GABB Ramps Up Social Media
At January’s meeting, GSU’s selling expert Christopher Lemley told us that any company that isn’t using social media for marketing is already five years behind.
Earlier this month, GABB’s Diane Loupe attended a free webinar and heard about a free social media tool called Buffer. Here’s the link: http://bufferapp.com/r/c79611
With this application, GABB was able to post more than 100 updates of interest to our members without spending much time doing it.
Here’s some content we shared:
Rating today’s business buyers. Once the decision to sell has been made, the business owner should be aware of the variety of possible business buyers. Just as small business itself has become more sophisticated, the people interested in buying them have also become more divergent and complex. The GABB blog describes some of today’s most active categories of business buyers.
Cybercrime Hitting Real Estate. Online criminals are targeting the real estate industry and stealing money from unwary buyers. Learn how to protect yourself and your customers.
How to Choose a Business Broker. BizBuySell posted the thoughts of Andrew Cagnetta, CEO of Transworld Business Advisors, one of the largest firms offering business brokerage, mergers and acquisition. He gives his perspective on what to look for when choosing a business broker.
Can Work and Love Mix? The Wall Street Journal offers advice on keeping your career and relationships intact.
Much of the content was reshared from other social media savvy business brokers. What about you? Do you have a Facebook page, a LinkedIn account, a Twitter handle, or a Google Plus page? If you do, how often do you update it? If you don’t, why not?
If you’re not following GABB, we invite you to do so now. And if you do have a social media account, send it to us so GABB can follow YOU!
Follow GABB’s Google Plus page
GABB’s Twitter handle is @GABB_Brokers
The Georgia Association of Business Brokers (GABB) maintains a website that lists hundreds of businesses and franchises for sale throughout Georgia in a variety of fields, including automotive, business services, child care, cleaning, construction, electronics equipment, fitness, flooring, floral, food, gas stations, landscaping, manufacturing, medical, shipping, restaurants, retail, security, signs, and businesses related to the internet.
For more information about GABB, email georgiabusinessbrokers@gmail.com or call 404-374-3990.
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GABB Donates Toys, Other Items to Foster Children
GABB President Greg DeFoor (left) and Board Member Jeff Merry collect toys and other items to donate to the Foster Care Support Foundation.
ROSWELL, GA – Georgia Association of Business Brokers (GABB) president Greg DeFoor delivered several bags filled with more than 50 toys, clothing items, gift cards and other supplies to the Foster Care Support Foundation (FCSF) in Roswell.
The foundation provides free clothing, infant equipment and developmental toys to thousands of children in foster and relative care throughout Georgia. The GABB, the state’s only professional association of business brokers, collected the items during their annual holiday party.
“These supplies, gift cards and toys will go a long way to helping our children during this holiday season and throughout the year.” Rachel Ewald, executive director and founder of FCSF. “Children come into foster care throughout the year with nothing to call their own and rarely have enjoyed a Christmas as our children have. The items we provide them year round help give a little bit of “normal” in an abnormal situation and provides hope that the world may be a little brighter in the near future. We appreciate all of the support we’ve received from GABB to make this happen.”
The FCSF serves basic-care foster children who reside in Georgia’s foster homes, administered by the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), and children housed by private agencies. The foundation also serves grandparents raising grandchildren and parents caring for relative’s children for a limited time. The non-profit group partners with Georgia’s DFCS for child referral, verification, foster parent recruiting, and foster parent training.
GABB members represent owners of Georgia businesses in extremely important transactions: the sale of their business. 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 and skills needed to help maintain the confidential nature of the process.
If you didn’t make it to the GABB Holiday Gala (and if you didn’t, you missed a wonderful evening and a terrific meal), you can still support the charity. The foundation operates year-round and needs just about everything, from batteries and bike helmets to shampoo and body wash for teens, to volunteer time and monetary donations. See a complete needs list here. Contact the FCSF by email or call 770-641-9591.
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Top GABB Brokers in Oct. 27 Expert Panel
A panel of some of GABB’s most active and successful members highlighted the Oct. 27 GABB meeting. The panelists discussed issues that came up during or after due diligence that created a potential problem in getting the deal closed and how those issues were resolved. GABB President Greg DeFoor moderated the panel. Listen to a recording of the panel discussion here.
Panelists were:
Jeff Merry who has been GABB’s top producer in eight previous years, has been a part of the Million Dollar Club since its inception in 1999, and was honored with the GABB’s Phoenix Award denoting an individual who has earned Million Dollar Club status for 10 years. Jeff, owner and founder of the BUSINESS HOUSE, inc. of Gainesville, is a member of the International Association of Business Brokers. For more than two decades, his firm has specialized in serving the manufacturing, distribution, veterinary and medical industries. As a Business Intermediary, Certified Exit Planner and Consultant, Mr. Merry has been involved in more than 300 mergers and acquisitions that have ranged in acquisition price from $60,000 to more than $15 million. He has been an adjunct instructor for the MBA program at North Georgia College. Mr. Merry holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Mercer University, a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Illinois Edwardsville, and a Juris Doctorate from Atlanta Law School.
Kathryne Pusch, 
President of ConsultKAP, is a seasoned professional consultant and broker. She began her career consulting for a large international consulting firm in 1979. Since then, she has worked successfully within the framework of large corporations, and small enterprise, across a broad range of industries, private and public sector. Ms. Pusch has owned and managed two small businesses herself, in addition to her successful business enhancement, transitions, and brokerage practice. Her consulting work focuses primarily on preparing businesses for a successful sale, and exit and transition planning for owners. ConsultKAP intermediary services focus on helping individuals and companies who want to sell or acquire a business to do so with the greatest likelihood of success, as defined by the achievement of their unique objectives. Kathryne is the 2003 past President of GABB. She has a BS in Marketing and Marketing Research and an MBA. She serves on the Executive Advisory Network of the DBM International Center for Executive Options, is a published author, and a licensed Georgia real estate instructor.
Yasmine Jandali, 
owner and Managing Broker at Starwood Business Group, is the secretary of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers. Ms. Jandali founded Starwood Business Group in order to provide a boutique brokerage firm for clients seeking personalized service and specialized attention. As a certified Master Business Intermediary, she provides professional business intermediary services to both business sellers and buyers, including high-level business valuation services to business sellers. She has worked as a foreign exchange analyst at Wells Fargo, a marketing specialist at the Bank of America Corporation, vice president of Jandali Enterprises, Inc., and was managing broker and managing director of VR Business Brokers Mergers and Acquisitions. She has a B.A. in Business Administration Marketing from the McColl School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte, and also studied management at The Belk College of Business at University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Eric Gagnon, 
former GABB president, became a Business Broker in 2001 after a successful career in the financial services industry for Bank of America, Bank of New York and KPMG. He founded We Sell Restaurants in the Atlanta marketplace. Mr. Gagnon is also a multi-year recipient of the GABB Million-Dollar Club recognition. Mr. Gagnon is a graduate of Francis Marion University and the University of Montreal. A frequent speaker and writer about the restaurant brokerage industry, he is co-author of the recently released book on restaurant brokerage, “Appetite for Acquisition.” Mr. Gagnon has been designated a Business Industry Expert by Business Brokerage Press and is a member of the International Business Brokers Association. He is a member of the Business Brokers of Florida (BBF), and is the preferred broker for Georgia Restaurant Consulting Group. Eric is a licensed Broker in both Georgia and Florida.
The meeting was held at 10:30 a.m. at the South Terraces Conference Center. The South Terraces Conference Center is at 115 Perimeter Center Place, Atlanta. Contact Diane Loupe at 404-374-3990 or diane@gabb.org for more information, or visit the GABB webpage.
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