Why would a successful conference center director and registered nurse want to buy a glass company? Why wouldn’t they want to seek a more leisurely life style now that they are empty nesters? It’s the American dream of owning your own business which often transcends age and stage. David Mosley had always wanted to own his own company and his supportive wife Jeanette encouraged this initiative. Over the years they were financially prudent so they had the resources to look at a business venture or vacation home. The business venture was a strong draw and they were looking at a potentially once-in-a lifetime opportunity.
A long standing friend was an owner of a well-known 22 year old glass company in Hopewell, Virginia. Mr. Mosley admired Mr. Carraway’s business success from being a glass cutter to owning two successful business locations. Mr. Carraway was not only a friend of the Mosley’s but David had a business relationship with Carraway Glass. So when David approached Mr. Carraway about possibly selling the business, Mr. Mosley went to his local bank who then referred them to Diane Howerton.
The Mosley’s came to Diane with lots of questions; business value, negotiation process, business potential, funding options and business plan assistance. Diane provided a business valuation model based on four years of the company’s tax returns. The purpose of which was to determine the value of the asking price and to provide some benchmarks for negotiations. David and Jeanette put their heart and soul into the business plan and doing the due diligence necessary to determine the viability of buying Carraway Glass.
There were many challenges along the way particularly between the negotiating the purchase and change in financial institution mid-stream to fund the transaction. The initial meetings with Diane started in July 2005 and the deal finally closed February 2006. The bank that helped close the loan was Bruce Brockwell with the Bank of Virginia. The purchase price included owner financing on the value of the good will and the bank incorporating a SBA guarantee on the loan. In a thank you note from David and Jeanette, “It has been a long and sometimes difficult process but without your help it probably would not have happened. The business plan you worked so hard on gave us the knowledge and confidence to go through with the deal.”