Fall 2022
The insights and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not represent professional counsel nor an endorsement by the IBBA.
A Q u a r t e r l y D i g i t a l P u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l B u s i n e s s B r o k e r s A s s o c i a t i o n
T H E B E S T I N S I G H T S O N B U Y I N G A N D S E L L I N G S M A L L B U S I N E S S E S
Plus Insights on:
Fall
FORWARD
+ The Evolution of Market Pulse
+ How Business Brokerage is a Bit Like
Show Business
+ Co-Brokering to Get More Deals
+ Interest Rate and SBA Fee Changes
and More!
FALL 2022
The best insights on buying
and selling small businesses
In this Issue
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
MARKET PULSE: THE BEGINNING AND CURRENT USAGES
SHOW BUSINESS IS A LOT LIKE THE BUSINESS BROKERAGE BUSINESS
AFFILIATE SPOTLIGHT
GETTING MORE DEALS DONE THROUGH CO-BROKERING
DEAL EXPERIENCE: A STORY OF RESILIENCE
INTEREST RATES AND SBA FEES: ADDRESSING INCREASES
AND EFFECTS FOR BUYERS AND SELLERS
LEGISLATIVE UPDATES
14
18
18
24
26
30
FALL 2022
Fall FORWARD
Randy J. Bring, 2022 IBBA Chair
I hope everyone is wrapping up a great summer filled with health and
happiness. This time of year always seems to be one of transition, where we’re
ge�ing back to the normal routines and turning the corner into Fall. And as part
of that, most of us are told to “fall back” an hour and reset our clocks (which
happens on November 6th by the way).
This notion of ‘falling back’ reminds me of Denzel Washington’s famous commencement speech
in 2011 to the graduates of Penn State. If you’ve never heard it, it’s worth a google search and a few
minutes of your time. In it, he challenges the notion of having something to ‘fall back on,’ stating
that instead, if we are to fail (which we all surely are), then don’t fall back – fall forward (at least
this way you’ll see what you’re going to hit).
The key message is that nothing in life worth anything comes without risks and failure along the
journey to your goal. The risk and failures should be expected – but it should not deter you. In fact,
Washington bluntly states: you will fail at some point in your life, you will lose, you will embarrass
yourself, you will stink at something. Embrace it.
In my opinion, this mindset might arguably be the most important trait of a successful Business
Broker. You need to enter this exciting, rewarding, fulfilling profession knowing that along the
way you will have failures. We all do. You will lose sometimes, embarrass yourself once in a while
and perform at less than your best at some part of it. (And even if you do it for a long time like me,
there will still be those moments.)
This reminds me of my colleague and your 2023 incoming IBBA Chair, Kyle Griffith. Kyle has told the
story of starting his business brokerage practice during the recession. When asked how he was able to
be so successful when launching during such difficult times, he answered simply, “I worked my a** off.”
You could tell there was no “fall back” plan – he was mentally commi�ed to success and doing whatever
it took to make it happen. He had his personal talent and confidence boosting IBBA training behind
him to succeed – and he also had the guts to fail, but you knew when he did, he fell forward.
Heading into this Fall we still find ourselves in the midst of a lot more uncertainty than most of
us would care for, and uncertainty equals risk. As individuals we can’t fix the global supply chain,
control interest rates or predict political policies. But we can get ready to fall forward if necessary.
How does a Business Broker prepare to fall forward? Here are three areas to consider:
Setup your cushions. You should have your financial cushions in place (as you hopefully do, as this
is prudent no ma�er your profession). Having a reserve allows you to maintain a steady course
through any roller coaster and reduces your stress. But your cushions also mean having a cushion
of the right people and resources around you, whether that’s a mentor, the Ask a CBI program, or
ge�ing on the IBBA Member Facebook Group. If you wait until you hit a rough patch to think about
these things you’re already too late – get them in place now.
Build your personal balance sheet. Your personal balance sheet is your greatest asset – it’s your skill,
knowledge and connections – your best resources to lean into when you need to rebound from a lost
listing, a crumbled deal or any other setback. Post mortem these experiences, identify what elements
you could have controlled or handled be�er, and fill your skill/knowledge gaps in those areas. In that
way, each challenge will make you a be�er Business Broker and will move you forward.
Be a trusted advisor. Our business owner clients are grappling with uncertainty too – and they look
to professionals like you to help them. That’s what this job is all about. So if your communications/
keeping-in-touch plan is frail at best, start developing a quality plan for educating
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
FALL 2022
and supporting your clients and prospects on a consistent basis. It takes time build the trust and
credibility that ultimately leads to the financial opportunity you seek, so start now. This is how
successful careers are built, by developing an ever increasing roster of clients who come to rely
on your industry knowledge and experience. A strong pipeline of prospects is the best thing to
fall forward on if a current prospect or deal falls through.
I know these may not be new concepts, but if I quickly surveyed a handful of Business Brokers
right now I bet each of them has something to improve upon in one of these three areas. I know
I’m in this group.
This is not a doom and gloom article by any means. There are some complexities to navigate, and
it won’t always be easy, but the opportunities ahead of us remain significant for those willing to
work hard and have the right mentality. So set those clocks back, but keep falling forward this
season.
RANDY BRING, P.A. CBI, M&AMI, CMAP
Transworld Business Advisors
randy@tworld.com
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FALL 2022
The Beginning and Current Usages
Lisa Riley
CBI, CM&AP, CBBI | Delta Business Advisors
MARKET PULSE
As a brand spanking new broker in late 2011, I searched to find industry information. Of course,
I found the IBIS report on Business Brokerage which provided additional resource information
from the IBBA and a handful of its affiliates. The IBIS report provided an overview of the
business of business brokerage and I was later informed that the IBBA used to do member
surveys that had fallen by the wayside.
Being a numbers person, I wanted to know and understand what’s happening now, not a
few years ago, especially as we were moving out of the recession. So… I signed up and went
to my 1st IBBA conference in the Fall of 2011, a newbie of 1 entire month and signed up for
courses and drank in everything! Steve Wain was the instructor of one of those courses…
and a�erward, he sent out a survey to all a�endees. With a background in survey writing,
evaluating programs, etc., I sent him back a simple 5 question survey monkey survey that took
2-3 minutes to complete for a�endees as I didn’t believe many would take the time to write long
answers to questions as wri�en.
In the amazing and generous ways of IBBA members, instead of using that survey, he thanked
me and asked me to join the Marketing Commi�ee led by Sco� Bushkie. Unbeknownst to me,
they along with many other seasoned brokers, were also looking for current information and
thinking about doing a survey.
Less than 6 months later, we had secured a partnership with the Pepperdine Private Capital
Markets Project and the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine
University and sent out the 1st Market Pulse survey. The mission was simple and remains
the same: The quarterly IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse Survey was created to gain an
accurate understanding of the market conditions for businesses being sold in Main Street
(values $0-$2MM) and the Lower Middle Market (values $2MM -$50MM). The national survey
was conducted with the intent of providing a valuable resource to business owners and their
advisors.
It has evolved and changed through the years, mostly based on comments from participants
FALL 2022
in the final (that last question – Please provide suggestions, comments, or possible interests for
future questions - always gives us something new to think about). As volunteers, we cannot
incorporate everything, but every voice is heard. And since the survey results aren’t tied to
names, we have no idea of who to thank. We hope to keep improving and become the best go-to
source our mission states.
A�er 41 surveys and reports, we now have a wealth of new information every quarter. Although
many of our members use the results, especially the charts in the 100+ page quarterly results and
comparison to the same quarter of the prior year documents, the following members answered
my quick request for how they use it.
MARKETING
At the Liberty Group of Nevada, we are using the market pulse to keep abreast of the
national trends in main street and lower middle market business sales. It is very useful
in targeting the demographics most likely to buy at a certain size or in a market segment
and lends credibility in our discussions with business sellers regarding strategy. The
Market Pulse also provides a foundation for agent education and talking points for blogs,
articles interviews and conversations. We find that it is helpful to raise our thinking
beyond the microcosm of our local market.
Kathryn Guthrie, The Liberty Group of Nevada, Inc.
Others, myself included, also do blogs, email newsle�ers (with just 1 or 2 of the charts), lunch
and learns, chamber presentations or any presentation for a group of business owners or their
advisors. Additionally, look for local radio shows as they LOVE to discuss recent statistics.