seen walking down a tunnel into a chamber, where Vincent is suffering from a violent madness.
Season 3

When the series returned for its abbreviated third season late in 1989, Linda Hamilton had announced her decision to leave the series. It was a decision that, along with the network’s desire to attract more male viewers, would have serious repercussions for the show’s continued survival. In the resolution to the previous season’s cliffhanger, Catherine rescued Vincent from his inner demons but was kidnapped by “Gabriel” (played by Stephen McHattie
Stephen McHattie
Stephen McHattie is an English-Canadian actor.-Life and career:McHattie was born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia…

), the ruthless head of a huge criminal empire she had been investigating, which was trying to corrupt the D.A.’s office. She was killed, but not before giving birth to Vincent’s son, who was held hostage by the evil Gabriel. Catherine’s boss and close friend Joe Maxwell (played by Jay Acovone
Jay Acovone
Jay Acovone is an American actor who was born in Mahopac, New York as the son of a dry-cleaning business owners.-Career:…

) hired Diana Bennett (Jo Anderson
Jo Anderson
-Biography:She was born in Brooklyn, New York. She grew up in suburban Tenafly, New Jersey and was one of four children in her family. She has naturally red hair and blue eyes. She is 5’7½” tall….

), a criminal profiler with the police department, to track down Catherine’s killer. Quite naturally, her investigation ultimately led her to the now darkly obsessed and grieving Vincent.

Although still popular with its dedicated fans, the darker, more resolutely violent aspects of the reworked concept, coupled with the fatal loss of the all-important central relationship between Catherine and Vincent, led to further declining ratings and cancellation.

Saturday, 9am – 2pm at28th & Oak (by the South Town Shops)

Sunday, 10am – 3pm at 19th & Agate (by Eugene City Bakery)

We have really enjoyed being at these two markets and we are excited about the potential for the coming season. It’s great to be in a neighborhood and be bringing quality food to families and folks who want to eat fresh, local and organic without the crowds of the downtown Lane County Farmer’s Market.

Come check us out!

Currently Available:

Potatoes – Fingerlings and pinks, just dug and delicious!

Garlic – Freshly dug and very flavorful

Kale – Pretty, tender and nutritious

Cabbage – sweet, crisp and nourishing

Blueberries – come try some of the best in our area….

Cherry Plums – sweet and juicy!

Let’s have a look at each of these in a little more detail.

1. Cash-Flow

This is one of the most important areas. The lender is using a concept called Debt Service Coverage (DSC.) In simple terms, the lender wants to know that the business is producing enough positive cash flow to service the costs to run the business, provide an adequate income to the buyer so they can pay their personal bills and feed the family etc plus service the debt that will be incurred if a loan is approved. To use some numbers to provide a specific example, if the buyer of the business wanted to make an SBA loan that required an annual loan payment of $100,000 for the loan only, the bank would want to see the business generate a positive cash flow over and above all expenses to run the business of at least $120,000 per annum or at a Debt Service Coverage ratio of 1.2.

When deciding whether to lender money to the buyer of a business, the SBA lender analyzes the tax returns for all the businesses in which the borrower(s) owns 20% or more and the living expenses of each borrower and any sources of income.

All this information is considered within the time frame of at least the last three years so the SBA lender will need the buyer to provide 3 years of tax returns plus interim financial statements that are less than 90 days old.

2. Collateral

As the banks are primarily concerned with risk management, to protect the loan they may extend to the buyer, they look for collateral to take to support the loan. Collateral is simply an asset on standby the bank can take and seller if the borrower defaults on the loan.

When determining how much collateral is available, banks discount the property because they rarely get 100% of its value if the property is foreclosed upon. These reasons include that payments are usually in arrears, they will incur costs to sell the property such as agents and attorney’s etc. Typical discounts are 20% for residential properties and 20% for commercial real estate. Additionally, banks view properties ranging from easy-to-sell to difficult-to-sell. For example, factors that make properties harder to sell are: a) location, such as the property being in an outlying area, b) condition, might be old or not kept up, c) type, might be single purpose or raw land.

3. Credit

The credit of the borrower is important to the SBA lender. However, other areas of the business loan application need to be strong if the buyer’s credit report is poor. For example, if the business cash flow and collateral are strong, poor credit can often be overcome. If either of these areas are weak, however, the credit history becomes increasingly important.

Some banks focus on FICO scores, while others want to focus on the explanations to determine how much weight to give to credit issues. If you are thinking of applying for a loan to finance the purchase of a business, before you start looking for a business to buy, check your credit report and history are in order in case there are errors and you can therefore correct them.

4. Management Experience

In recent years, this area has become more and more important to the SBA lenders. Recent analysis of why business buyers failed showed that a lack of management experience in an industry was contributing factors. If the business buyer has not previously owned or managed a business in a particular industry may lead to a quick loan decline. Conversely, a buyer with the requisite management experience has shown the lenders that the owner has a greater chance to maintain revenues/profits at historical levels.

5. Liquidity

A business buyer needs to have a certain amount of money in cash to buy a business. The bank doesn’t want a hard asset used that needs to be sold so it’s critical that initial down payments be in cash. A borrower can borrow their down payment but this new loan payment must be factored into the analysis. Also keep in mind that different if you borrowing for a construction project, it may require even more liquidity to ensure the project’s completion. Finally, start-up businesses require significant savings to fall back upon and in the current economy are very difficult to finance.

Successfully applying for an SBA loan requires planning, attention detail, perseverance and follow up.

If you are looking to sell or purchase a business, you need the right professional advice for your situation and from someone that’s done it before. If you have questions or need more information, visit my website at http://www.Andrew-Rogerson.com or send me an email at a.rogerson@murphybusiness.com

Here’s a basic breakdown of their process.

Their easiest target is to contact the owners of businesses for sale, usually via listings on the internet and identify themselves as acting for a private party or a small investment group. They are looking for businesses generally that have at least a $1,000,000 selling price.

If the business is being listed for sale by a business broker or intermediary, they will try to build a strong relationship with the seller. If they feel the broker or intermediary is an impediment to what they are doing, they then try to get the broker or intermediary out of the way by saying direct to the seller that the broker or intermediary is a hurdle to closing a deal.

Once they have a good relationship with the seller, they then make a strong offer with the condition they finance the deal over a short buy out period (say 6 to 10 months.) The offer will include a small down payment, say 10% down AND as a stock sale (not an asset sale.) Under this scenario, the seller holds all the stock of the corporation as collateral, and of course, the sale includes the cash, Accounts Receivable and other items per the Balance Sheet.

Once they pay the seller the 10% deposit, they then require signature rights to the business bank accounts, credit cards and other assets while the seller “trains” them in the day to day operation of the business for the agreed two to four weeks training period.

Once the training is complete, they then clean out the cash, run up the credit cards, factor the Accounts Receivable, may sell off some or get loans on the fixed assets (vehicles, etc.) and do not pay any payable/liabilities. They even sometimes fire employees, usually never paying any of the businesses (or employee’s) payroll taxes or other taxes. Then, they disappear in a month or so having cleaned out the company by taking everything as cash.

Bottom line: These scams really do exist. It’s another reason to make sure your business broker is part of a State Association such as the California Association of Business Brokers or association such as the International Business Brokers Association. If you are planning to sell your business in Sacramento, please give me a call so I can help you. If you are not in Sacramento and would like a referral to a business broker near your business you are also welcome to give me a call.

If you would like more information about the process of selling your business, visit my website; http://www.Andrew-Rogerson.com and order a copy of my book “Successfully Sell Your Business: Expert Advice from a Business Broker.”

The seller expects to:

1. Receive all cash up front;
2. Provide one week of training;
3. Provide the buyer with one day to do their due diligence;
4. Close the offer the day after the completion of due diligence;
5. Be paid five to six times the business earnings or discretionary earnings.

The buyer expects to:

1. Buy a business with 10% down payment;
2. Receive two months of training free of charge from the seller;
3. Have four weeks to complete their due diligence;
4. Work in the business for 30 days to “test drive” it;
5. Pay no more than one year’s worth of business earnings or discretionary earnings.

About where the seller and the buyer meet:

1. The down payment from the buyer is about equal to the business earnings or discretionary earnings;
2. Seller provides some financing;
3. Seller provides two to three weeks of training;
4. Buyer receives two weeks to complete their due diligence;
5. It takes 45 to 60 days to close the transaction if things go smoothly;
6. The business is sold between one to three times earnings with many factors affecting whether it’s one or three times earnings or something in between.

 A Golden Rule that I stress to both buyers and sellers is that the best way to get a deal done is to put yourself in the shoes of the other party. If you think about how the transaction impacts your side of the deal you will more than likely convince yourself that the other party is not offering enough. If this happens you are not ready to buy or sell. For a transaction to occur, there has to be a willing buyer AND a willing seller.

If you would like more information about buying or selling a business, visit my website; http://www.Andrew-Rogerson.com. Alternatively, I’ve written a book on each subject and these books are available from my website or www.amazon.com – Successfully Buy Your Business: Expert Advice from a Business Broker and Successfully Sell Your Business: Expert Advice from a Business Broker.