Advice from Veteran Brokers (Part 3 of 3)

“The following question was asked some years ago of quite a few successful business brokers – here are their responses. They were originally published in The Business Broker when it was a print publication. Subsequently, it was included in Wit & Wisdom of Business Brokerage edited by Connie Womack, an well-known industry veteran, now retired. The book is published by Business Brokerage Press (BBP). For information visit BBP online.

Have at least six months of working capital saved for the initial dry spell. Keep your overhead low.

Go to work for a successful business brokerage company to learn from the experts.

Have the discipline to...

Read the rest of entry »

Advice from Veteran Brokers (Part 2 of 3)

“The following question was asked some years ago of quite a few successful business brokers – here are their responses. They were originally published in The Business Broker when it was a print publication. Subsequently, it was included in Wit & Wisdom of Business Brokerage edited by Connie Womack, an well-known industry veteran, now retired. The book is published by Business Brokerage Press (BBP). For information visit BBP online.

Don’t quit – be tenacious – hard work – high energy and a sense of humor will see you through to success.

Look at the business as a profession, not just a way to make money. Look at the profession for...

Read the rest of entry »

Advice from Veteran Brokers (Part 1 of 3)

“The following question was asked some years ago of quite a few successful business brokers – here are their responses. They were originally published in The Business Broker when it was a print publication. Subsequently, it was included in Wit & Wisdom of Business Brokerage edited by Connie Womack, an well-known industry veteran, now retired. The book is published by Business Brokerage Press (BBP). For information visit BBP online.

If you were to give one bit of advice to someone entering business brokerage, what would you tell them?

Be committed!

Business brokerage is a classic example of a business that is customer-service intensive, if it is to be a successful rewarding activity. New entrants should be...

Read the rest of entry »

4th Quarter Market Snapshot

Almost half of people trying to sell their business have had a much worse response from potential buyers than expected, according to the latestBusinessesForSale.com survey.

Seller trends

Respondents were selling their businesses in geographical locations worldwide including Sweden, Indonesia, Pakistan and Jordan, among others. Seventeen percent of sellers were hoping to sell hotels or guesthouses, the most common type of business for sale, followed by real estate property (13%), manufacturing (13%), retail (11%) and cafes and restaurants (11%).

Of sellers whose businesses have been on the market for some time, 47% said...

Read the rest of entry »

What Sells?

The following search breakdown by type of business in order of interest (restaurants being first) is based on almost 850,000 searches – only the top 16 are listed. Courtesy: BizBuySell

  1. Restaurants
  2. Gas Stations
  3. Convenience Stores
  4. Liquor Stores
  5. Bars/Taverns
  6. Drycleaning/Laundries
Read the rest of entry »

The Average Price of a Business – 1962 versus 2010

I began my business brokerage career in 1963 in Anaheim, CA. The average sales price of a business in that year was approximately $15,000. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but using an inflation table, that would be approximately $105,000 in 2010 dollars. Our minimum fee was $1,000 – today (also in 2010 dollars) it would be a $7,000 minimum. However, shortly after I joined the firm, it was raised to $1,500, and it is now 2012. What is your minimum fee today?

According to the BizBuySell data

Read the rest of entry »

Sale Price vs. Asking Price

A recent survey by BizBuySell, using their data, makes for not only interesting reading, but is very informative. BizBuySell is providing a valuable service to the business brokerage industry by promulgating this data.

For example, one interesting figure is significant because it bears out a figure from other sources. The chart in the BizBuySell report on small business sales price versus asking price came out at approximately ...

Read the rest of entry »

How Long Will It Take to Sell My Business?

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

When I first sold businesses 50 years ago sales agreement forms were only 2 pages long, IBM golf ball typewriters had been introduced the year before, commission rates were 2%, and supermarkets and shopping centres were in their infancy.

No internet. No cellphones. No faxes. No emails. No photocopiers. No PCs.

But we... 

Read the rest of entry »

Hot Business List -- February 2012

Below you will find the current “hot” business list courtesy of data from Businesses For Sale. We asked Businesses For Sale for a monthly ranking of business types based on the number of “hits” on their site. This ranking is not based on the actual sale of businesses.


Top Ten Businesses for February 2012:

  1. Convenience Stores 
  2. Miscellaneous Restaurants
  3. Bars
Read the rest of entry »

Email Interview of WM B Martin by Tom West (Part 3 of 3)

Today's posting completes the three-part interview of industry veteran WM B Martin by BBP's Tom West. It picks up after Bill's second "retirement" and includes what Bill considers to be the secret of his success.


Tom:
But, there’s more to the story.

Bill:
Yes, when ABMI in Kansas City (the brokerage I’d started in 1989 and sold in 1998) found out I was no longer involved in other enterprises, they asked if I’d consider moving back to KC, and taking on a short term consulting contract, to advise them on returning ABMI to the “basics” we’d pioneered at ABMI, that they’d gotten away from. We worked out the details, and from 5-1-10 through 10-1-11, I consulted with ABMI. We were able to re-introduce the “basics” over that time, including recruiting and training managers to continue ABMI’s progress.

 

 

 

Tom:
So, what have you been doing since Oct 2011?

Read the rest of entry »

Email Interview of WM B Martin by Tom West (Part 2 of 3)

Today's posting continues an interview between BBP's Tom West and industry veteran WM B Martin.


Tom:
Then, you “un-retired”.

Bill:
Yes, Tom, I simply wasn’t ready to stop making deals. So, in late 1999, I bought back from ABMI the Springfield, Mo branch office I’d sold them, moved to the Ozarks, and took possession of that one agent, 10 listing office, planning to just “tinker” with business brokerage part time, and enjoy the wonderful Southern Missouri lifestyle.

Tom:
That “part time” plan didn’t last long.

Bill:
Right. We started doing the things in Springfield that had worked so well in KC, and the Springfield brokerage (now called First National Business Brokerage Corp) “took off” like a sky rocket. Within a year we had... 

Read the rest of entry »

Email Interview of WM B Martin by Tom West (Part 1 of 3)

This week's postings comprise a three-part interview of Industry Veteran WM B Martin by BBP's Tom West.


Tom:
Bill, you and I, with over 30 years in business brokerage, have done some fascinating things in our industry, and I think my readers would be interested in hearing the history of your experiences. 

Bill:
Thank you, Tom, for your interest in my activities. I joined Business Concepts, Inc in Kansas City, Mo (which was, back then, the most successful business brokerage in KC) in 1982, as a new, straight commission agent. BCI was a former VR agency (they went independent the year before I joined them), but they still used the original VR/Tom West agent training materials. So, Tom, like thousands of others in our business, I’m a Tom West trainee, even though I didn’t meet you in person until many years later, at an IBBA conference.

I fell in love with business brokerage those first weeks on the job, even though I was uncomfortable with...

Read the rest of entry »

If You Purchase the Wrong Franchise Your Legal Remedies May Be Limited

Comment from BBP:

The following article points out a number of reasons buyers need to complete their due diligence and choose wisely when selecting a franchise. This is important information for business brokers to be able to share with their buyers.


 

Current franchise agreements and judicial decisions can provide obstacles to franchisees who take legal action against their franchisor. The result is that prospective franchisees had better make the right decision when choosing and purchasing a franchise.

Individuals that decide to purchase a franchise should do an exhaustive evaluation of the franchise to confirm the following:

Read the rest of entry »

Welcome to The Business Broker,
FREE for the First Time in Over 25 Years!

Previously known as the Business Broker Online Magazine, the Business Broker Blog is the voice of the industry, allowing brokers and intermediaries to keep their finger on the pulse of the profession.

 Subscribe via email
 Follow us on Twitter
 Follow us on Facebook
 Join Our LinkedIn Discussion



CONTRIBUTORS

Tom West
BBP Co-Founder  ~  Massachusetts

Tom is a founder and past president of several large business brokerage firms and is also a founder, past president, and former Executive Director of the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA).  He has authored and co-authored several books, is editor of all 21 editions of The Business Reference Guide, and is often quoted in a variety of national newspapers and periodicals.

Email 


Loren Marc Schmerler
Bottom Line Management, Inc.  ~  Georgia

Loren CPC, APC is President and Founder of Bottom Line Management, Inc. He has been a business broker since 1986 and a business consultant since 1970. Loren represents sellers and buyers and has qualified for the 2012 Georgia Association of Business Broker’s Million Dollar Club.

Email  |  Web



Robert Flynn
Managing Partner of United Brokers Group, LLC ~ Rhode Island
Robert has been a business brokerage firm owner for nine years. Prior to that period he was a Senior Executive in two public and privately held technology and manufacturing businesses for twenty-eight years. From 1982 to 1996 Robert was a Senior Executive at the publicly traded +$3 billion (USD) London-based Cookson Group. He managed technology and manufacturing companies in England and the United States with a particular emphasis on startup and turnaround situations. Robert is also a licensed Rhode Island real estate salesperson and has owned five businesses.

 

Email  |  Website 1  |  Website 2 


Bob Sweeney
President of Innovative Travel Acquisitions, Inc. (ITA) ~ Georgia
Bob founded the Atlanta-based travel and tour business brokerage firm in 1991 after a successful 9-year career on Wall Street. Known as the "Matchmakers for the Travel and Tour Industries", ITA is a member in good standing with the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), the National Tour Association (NTA) and the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA). ITA operates a confidential platform LINKING buyers and sellers of travel and tour related companies throughout North America.

Email  |  Website  


Darrell Arne
Founder of Arne & Co.  ~  New Mexico
Darrell began his professional career in public accounting in 1970. In 1983, Darrell formed his own CPA practice, with emphasis on business valuation; by 1992, he had earned the Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) designation in business valuation. He then earned the Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) designation in 1995, and Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor (CM&AA) designation in 2008. He discontinued practicing in public accounting in 1994 when he formed Arne & Co., specializing in exit strategy planning for business owners, business valuations, business acquisitions & sales, business dispute mediation, part-time CFO services, and developer of business training seminars. 

Email  |  Website  


Jean D. Sifleet, Esq.
Business Attorney and Creator of Smart Fast®  ~  Massachusetts
Jean began her career with big law and accounting firms. She did a stint in state government, and then moved to the computer and communications industry. Frustrated with bureaucracy, Jean co-founded and sold two successful companies.  Today, Jean practices business law. She enjoys working with people who are starting a company, or who want to grow their company and stay out of trouble. Her advice is grounded in her first-hand experience as an entrepreneur as well as her knowledge of law, finance and management.  Calling herself a nontraditional lawyer, Jean uses Smart Fast®, a practical and systematic approach to evaluating options and making informed decisions. 

Email  |  Website


Ron Johnson
Chairman, ABI Business Sales, Mergers & Acquisitions  ~  California
Ron is Chairman of ABI Business Sales, Mergers & Acquisitions, which was established in San Ramon, CA, in 1984. Ron has been the intermediary in over one hundred transactions since entering the profession in 1991, and has managed, for his associates, many hundreds of additional transactions. Ron is well recognized nation-wide in his profession, having served 10 years on the Board of Directors of the California Association of Business Brokers (CABB), including two terms as President of the CABB.

Email  |  Website


Ralana Shelley
Certified Business Intermediary, Sunbelt  ~  Indiana
Ralana comes to the table with over eight years of experience in the Business Brokerage industry. Prior to making the transition to Business Broker, Ralana specialized in Marketing small to mid-sized businesses in the Indiana marketplace in her role as Marketing Manager for Sunbelt. 

Email  |  Website 1  |  Website 2  |  Website 3  |  Blog  |  LinkedIn  |  Twitter


Rose Stabler
Certified Business Brokers (CBB), Managing Partner ~  Texas
Rose has 25 years of business experience from serving in management and consulting positions in the Oil & Gas, Biotechnology, and Manufacturing industries to working for private equity giant Forstmann Little & Company to starting, building and selling an online promotional product firm that featured her own line of items. Rose serves as business advisor on the Houston Business Show on CNN650 and appears regularly on the Movers and Shakers panel discussion segment of Houston Manufacturers Show. Rose has published many articles about the process of buying and selling businesses and has contributed to Inc. Magazine. 

Email  |  Website 1  |  Website 2  |  Website 3  |  Blog


Wayne Quilitz
Murphy Valuations, President ~  Florida
Wayne's experience includes 28 years in electrical engineering and marketing in the electronics industry.  He served in the U.S. Navy, worked for Boeing Aerospace and Texas Instruments, and owned/operated a retail store for five years before joining Murphy Business and Financial Corporation.

Email  |  Website 


Richard L. Kolman
Franchise Note Buyers, LLC, President & Principal Owner ~  San Diego, CA

Richard has long served as trusted in-house legal counsel for some of the nation’s leading franchising companies. Rich began his franchise legal career in 1988 as a Corporate Attorney in the Legal Department of McDonald’s Corporation. He recently retired from the UPS Legal Department, following eleven years as Senior Franchise Counsel for The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc. (4,400+ franchises).  Despite the current adverse national economy, Franchise Note Buyers and its strategic underwriters bring unparalleled access to large sums of liquid capital needed to quickly fund numerous Franchise Notes at top-dollar prices.

Email  |  Website  |  Blog 


Bill Martin
ABMI, USBIZCORP and USFRANBIZ Founder  ~  Missouri

Since starting as an agent in 1982, Bill's career has included the building of business brokerages from scratch in over 20 cities coast to coast.  He is the founder of United States Business Brokers, Inc (USBIZCORP) and USFRANBIZ, Inc.  Bill has been involved in the sale of almost 4,000 different business acquisition transactions. He has also had articles and opinion memo’s published in trade publications, and is a nationally recognized trainer and mentor in the business brokerage industry.

Email


Russell Robb
Managing Director, Tully & Holland, Incorporated ~ Massachusetts

Russell Robb is a 20-year veteran in the mergers and acquisitions business, providing investment banking and corporate finance advisory services to a wide range of middle market companies. His transaction experience includes numerous companies in the consumer products industry, as well as a broad array of other manufacturing and distribution companies in various industry sectors. Russ is the past president and owner of two sporting goods manufacturing/retail companies. He is a published author of Selling Middle Market Businesses and the former editor of a highly regarded monthly M&A industry newsletter. 

Email


Len Krick
Sunbelt Owner, CBI, M&AMI ~  Las Vegas, NV
Len, owner of the Sunbelt Las Vegas office, is a Certified Business Intermediary ("CBI"), a Merger & Acquisition Master Intermediary ("M&AMI"), and holds a Nevada Real Estate Broker License. He has over twenty years of business and business consulting experience and is an active member, moderator and speaker for the International Business Brokers Association ("IBBA"), the Las Vegas Business Forum, and the Las Vegas CFO Group.

Email  |  Website


Ted J. Leverette
"Partner" On-Call Network, President 
Ted, The Original Business Buyer Advocate ®, has consulted with thousands of business buyers and owners on buy/sell, valuation and business improvement since 1974. Since 1993 he has taught affiliates in the USA and Canada, who independently own and operate their consulting practices, The Street-Smart Way to Become a Business Consultant™. He has been a lecturer for trade associations and author of texts, articles and the book, How to Get ALL the Money You Want For Your Business Without Stealing It™.

Email  |  Website


Ed Teixeira
FranchiseKnowHow, LLC ~  New York
Ed is the founder and President of FranchiseKnowHow, LLC a franchise-consulting firm. Ed has worked in the franchise industry for thirty years and has served as a corporate executive for firms in the retail, manufacturing, healthcare and technology industries. He has been involved with over 1,000 franchise locations and has transacted international licensing in Europe, Asia and South America. Ed is the author of Franchising From The Inside Out.

Email  |  Website


Jeff Fabian
Fabian, LLC ~  Baltimore, MD
Jeff is founder of Fabian, LLC, a boutique law firm headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland that provides trademark and copyright protection and contract drafting and negotiation services for businesses, artists, entertainers and athletes. He has published scholarly articles on trademark use in the Internet context and state franchise relationship laws, and has co-authored numerous articles appearing in various legal, business and industry publications.

Email  |  Website 1  |  Website 2  |  Twitter 


George D. Abraham
Business Evaluation Systems, CEO 
George has been involved in the transfer of over 450 businesses and performed over 12,000 appraisals in the past 32 years. Two of the appraisals Mr. Abraham was involved in passed the scrutiny of the World Bank. His company was the first in the nation to develop and gain national attention for its unique and highly accurate business evaluation software programs.  George is a licensed Real Estate Broker, Real Estate Appraiser, Business Appraiser, Machinery and Equipment Appraiser, Board Certified Business Broker, Certified Environmental Inspector, Certified Business Intermediary, Licensed State Property Tax Consultant, Accredited Review Appraiser, and Certified Business Counselor.

Website


Clyth MacLeod
Clyth MacLeod, Ltd. Managing Director ~ New Zealand
Clyth has over 40 year's experience in business broking and business valuation. yth is also a director of Business Appraisals Ltd (business valuers), BizStats Ltd (a national database of business sales information) and Australasian Business Valuations Ltd (consultancy).As well as authoring many articles and texts Clyth has lectured nationwide and overseas on business sales and valuation for many organisations including the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand and the International Business Brokers Association in the USA. The only business broker to be awarded a Life Membership by the Real Estate Institute of NZ and a Fellowship by the International Business Brokers Association he remains active in the industry and committed to leading a professional team.

Website


Jack R. Sanders
Spectrum Corporate Resources, LLC Managing Director
Jack has been an active full-time business intermediary since 1985. He has personally handled over 130 business transfers and has appraised over 1,450 businesses. He is also the author of the “BIZCOMPS®” studies, a leading authority on the market value of small and medium business in the United States and Canada. The studies contain actual transaction information on over 12,000 transactions and are marketed in both print and electronic form. Jack is also an instructor in educational courses leading to the Certified Business Intermediary designation.

Website


Christopher George
George & Company, President ~  Worcester, MA
Christopher is a Certified Business Opportunity Appraiser, Company President, and also a past president of the Association of New England Business Brokers. Chris has been engaged in the appraisal, sale and financing of small to mid-sized businesses since 1971. He has personally aided buyers & sellers in thousands of sales and appraisals.

Email  |  Website  |  LinkedIn  |  Facebook

 


Roger Murphy
Murphy Business & Financial Corporation, President / CEO ~  FL
Roger is a Certified Business Intermediary and Master Certified Business Counselor with over 25 years experience in executive management and financial management. He is the President / CEO of Murphy Business & Financial Corporation, one of the largest and most successful business brokerage firms in North America with business brokers located throughout the United States and Canada. Murphy Business specializes in businesses for sale, franchises, business valuations, and commercial real estate.

Email  |  Website 


Amanda Puppo
MarketReach Inc., CEO & Founder  ~  Lawrenceville, NJ

During her dealings with various companies, Ms. Puppo became aware of an apparent general aversion towards the application of the cold-call, while at the same time, realizing its importance in business. In March, 2001 at the age of 26, Ms. Puppo created MarketReach Inc. MarketReach does cold-calling/lead generation and market surveys, so clients can spend their time building their business and servicing their customers. MarketReach was named a Finalist in the Most Innovative Company category in The 2004 Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs. 

Email  |  Website   |  Twitter

Business Brokerage Press   |   PO Box 218   |   Wilmington, NC 28402   |   Phone 800.239.5085   |   Fax 800.317.7013   |   info@bbpinc.com

dummy