Keep Leading
the Way!
Fall 2021
The insights and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not represent professional counsel nor an endorsement by the IBBA.
by Lisa Riley, 2021 IBBA Chair
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:
+ Nurturing Your Professional Growth
+ Tapping Into Valuable IBBA Resources
+ Establishing Your Credibility
+ Legislative Updates
The best insights on buying
and selling small businesses
In this Issue
10
13
18
23
26
33
34
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
MEMBER EXCELLENCE AWARDS SPOTLIGHT
BLOOM WHERE YOU’RE PLANTED
AS AN EXPERT, KNOW WHEN TO HIRE AN EXPERT
HOW A BUSINESS BROKER CAN ESTABLISH
LOCAL CREDIBILITY
REASONS TO SPECIALIZE YOUR BUSINESS
BROKERAGE PRACTICE
“THE MAIN MAN”
HOW TO ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN YOUR
COMPANY’S COMPETITIVE EDGE
CONFLICT IS INEVITABLE!
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Keep Leading the Way!
Lisa Riley, CBI, CM&AP, CBB | Delta Business Advisors
We’re a li�le more than a month away from this year’s IBBA Conference
and the anticipation is building!
My first conference occurred during my 1st month of being a Business Broker and I
have a�ended all but a couple Conferences over the course of my career. Each one has helped me develop
and grow in an important way. It’s not just the breadth of learning from the seminars, workshops
and masterminds, but also the exposure to new contacts and solutions that keeps me coming back.
Additionally, it’s those unexpected coffees, dinners, happy hours and a�er-hours conversations where I
make new connections, colleagues, friends, mentors and referral sources that make me a be�er Business
Broker. I always leave energized with a plethora of new ideas, and grow both personally and professionally.
This year’s Conference theme is Leading the Way, and it has purposeful significance for the times we’re in.
As trusted advisors to the business community, Business Brokers do, in fact, lead the way. That’s certainly
true in the midst of a transaction, but it’s also true apart from the closing table. Business owners seek our
counsel on everything from operational enhancements to financing and growth strategies. They ask for
our referrals to other trusted professionals that can help them run their businesses. They look to us for
PPP, tax and other insights. And sometimes they just need an emotional boost.
As always, leadership comes with responsibility and that’s why a continuous commitment to stretching
our knowledge, skills and connections is so important.
One of the hardest parts of leading is that the end goal or destination isn’t always clearly in sight, and yet
we must keep moving forward. That’s when the breadth of experience and the generous support of
FALL 2021
It’s our response, care and expertise that will continue to guide business owners
through the pandemic and towards an eventual successful exit of their business.
the IBBA community become especially important – we don’t need to have all the answers all the time,
because the insight, person or product we need is just an outreach away.
I want to personally thank the many people who are working hard to make the Conference a success.
Our Conference Commi�ee, staff, our speakers and presenters, our Exhibitors…it’s because of all of you that
we as an industry have this event to look forward to! Know that your commitment is truly appreciated.
We wish every one of us could be together at the Conference, but we certainly understand why not.
This Conference is for anyone who is comfortable a�ending, but it is certainly not the only way to stay
connected. The IBBA has an array of remote events, educational opportunities and support resources to
tap into throughout the year, enabling you to lead the way wherever you are.
Finally, I must comment on how personally inspired I am by Harry Sidhu’s article on page 6. Harry’s
“garden” embodies the spirit we should all aspire to and is an excellent example of leading the way. Harry,
thank you for sharing your inspiring story with us.
Keep Leading the Way!
LISA RILEY
2021 IBBA Chair, CBI, CM&AP, CBB | Delta Business Advisors
lisa@deltabusinessadvisors.com
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
IBBA is pleased to welcome
295 New Members this year!
Member Excellence Awards Spotlight
Blooming Where You’re Planted
Harry Sidhu
CBI, CBB
Mission Peak Brokers, Inc.
Our 2020 Member Excellence Awards Recipients have proven exceptionally skilled at applying
the learnings and standards of excellence that the IBBA promotes. This section highlights
a few of them with article contributions in this special spotlight!
I love my garden. It’s my happy place. With my hands in warm dirt and face to the sun, my heart and
soul are nourished. I simultaneously find and lose myself in my blossoming wonderland.
A�er the pandemic hit, I spent a lot of time in my garden. It gave me peace, solace and a beautiful space
to stay in regular contact with all my clients. We commiserated and strategized as we figured out the
labyrinth of PPP funds.
My garden also gave me the space to figure out a playbook for the uncertainty of our new normal. As
any IBBA member will tell you, uncertainty is an integral part of every aspect of the business broker
hustle. Learning to get comfortable with uncertainty is a requisite for sustainable success.
In April, 2020, I realized I had to figure out how to navigate our changing circumstances. Admi�edly, there
were moments of panic and denial but the feast/famine nature of brokering had become commonplace
for me from selling businesses for over 15 years. The same truism that guided me all these years was as
valid now as ever before: I can’t control what is happening; I can only control my reaction.
Was my reaction going to be panic? Denial? Maybe something be�er? Pondering options, my garden
illuminated my path forward. For a garden to thrive, you must nurture the soil and plant new seeds.
Despite this uncontrollable circumstance, all I could control was my own growth. With the pandemic-
induced business slow-down, it was time to double-down on my brokerage and profession. It was time
to nurture and plant.
To nurture my professional growth, I decided to pursue my Certified Business Intermediary (CBI)
credential. It was always on my to-do list and now I wanted it to help propel me & my brokerage forward.
I took the necessary courses and a�ended the 2020 conference online. Preparing for the CBI, helped me
organize and solidify my professional knowledge. It helped me fill in gaps and create a comprehensive
protocol for brokering businesses.
When it came to planting seeds for my brokerage’s growth, I decided it was time to invest in digital
marketing. Five months before the pandemic, I rebuilt my underperforming company website.
FALL 2021
While the new website generated some traffic, I knew it was time to make the website more dynamic so
that it operated as a lead generator rather than just a resume.
Working with my digital marketer, we focused on my brokerage goals and created a local/regional digital
marketing plan. We determined our most commercial keywords and the best way to perform search
engine optimization (SEO) pursuant to our lead generation goals for our business opportunity niches: Gas
stations, convenience stores, restaurants and SBA loans.
Over the next few months, we created an online presence for my brokerage.
We fully integrated our blog, social media, professional videos, and monthly newsle�er as spokes to
our website hub. We incorporated our print marketing with our digital marketing to augment our lead
generation.
I had to really get out of my comfort zone to deal with the initial aspects of digital marketing. As the face of
the my brokerage, I had to get comfortable in front of a camera for our Youtube videos. It was challenging
finding my voice and how to express information that is normally second-nature into the cyber-abyss
camera. It was initially awkward seeing myself in online videos but with growing viewers and feedback it
motivated me to keep striving. I also had to get out of my comfort zone to ask dozens of former clients to
write reviews for my brokerage in order to optimize our reputation score.
Initial growth was modest and consistent. Within 5 months, however, our website and social media traffic
exploded and has been consistently strong ever since.
Congratulations
to our 475 existing
CBI holders!
BECOME A CBI
Are you ready to take the next step
in your career?
So, you might be asking, Harry, how does your garden grow?
I am pleased to report that one year later:
1. I am the proud owner of a brand-spanking new CBI.
2. I was awarded IBBA’s Outstanding Producer Award.
3. I was awarded IBBA’s Deal Maker Award.
4. My website went from 30 to 1,200 new visitors monthly visitors from which
I am generating good quality leads.
5. I have another 1800 monthly views on my Google My Business & Google Maps.
6. I now have a solid 5-star reputation score from wonderful clients who graciously published
positive feedback regarding my brokerage’s services.
7. My YouTube channel gets 1000 views per month!
8. I have demand marketing in place via my website, social media and landing pages.
9. I have grown my email marketing list to nearly 5000 subscribers.
10. I opened a new Southern California office.
What started with uncertainty and anxiety has led to an amazing year of growth. I learned that when we
invest in ourselves, our clients, family, business and community also thrive. If you have weathered this
pandemic, now is the time to double-down professionally because your growth is truly the only thing
you can control especially in uncertain times. In the wise words of Mary Rodman, “Bloom where you’re
planted.” Now get out there and get uncomfortable!
I want to thank my amazing and beautiful family for their unyielding support, encouragement and love.
I am grateful everyday for the incredible brokers at Mission Peak - I am proud to call you my trusted
advisors. I am forever appreciative of my clients — their trust is an honor that I never take for granted.
I am also grateful for this incredible entrepreneurial community that we get to be part of everyday.
BY HARRY SIDHU
CBI, CBB
Mission Peak Brokers, Inc.
hrsidhu@gmail.com
Member Excellence Awards Spotlight
As an Expert, Know When
to Hire an Expert
Jeff MacAdam
CBI
Founder & Managing Partner of The Bridlebrook Group