Million Dollar Club Applications Due Nov. 10
The GABB is now accepting applications for the 2020 Million Dollar Club, recognizing members who have sold businesses worth at least $1 million in the previous year. The deadline for submitting applications is Nov. 10, 2020.
Awardees will be honored at the annual GABB Holiday Gala on Dec. 10 from 7-9 p.m. at Hyatt Regency Atlanta Perimeter at Villa Christina. Those who prefer not to attend will be able to visit via ZOOM.
GABB members are eligible for the:
- Million Dollar Club if they have eligible sales from Nov. 1, 2019 to Oct. 31, 2020 of $1,000,000 to $1,999,999.
- Multi-Million Dollar Club members will have eligible sales generated totaling $2,000,000 or more during the same period.
- Life Members of the Million Dollar Club have been elected to the Million Dollar Club for three consecutive years or any 5 years.
- Phoenix Award Member is anyone who has been elected to the Million Dollar Club for any 10 years.
- Silver Phoenix honors a person who has been elected to the Million Dollar Club for any 25 years.
To be eligible for the award, an applicant must be a current member in good standing of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers and only transactions closed after the effective date of membership in GABB will count as Million Dollar Club volume. All Million Dollar Club members must have attended at least three GABB events during the eligible period, such as meetings, conferences, or social events.
The online application, along with detailed rules about the club, can be found at the GABB website.
GABB-Million-Dollar-Club-Rules-REVISED
Brokers may fill out the online application below, or the the attached document, highlighted below in blue.
GABB Million Dollar Club Application in WORD 2020
Or
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Business Buying Scams to Avoid
By Linda Collett, J.D., GABB Affiliate1. They want you to hold money in your escrow account (usually a large dollar amount so the deal is attractive). The risk is that the deal or client requires you to transfer some or all of the money out of your account before you bank has time to verify the funds are legit and can cover the transfer. This actually happened to a Georgia attorney awhile back and it was in the AJC. Talk about bad publicity for the attorney who got suckered; he was very embarrassed.
2. The transaction involves an overseas or out-of-state company wanting to do a deal with either an individual or a business in located Georgia, and they need a Georgia attorney or other professional to represent them.
Why You Should Hire a Business Broker to Sell your Business
By Peter SiegelWhen the owner of a convenience store, bakery, restaurant, janitorial service company or other small Georgia business is ready to retire, it usually is a good idea to hire a business broker to sell business assets. Thats because the sale will be part of a package that includes goodwill also called going business value, according to Peter Siegel, MBA, the Founder & Senior Advisor at BizBen.com, a major website for the sale of California businesses.
Sure, the seller MAY be able to find a buyer and sell without professional help, but because there are so many challenging problems associated with business transfers, it usually is smart to engage a business sales intermediary to launch the campaign and then manage a transaction, Siegel advises.
Even though a hefty fee has to be paid for that service, it’s almost always better to have the intermediary do the work.
The fee can total more than ten percent of the selling price. That seems very costly for many sellers. And they often fear they’ll lose control of a deal if a third party is involved. But for at least seven reasons, most sellers should not trust themselves to handle the sale. Instead, they’re smart to sign a listing with a competent business sales expert. Those seven benefits are:
1. Larger Market of Potential Buyers: Because professional business brokers are in touch with many motivated buyers who are financially qualified, brokers will have a bigger market of potential purchasers to draw from than will most business owners.
2. Handling Unqualified Buyers: Not having to deal with people who are curious about the business, but may not be financially able to buy it, or qualified to run it. Business brokers specialize in making sure the people introduced to your company have some interest and the financial ability to follow up with that interest.
3. Confidentiality. When a seller hires a broker to sell business assets, the professional will know how to keep the intended sale a secret. It usually is important that employees and customers of a business don’t know that it is for sale. The DIY (do it yourself) seller may struggle to maintain confidentiality when responding to buyer inquiries and scheduling showings.
4. Emotional Detachment. The business sales intermediary, as a third party, is usually in a better position to negotiate a deal between a seller and the buyer, than is one of the principals in the deal. Most business owners have an emotional attachment to their business and selling the business can often be a traumatic experience. The business broker can bring an objective perspective to the process and help the seller see the business from the viewpoint of a buyer, resulting in a more realistic understanding of the financial and economic factors being considered by the buyer. Furthermore, it is critical that the business owner not “slack off;” the business must continue to thrive until the sale transaction is complete – because nothing is final until the final closing of escrow. Therefore, the seller should spend as little time as possible on selling the business and as much as possible on running the business to maximize the selling price.
5. Problem-Solving Experience. Professional business brokers know how to overcome problems in selling a Georgia business. The seller, having little experience in deal making, will be less prepared and equipped to recognize and solve deal-killing problems than someone who has been doing this for a while, and earning a living at it.
6. Access to Financing. Finding small business purchase financing has become more difficult in the past few years following the mortgage meltdown and the banking crisis. Unless a business owner knows lenders who cater to that market, such as financial institutions offering SBA loan programs, it’s likely to be very difficult to know how to help a buyer who wants to borrow some of the cash for a down payment and/or working capital. GABB includes lenders who specialize in business acquisition loans and are often able to save a transactions that won’t work unless the buyer can arrange for funding assistance.
7. Higher Selling Price. A good business broker can present the business in an appealing way in order to get a buyer to pay the price desired by the seller. Or at least, close to that price. Not knowing how to manage competitive bidding to increase offering prices, the seller won’t be able to accomplish that objective. Owners who’ve hired agents to sell business offerings often get a higher price than if they’d negotiated for themselves. The difference often is enough to cover the sales commission.
Business owners sometimes think they should take on the campaign of selling their businesses as a do-it-yourself project. But because they usually don’t have the skill, objectivity or experience of a capable business sales intermediary, they usually improve the chances of successfully closing a deal at a desirable price when they hire a professional to manage the process.
About This Contributor: Peter Siegel, MBA is the Founder & Senior Advisor (ProBuy & ProSell Programs) at BizBen.com (established 1994, 8000+ CA businesses for sale, 500 new & refreshed postings/posts daily) works with business buyers, owners/sellers, brokers, agents, investors, & advisors). Reach him direct at 866-270-6278 or 888-212-4747 to discuss strategies regarding buying, selling, (or financing a puchase of) California businesses.
Creating Positive Word-of-Mouth For Your Business
Marjorie Young, public relations consultant and founder of Carriage Trade Public Relations® Inc.
Did you know that 74% of consumers cite “word-of-mouth” as a key influence in their decision making? But most businesses leave so much good news on the table!
Marjorie Young, an experienced public relations consultant and founder of Carriage Trade Public Relations® Inc., will shared her ideas about creating positive word-of-mouth on Jan. 22, 2019 to the Georgia Association of Business Brokers. The GABB meeting was sponsored by GABB affiliate and attorney Shannan Collier Stalvey, Esq.
View a partial video of her presentation here.
Download a copy of her powerpoint presentation here, including a checklist for creating a year-long Public Relations plan for your business.
Five Strategies to Boost Positive Word of Mouth
Young discussed how small businesses can build a positive reputation simply by leveraging the great content that already exists in your business and in your marketing. Young founded Carriage Trade Public Relations® Inc. in 1995. Her firm creates positive word-of-mouth for businesses in the community and online by using reputation management strategies. She also does Crisis PR consulting and audits.
In 2017 the Savannah Chamber named Young Small Business Advocate of the Year. She currently sits on the Savannah Rotary, and Hospice Savannah board of directors. She is an avid hiker and walked Spain’s 500-mile Camino de Santiago in 2016.
The GABB is an organization of professionals who work with owners of Georgia businesses in important and complicated transactions: the sale of their businesses. GABB members help owners determine the asking price of their business, create marketing plans and strategies for selling their business, identify and qualify buyers, and have the knowledge, experience and skills needed to help maintain the confidential nature of the process. GABB members relentlessly pursue professional development so they can provide superior, ethical services for all customers and clients.
For more information on GABB, contact Diane Loupe at 404-374-3990 or georgiabusinessbrokers@gmail.com or Dean Burnette at dean@b3brokers.com or 912-247-3209.
Read MoreGeorgia Business Brokers Support Foster Children
GABB members donated toys and other goods to support foster children. From left, Mark and Rachel Ewald of the Foster Care Support Foundation, 2018 GABB President Mike Ramatowski and 2019 GABB Secretary Nick Modares. Photo by Roger Easley.
The Georgia Association of Business Brokers donated a carload of toys, diapers and other goods and money to the Foster Care Support Foundation at the GABB’s recent holiday dinner.
FCSF serves a vital and growing need throughout Georgia by providing free clothing, infant equipment and developmental toys to thousands of children in foster and relative care.
The foundation serves basic-care (costs reimbursed less than $25 per day) foster children residing in Georgia’s foster homes, administered by the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) and children housed by private agencies. They also serve grandparents raising grandchildren and parents caring for relative’s children for a limited time. The Foster Care Support Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization.
You can help the foster children of Georgia in many ways:
- Donate time by volunteering with us or become a mentor.
- Donate goods for the children or other items that we can sell.
- Donate funds to help with our operating expenses.
The foundation often needs specific items to fill shortages.
They take donations Tuesdays through Saturdays between 10am and 3pm.
Items taken are processed to provide the goods needed to give to the children.
Items not usually taken by foster parents or not child friendly are processed and go to their resale shop to help raise funds for the program.
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