Business For Sale- Mediation

Avoid conflict as she may, at some point in her career a small business owner will have to deal with a dispute. This may be with another business entity, and involve a sale or a purchase agreement; or it may be with a completely external third party such as a neighboring house where an aspiring heavy metal band practices at full blast. Unless you run a corporation with a massive walled property, you will have to deal with other entities around you- other businesses, residences, pet shelters, roads etc. You have to right to run your business without undue disturbance, and this right is legally enforceable. But at the same time, it can be frightfully expensive to fight a court case and hence, small business owners usually resort to mediation to resolve disputes.

Aside from dealing with noisy neighbors, mediation is as useful when you buy a business or sell a business. If a dispute arises during the sale or even after the sale, mediation by a third party is often the best way to arrive at a mutually acceptable compromise without wasting too much time or money on the matter. Small businesses usually don’t have the legal and financial resources to fight a full-blown court case. When you use a mediator, you also work out a way for you and your buyer to resolve conflicts and arrive at mutually acceptable compromises.

Finding the Right Mediator

To begin with, when you buy or sell a business you should mention in the contract that you will resolve disputes through mediation. Small business owners will do anything to avoid a court case, so it shouldn’t be hard to convince your buyer that mediation is the best alternative.

Suppose a dispute does arise, you will have to find a mutually acceptable mediator. This also can be specified in the contract but even otherwise, finding a neutral mediator is not hard. Community mediation centers offer mediators who operate on a voluntary basis and cost far less than lawyers. In addition it is a cost that will be shared by both you and the buyer. If the tangle that you and your buyer are in requires considerable legal expertise, you can also find lawyer-mediators at the community mediation center.

Your local telephone directory will list mediators under headings like ‘mediation’ and ‘conflict resolution’. Under ‘attorneys’ or ‘lawyers’ you’ll find lawyers who also volunteer their services as mediators.

Going Legal

Most mediations end with a settlement, or an agreement between the two parties. The point of opting for mediation is to avoid going to court, but it is worth making the agreement legally enforceable, so that both parties live up to their obligations.

Why Mediate?

The reasons to choose mediation over litigation are numerous. If you’re a heartless multinational corporation who’s looking to crush a smalltime player in the field, then litigation is for you; but if you’d like to use your resources well, and not spend months in court, mediation is a far better alternative. When you opt for mediation, there is already an element of cooperation that exists between you and the seller, an indication that neither of you want to drag the fight out in court. It also shows that neither of you is looking to destroy the other, but merely seeking to reach a mutually acceptable compromise.

1. Save Time

Mediation cuts out a lot of the paperwork and preliminary preparation that fighting a court case entails. You don’t have to hunt for a lawyer; and the wait for your dispute to come up won’t be very long. Unlike lawyers, mediators know that the parties who come to them don’t want to haggle endlessly; hence they deal with cases quickly and efficiently.

2. Save Money

Apart from the fact that time spent fighting a case is money wasted, mediation also saves you lawyers fees and other expenses that a court case would require. Even the mediator’s fee, which is far less than a lawyer’s, is shared between you and the seller. When you opt for mediation, the damage to your company’s image is also limited so PR won’t have to work overtime.

3. Stay Friendly

An agreement made during mediation is reached by both parties, so enforcing it becomes easier. Further, both you and the seller will have learnt a little more about each other, the way you function and the way you deal with problems. This can in fact be the ground for a thriving business relationship. You may not be the best of friends, but you may know enough about how the other does business to trust each other. Even if things aren’t that rosy, mediation will make sure that you are known as a businessperson who doesn’t get unnecessarily aggressive; at the same time you will send out the message that you get what you want.