The Brokers Roundtable℠
10 April 2023: The Brokers Roundtable℠
“The Brokers Roundtable℠” Well, what in the heck is that?
Those of you with whom we’ve spoken personally – and certainly everyone who has taken our Course – has heard us talk about The Brokers Roundtable℠. The short definition is that it’s a community of professional business brokers, for professional business brokers; as well as for those that support our profession and those that want to join us.
For more than six years now, this blog has been geared to sharing with business brokers and business owners the nitty gritty aspects – tips, advice, strategies, forecasts and more – of valuing and selling businesses. During that time, we’ve found that we’re also serving business buyers, real estate agents (thank God!), association executives, private equity group managers and others from around the world interested in what we do and in business in general. Our network of brokers – licensed and affiliated – has expanded through seven countries.
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We offer a comprehensive coaching program – both group coaching in our Brokers’ Roundtable℠ community as well as one-on-one coaching – tailored to Realtors, business owners, buyers and anyone interested in valuing, buying or selling a business.
If you’d like to learn more, email me at jo*@Wo*******************.com
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The Brokers Roundtable℠ is a continuation of that work; our efforts to be of service to our brokers and others in our industry.
We’ve been working on The Brokers Roundtable℠ – at least conceptually – for a long time. It’s been on the list of “things to get done” for several years. It’s been occasionally mentioned in a FAWU – our Friday Afternoon Wrap Up – as well as in some of our Course materials.
About a year ago, we decided it was time. Judging by the traffic to our website, our market was ready. Judging by the number of Realtors that have reached out to us for help, real estate agents were ready. Our network of brokers was certainly ready. And judging from the feedback we’ve received from our audience – you worthies – you were ready.
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Our course, “Learn How to Value and SUCCESSFULLY Sell Businesses“, teaches you how to accurately value and successfully sell businesses.
It’s time to light the fuse; The curtain rises on the 27th of this month.
What it Is and What Membership Provides
The Brokers Roundtable℠ is a community of talent; a hub for the professionals involved in the transfer of business ownership.
Business owners considering selling have to know what their business is worth and how to price it relative to that worth. Price it too low and money is left on the table. Price it too high and it’ll never sell. Business valuations are a constant need and valuation experts and appraisers are members.
Buyers need financing. The Brokers Roundtable℠ includes business acquisition lenders as members.
The Brokers Roundtable℠ provides nearly unlimited interaction among brokers, sellers and buyers. Brokers can collaborate. It provides sellers an opportunity to easily interview multiple brokers.
For sellers, buyers and business brokers, it provides access to experts on valuing businesses. Of at least equal importance, membership in The Brokers Roundtable℠ opens the door to acquisition financing.
For real estate agents who understand the significant competitive advantage knowing how to value and sell businesses gives them, membership in The Brokers Roundtable℠ gives them access to professional business brokers, their knowledge, the courses and all the supporting professionals that will allow them to stand apart from their peers.
From our weekly Office Hours, Tuesday Tidbits and monthly Live Stream interviews, to our library of recorded FAWUs and our 1:1 and group coaching programs, resources abound.
Our first three Live Streams – live interviews that any member can attend and participate in – are with Greg Brinson with California-based CapLinked, a provider of virtual data room services; Virginia-based Roland Davis of Davis Business Appraisers; and Alex Goss of Live Oak Bank, a national provider of acquisition financing specializing in SBA-guaranteed loans.
Who It’s For
The Brokers Roundtable℠ is really for anyone interested in any aspect of the process of transferring a business from one owner to another. But it’s also for the people that provide services to us and our industry.
- Business Brokers: No two deals are alike. Each has its own challenges and complications. The popularity of our Friday Afternoon Wrap
Up – a weekly feature we began in 2009 at the request of one of our licensees who wanted to discuss the status of his deals and questions that arose in his practice – suggested that brokers would rather not work in a vacuum. They wanted to talk things over with other brokers. We now invite anyone who has taken our flagship Course – anyone in our network – to join us online for a live Q&A discussion every Friday.
- Business Owners: We’ve learned that an informed, educated business owner is far more savvy with when it comes time to sell than one who thinks selling a business is just like selling a house. And smart business owners want to have a good idea what their business is worth at any given point, if only to be properly prepared should someone – like us! – show up and say, “We have someone who wants to buy your business“.
- Association Executives: Our tagline – “Every Business That Doesn’t Fail Will Be Sold… Every One!“℠ – is an inevitability executives of business-related associations often don’t realize. But every one of their members – business owners – will eventually need the services of someone who knows how to value and sell businesses. Having one of the association’s executives trained to be able to offer valuation and brokerage services is a major benefit to be offered to the association’s members and can generate handsome returns to the association itself.
Up – a weekly feature we began in 2009 at the request of one of our licensees who wanted to discuss the status of his deals and questions that arose in his practice – suggested that brokers would rather not work in a vacuum. They wanted to talk things over with other brokers. We now invite anyone who has taken our flagship Course – anyone in our network – to join us online for a live Q&A discussion every Friday.- Real Estate Agents: Real estate agents understand the concept of listing and selling. But based on our decades of
experience, what they don’t know is how to value, package and sell businesses. Unfortunately, this has not kept many of them from trying – to the detriment of their client. The Silver Tsunami – the thousands of businesses coming to market over the next decade as Baby Boomers retire – will require far more knowledgeable brokers than we currently have. Realtors are the most logical professionals to fill this gap.
- Business Buyers: From private equity investors, family offices and roll-up specialists to immigrants hoping to invest their money safely and even a couple of friends pooling their resources to leave the corporate treadmill, buyers need all the same talents as sellers.
- Our Suppliers: From business valuation experts and virtual data room providers to business accountants, attorneys and lenders that cater to businesses, numerous professionals are involved in almost every deal.
experience, what they don’t know is how to value, package and sell businesses. Unfortunately, this has not kept many of them from trying – to the detriment of their client. The The overriding purpose of The Brokers Roundtable℠ is to bring the talent and resources needed for business transitions together in one central hub; to provide to every member the opportunity to interact directly with other professionals with the objective of making deals happen faster and with less frustration.
The Bottom Line
On a personal note, The Brokers Roundtable℠ has been a passion of mine for some time.
The process of selling or buying a business is complex, tedious and time consuming. For the seller, with the possible exception of their marriage and the birth of their children, selling their business is most likely to be the most significant event in their life. It was for me when I sold mine in the mid ’90s.
The same can be said of the buyer – both when they buy and in five, 10 or 15 years when they sell.
Many of you know that when I founded Worldwide Business Brokers more than 20 years ago, the catalyst was my experience selling an earlier business that wasn’t for sale and my subsequent and wholly frustrating and unpleasant experience trying to buy another. The training we provide and the performance of our brokers is informed by those experiences and with The Brokers Roundtable℠ we continue to strive to instill our industry with the highest levels of professionalism.
For professional business brokers – the people that help both parties realize significant life goals – the satisfaction of closing a deal is hard to put into words; and that comes from a guy who has been in real estate on one level or another for 30 years. – and business brokering for more than 20.
We’re limiting the initial launch of The Brokers Roundtable℠ to 100 members. If you have any interest in joining, you can get some additional information and your name on the wait list here.
I’d like to hear from you. What topics would you like me to cover? How can we tailor these posts to be more useful to you and your business. Let me know in the comments box, below, or email me at jo*@Wo*******************.com.
If you have any questions or comments on this topic – or any topic related to business – I’d like to hear from you. Put them in the comments box below. Start the conversation and I’ll get back to you with answers or my own comments. If I get enough on one topic, I’ll address them in a future post or podcast.
I’ll be back with you again next Monday. In the meantime, I hope you have a safe and profitable week.
Joe
Searching For…
We’ve been contacted by a U.S.-based private equity firm looking for opportunities to acquire business with recurring-revenue models in B2B software, tech services and compliance services anywhere in North America with a minimum of $1 million in EBITDA.
If any of you know of something that might fit, please let me know.
#business #businessacquisition #sellabusiness #becomeabusinessbroker #businessbrokering #businessvaluation #MergersandAcquisitions #buyabusiness #sellabusiness #realtor #realestateagents
The author is the founder, in 2001, of Worldwide Business Brokers and holds a certification from the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) as a Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) of which there are fewer than 500 in the world. He can be reached at jo*@Wo*******************.com