Family Business Broker

Buying, selling or expanding your family business?
Get help from our family business broker!

Why consider engaging an experienced family business broker?

Buying or selling a business is generally a once in a lifetime complex transaction and we recommend using a trained, experienced business broker to facilitate the transaction.

When selling a business, a business broker can help the seller prepare the business for sale and access a larger pool of potential buyers. A business broker can survey potential buyers not only in close proximity to the business but regionally, nationally and internationally. Using a business broker will increase the number of potential buyers and therefore increase the odds that the seller will maximize the sale of his/her business.

When buying a business, a business broker can help the buyer analyze an industry and to determine the best location. Most entrepreneurs understand the three main laws governing the success of a retail business are location, location and location.

A professional business broker will help maintain the confidentiality of a pending transaction. If the pending sale of a business becomes public knowledge, that can have a negative impact on negotiations, employee morale, retention of key managers and relationships with banks, vendors and customers.

Should a family business owner make time to identify a competent business broker, even if he/she is not currently contemplating the sale of the business? Emphatically, YES!

Look at the statistics. Only about 30% of family owned business successfully transition to the second generation. Only about 12 % of family businesses successfully transition to the third generation. Only about 4% of family businesses successfully transition to the fourth generation.

Obviously selling the family business is a key strategic option –an exit strategy for the current generation of owners of the family business. Having an experienced business broker, one who is familiar with the family’s business and the family’s strategic vision for the business, simply makes a lot of sense.

It also makes sense that once a family business owner has selected their family business broker, that the business broker be introduced to the professional service providers to the family business – the accountants, lawyers and financial planners. For instance, if the owner of the family business dies or becomes incapacitated and the children are not ready or seasoned to take on the responsibility for running the business, having a business broker available to help market and sell the business is an important part of the contingency planning for the family business.

An experienced family business broker can also help a family business grow in size and profits. An experienced business broker will understand that if you are going to sell your business, the most likely pool of buyers is going to be someone who is already in the business – maybe even a competitor. Here again, the issue of confidentiality is crucial. Using a business broker, as an intermediary, will enable the seller to remain anonymous - an important gambit in the initial screening of potential buyers for motivation and money, the M&M’s of a successful business sale.

When we are helping our clients to grow and expand the size of their business, we often recommend they use a family business broker to find a similar business that may be on the market. It is an excellent way to expand the business geographically, access specialized machinery, increase raw goods inventory, and recruit key management talent and best of all – a sure-fire, low-cost customer acquisition opportunity.

How best to find a business broker?

One of the most successful national broker networks is Sunbelt Business Brokers. They are a network of independently owned and managed brokerage businesses. They have over 1300 business brokers in hundreds of offices worldwide.

Carl Grimes is the owner-broker of Sunbelt Business Advisors of Mid-America. Carl received the CBI (Certified Business Intermediary) from the International Business Brokers Association and has participated in the sale of more than 400 privately held family businesses.

When it comes to buying or selling a family business, business broker Carl Grimes is our Family Business Expert.

If you have a question about buying a business or selling your business, Carl Grimes can help. Click on the ATE FORM