Marketing

GABB Class: Securing and Managing Listings, Aug. 17

Whether you’re new to the profession of buying and selling businesses, or have limited experience as a business broker, this Aug. 17 GABB class will teach you the best practices to secure and manage listings for businesses for sale.

Matt Wochele, CBI

Securing and Managing Business-for-Sale Listings (GREC#73352)  will also help you when you’re selling someone else’s listing, review marketing strategies, cover ethical issues, help you analyze the financials of businesses for sale, and teach you how to guide a client through meetings with prospective buyers, negotiations, financing and closing.  The class will be taught by GABB’s Vice President Matt Wochele, CBI,  founder of Preferred Business Brokers, Inc. and a Life Member of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers’ Multi- Million Dollar Club.

This class is part of the GABB’s Board-Certified Broker credential program. Students who successfully attend all three hours of the class and pass the test will be eligible for credit through the Georgia Real Estate Commission. The class will be held both in person and online via Zoom, although the instructor is urging students to attend the class in person.

To encourage students to attend the class in person, the GABB will offer attendees several prizes including a one-year membership to the GABB and Starbucks giftcards. Only students who attend the class in person are eligible for these incentives.

The class (GREC #73352) will be held from 10:00 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the classroom of the Georgia Association of Realtors at 6065 Barfield Rd, Sandy Springs, GA 30328. Per GREC rules, students who arrive promptly and stay for the entire class are eligible to earn three hours of continuing education credit through the Georgia Real Estate Commission and the GABB’s Real Estate School, GREC #8074. Students who prefer to attend via Zoom must remain on camera; the link will be sent after you register.

The class fee is $49 for GABB members, $75 for non-members, and $225 to register for the BCB program and one class. Note that the BCB program is only open to GABB members. Contact GABB Executive Director Diane Loupe at diane.loupe@gabb.org or text her at 770-744-3639 for more information.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:

After attending Bucknell University and St Joe’s University Matt Wochele started his professional career as a stockbroker in NJ in 1978. In 1981 he was transferred to Atlanta to head up the firm’s investment banking business in their Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Houston offices. After 18 years working with public companies, Mr. Wochele started Preferred Business Brokers, Inc. in 1996. He has sold more than 300 main street and lower middle market businesses in the past 25 years.  Mr. Wochele is a Certified Business Intermediary, a Life Member of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers’ Multi- Million Dollar Club, a GABB Phoenix Award recipient, a member of the International Business Brokers Association and is currently serving as Vice President of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers’ board.

GABB Class: Business Broker Models, July 13

Business brokers will learn how to set up their practice, identify and define their market, identify clients, conduct feasibility studies; recruit, supervise and train staff, and the ethics of different broker models, in this July 13 class presented by the Georgia Association of Business Brokers.

Business Broker Models will be offered both in person and via Zoom on July 13, and is part of the GABB’s Board-Certified Broker credential program. Students who successfully attend all three hours of the class and pass the test will be eligible for credit through the Georgia Real Estate Commission.

The class will be taught by former GABB president Michael Ramatowski, CBI, chief executive of RamBizGroup Business Solutions, a specialty M&A business brokerage firm. Mr. Ramatowski’s business brokerage profession began in 1992. 

Michael Ramatowski, CBI

Mr. Ramatoswki’s clients include general brokerage and candidates for merger by acquisition from manufacturing, distribution, and service businesses. A longtime member of the GABB, he has owned and managed businesses that included a real estate master franchise, a property management networking company, and a service business. As COO of a banking conglomerate, he managed brokerage operations, title companies, home and service warranty programs, and a relocation company. Mr. Ramatowski has served on the board of directors of eleven different organizations with diverse specialties including real estate brokerage, mortgage companies, title insurance, banking, health care, and office supply operations. He served as an Electronic Specialist in the U.S. Navy Submarine Service. He attended Cleveland State University and Baldwin Wallace College. He has been awarded the Certified Business Intermediary professional designation by the International Business Brokers Association.

The class (GREC #73239) will be held from 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at the classroom of the Georgia Association of Realtors at 6065 Barfield Rd, Sandy Springs, GA 30328. Per GREC rules, students who arrive promptly and stay for the entire class are eligible to earn three hours of continuing education credit through the Georgia Real Estate Commission and the GABB’s Real Estate School, GREC #8074. Students who prefer to attend via Zoom must remain on camera; the link will be sent after you register.

The class will cover the sole proprietorship and enterprise business models of business brokering; market analysis; defining business buyer and seller clients; defining business types; and defining the overall market. Students will learn how to conduct a feasibility students of the financial health of a prospective business to be sold, including examining the income statement, as well as identifying areas where the prospective business could build wealth. In the final hour of the class, Mr. Rawatoswki will teach students how to conduct a feasibility study of the financial health of a prospective business to be sold, including examining the income statement, as well as identifying areas where the prospective business could build wealth.

The class fee is $49 for GABB members, $75 for non-members, and $225 to register for the BCB program and one class. Note that the BCB program is only open to GABB members. Contact GABB Executive Director Diane Loupe at diane.loupe@gabb.org or text her at 770-744-3639 for more information.

Buying and Selling Businesses in a Pandemic: GABB Feb. 23

Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic in 2020, many Georgia business brokers continued to sell more than a million dollars worth of businesses. GABB board member Tanya Nebo and six members of the GABB Million Dollar Club offered a wide variety of advice on Tuesday, Feb. 23, during a panel discussion of how to buy and sell businesses during a pandemic.

To view their comments on how they prospered in 2020, watch this video posted on GABB’s new YouTube channel.

Among the 2020 members of the GABB’s Million Dollar Club who will be on hand on Feb. 23 are Jefffery Merry, senior business analyst at the BUSINESS HOUSE, inc.;  J. Snypp, Vice President of Preferred Business Brokers, Inc.; Matt Wochele, founder of Preferred Business Brokers, Inc.; Rob Margeton, an M&A Intermediary with Ryco Advisors, LLC; Brian Judson, a business broker with Best Business Brokers; and Jon Roman, business intermediary, franchise consultant and developer at Transworld Business Advisors.

Ms. Nebo is both a business broker and an attorney. Her law practice, real estate agent and business brokerage services focus on commercial real estate, franchising and general business matters (including joint ventures and equity participation models). She is a graduate of Columbia University in New York and the University of Virginia School of Law.

The GABB is the state’s premier association of professionals who help in the purchase and sale of businesses. GABB is committed to promoting professionalism, education and high ethical standards in the profession of business brokering.

For more information, contact GABB President Judy Mims at 404-842-1997 or judy@childcare.properties, or Ms. Loupe at diane.loupe@gabb.org or 770-744-3639.

Why Businesses Get Into Trouble

No two companies are quite alike, and this also means that there are many reasons why companies can fall into trouble.  While the number of variables involved in operating a company are practically endless, there are a handful of reasons why companies can fall on hard times.  Let’s take a closer look.

Lacking Focus

Companies that lack focus can often run into considerable trouble.  Not understanding their customers and what they need or want can lead to endless problems.  It is vital that companies frequently stop and assess who their customers are and whether or not they are properly servicing their needs.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

Management Problems

Not too surprisingly, many companies can run into trouble because of poor management.  Management problems are not one-dimensional, but instead take a variety of shapes.  Management that isn’t focused, is incompetent, or simply doesn’t care about the business can translate into a business’s premature death. 

Under the umbrella of “management problems” also falls such missteps as poor financial controls, quality control problems, operational issues, and/or not keeping up with technological advancements.  At the end of the day, many of the problems on our list have at least some management issue missteps at their heart.

Loss of Key Employees or Clients

The loss of a key employee or a key client can spell serious trouble.  Of course, no management team can predict every eventuality.  However, when there is a loss of a key employee or client, and there is no plan for replacement, then management does shoulder at least some of the blame.  The savviest companies take steps to ensure that there are ways to replace the most important employees and clients.

Failure to Compete 

More than one business has been buried by the competition or failure to see a new wave of competition coming.  For example, countless mom and pop video rental stores were absolutely bludgeoned by the introduction of Blockbuster Video a generation ago. 

While it is true that sometimes market forces are so aligned against a business that survival is almost impossible, that is normally not the case for most businesses on a year-to-year basis.  The most effective and competent management can see the competition out on the horizon.  Or at bare minimum, they have an emergency plan in the event that the competition becomes more intense.

All too often by the time a business realizes that it is in trouble, it is already too late.  If the problems can’t be fixed, then it may be time to consider selling the business.  But such decisions must be made quickly in order to prevent additional bloodletting.

Optimally, a business is sold while it is doing well.  Regardless of whether a business is thriving or experiencing difficulties, a business broker or M&A advisor can be an invaluable ally in helping a business reach its full potential.

Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.

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