Summer 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:
Ladies and Gentlemen…
It’s Half-Time
+ What Small Business Owners Need to
Know about Succession Planning
+ Building Your Seller Prospect Pipeline
+ Staying True to a Single Vertical
and More!
SUMMER 2022
The best insights on buying
and selling small businesses
In this Issue
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
MEMBER EXCELLENCE AWARDS SPOTLIGHT
PRACTICE TRANSFORMATION: THE RICHES ARE IN THE NICHES
WE SELL RESTAURANTS: A CASE STUDY
IN STAYING TRUE TO A SINGLE VERTICAL
HOW TO PLAN A CAREER AS A BUSINESS BROKER
BUSINESS BROKERS, PREPARE YOUR SELLERS!
WHAT SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT SUCCESSION PLANNING
BUILDING YOUR SELLER PROSPECT PIPELINE
BUYERS WANT STRONG EMPLOYEE TEAMS
LEGISLATIVE UPDATES
8
12
16
22
26
32
36
40
SUMMER 2022
Ladies and Gentlemen…. It’s Half-Time
Randy J. Bring, 2022 IBBA Chair
It’s really hard to believe however, if our careers as business brokers were a sport,
our 2022 year would be at half-time! Yes, we are half way though a year which if
we tried to describe it, is in so many respects unique compared to all other years.
Half-time is the short break where we can both look back at our first half performance and strategize
for the second half of “the game” which we hope and expect will result in a win for our team and our
careers as professional Business Brokers.
Yet, we seemingly faced so many challenges in the first half. Lingering COVID concerns, a war in
Ukraine, rising inflation and interest rates, disruption in supply chains, political divisiveness and
stock market fluctuations - all of which would seem to impact our ability to engage our clients, get
them to market and cross the finish line with a successful closing. But did they? As we review the
first half of 2022, so many Business Brokers report a continuation from a successful 2021 and, in fact
are “ahead in points” going in to half time in 2022. How is this possible when faced with so many
seemingly negative national and world events?
The best athletes and yes, the best Business Brokers I know, win their game by employing both a careful
mixture of practice and discipline in their brokerage which includes an innate understanding of how to
perform at a consistently higher level than others. This where your IBBA investment really pays off.
Here’s a brief look at the IBBA’s highlight reel for the first half of 2022:
• Our membership has grown to an all-time high of 2,557 members – a nearly 400% growth since 2015.
• We just hosted one of the largest Conferences in IBBA history, packing 2 days with workshops,
masterminds, seminars and networking, and with exceptional satisfaction reviews. The Conference
truly is the largest gathering of top Business Brokers in the world!
• 80 students took our virtual Summit courses, which not only empowers their success but also
helps elevate our entire profession by ensuring they serve clients with excellence.
• Nearly 160 awards were distributed to our largest group of Member Excellence Awards winners yet.
And if you haven’t seen it, our Awards Video is an inspiring reminder of the valuable work we all do.
• Member savings further expanded with the addition of discount programs on the DealStudio
platform and CBR production services, bringing the total annual savings potential to nearly $5,000
for our members.
• A signed International Agreement between the IBBA and the European Association, Transeo
(a 6-nation association of brokers, bankers and professional industry advisors) paving the way
for a collaboration of ideas, best practices, sharing of resources and the forming of professional
connections, which in turn will allow us to successfully collaborate and work on international buy
and sell transactions.
As members, we can continue to rely on the IBBA to provide many of the practical tools helping form
the basis for our practice which in turn will allow us to perform at our very highest level. So, what
can we look forward to in the second half of this year?
• The continued release of virtual learning opportunities, with a lineup of courses, skill webinars,
Steps to Success webinars, IWEN events and more, giving you convenient access to continuous
learning and development.
• The development of a Master’s Cohort Program providing for the next level of study for tenured
brokers. Created by and taught by industry leading, seasoned “professors,” look for details and the
launch later this year.
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
SUMMER 2022
• The launch of our business owner research initiative, the first of its kind study focused on
understanding the knowledge, beliefs and a�itudes this audience has about Business Brokers.
• The continued investment in our social media awareness campaign, which has generated more
than half a million impressions with targeted business owners already this year.
• The release of our annual Member Satisfaction Survey in August, an important channel for
us to collect your feedback on how we’re doing and for us to measure performance year to year.
Members, please take the brief survey when you receive it!
• The planning for our Spring Conference in Orlando at the Renaissance Sea World May 20-21, 2023.
We predict this event will be even BIGGER than this year’s!
At half-time, a winning coach might tell her team to believe in yourself and keep your eye on the
goal. While none of us has control over world events, what we can control is our belief in ourselves
as well-trained professionals and how professional discipline, in the form of education and
connecting with our fellow Business Brokers is, in the end, the way to win the game.
Always remember to celebrate the wins as they happen and when necessary, learn from the losses
to become an even be�er player.
See you a�er the game!
RANDY BRING
P.A. CBI, M&AMI, CMAP
Transworld Business Advisors
randy@tworld.com
Have a recent Deal Experience
that you’d like to share?
Email us at admin@ibba.org for your chance to be
featured in next quarter’s IBBA Magazine!
SUMMER 2022
Practice Transformation:
The Riches Are In The Niches
MEMBER EXCELLENCE AWARDS SPOTLIGHT
Harry Sidhu
CBI, CBB
Mission Peak Brokers, Inc.
Our 2021 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!
So there I was, champagne glass in hand, looking out at a sea of 500 friends and family members.
I had practiced my toast a million and one times and prayed that muscle memory would see me
through. Trying hard not to focus on over 1000 eyeballs looking back at me, I took a deep breath,
cleared my throat and leaned in. Words flowed, people smiled, laughter, tears, arms raised. Clink.
It was a transformative moment that will be forever cherished as we toasted my amazing daughter’s
engagement to her equally amazing fiancé. In that moment, my family went through a portal and
began anew. We transformed as a family as we collectively bid farewell to childhood and embraced
our children’s adulthood.
That exquisite moment got me thinking about the transformations we all go through as business
brokers. We transform ourselves as business brokers with every deal we negotiate. We transform
ourselves with every class we take, license pursued, certificate achieved. It is that inexpressible
motivation that organizes us to keep striving to come into our own professionally. Like spinning
concentric circles, we stand centered as brokers in an endless flow of transformation be it businesses,
clients and ourselves. Being transformation agents is truly our superpower.
The greatest transformation that I went through as a business broker was when I decided to
specialize. I started as a general broker with modest success. Eventually, however, the path for
specialization presented itself as I enjoyed success in several niches which include gas stations,
liquor/convenience stores, restaurants and SBA loans. Now, my practice is strictly focused on just
these niches and I orient all my marketing, business development and networking in these areas.
I’ve become the go-to-broker in California, particularly the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles
regions, for my niches based on my reputation and marketing reach.
A�er 16 years of business brokering, I have been blessed to have many repeat clients and fortunate to
see them grow businesses, portfolios and families. It’s an honor to be trusted by my client base and to
grow with them as we both learn from every transaction and help each other evolve and achieve.
This year I was honored again to receive the Chairman’s Circle Award and Deal Maker Award. As I
completed the paperwork to submit proof of my 2021 deals, I thought of each transformative
SUMMER 2022
journey that each of my clients went through and how I was transformed in the experience from
sharing their experience. I do not think that I would have enjoyed this success had I not specialized
in my chosen niches. Becoming an expert in my field, has opened numerous lucrative opportunities
and helped me develop professionally in ways that are directly a�ributable to becoming highly
specialized in my field.
If you are considering specializing in a niche, here are a few considerations for selecting the right niche for you.
MARKET SIZE
Whatever industry you select, make sure there is a sizable market within your geographic area. If not,
you might need to consider whether it is viable to travel out of your city, county or state to expand
your practice. I’m fortunate to live in California and broker throughout my state in all my niche areas.
MARKET GROWTH RATE
Consider whether your industry is growing. It should go without saying but you should avoid any
flat-lining or dying markets. Focus your practice on those markets that are essential businesses and
thrive in various market conditions. Research the growth rate for your niche and study the data to
help you evaluate its potential for your selection.
COMPARABLE MARKETS
As mentioned, I specialize in several niches. They all have cross-over in that they involve
understanding the intricacies of California liquor license transfers. The knowledge that I build in
one niche is transferable to the other niches. Working in several niches provide a hedge against each
other based on market conditions. Moreover, the niche areas also provide opportunities for referral
networking as many of my clients are connected to business owners in my other niches.
ACCESSIBLE CHANNELS
Consider how you can break into your niche. How will you market your services to them? I approach
my niches throughout multiple channels that include networking, digital marketing, print marketing,
etc. You will want to get your marketing list and put together a multi-channel marketing plan that
you consistently execute on daily.