Is everyone feeling lucky today?

According to one of the country’s most successful businessmen, “Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get.” (Read to the end of the newsletter to find out who he was.)

But with the luck of the GABB, you don’t have to sweat to be successful. All you have to do is sign up for our 2014 GABB Spring Conference and you will get some valuable tools to help you market and grow your business more efficiently, while at the same time earning Continuing Education Credits.

The GABB Spring Conference

will be held NEXT TUESDAY, March 25, 2014 at the Atlanta REALTORS Center from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. The conference replaces the GABB’s regular monthly meeting. Leigh Milton, Senior vice President, SBA Lending, at Resurgens Bank, is providing lunch.

Gadgets and Gizmos:

Learn about the latest cloud-based tools, mobile apps, software and other gadgets that will help you better market and manage your business.

Ramping up the Referrals:

Learn and implement a powerful referral marking plan. Examine your referral network and plan activities that will motivate referral sources to refer you.

GABB Membership for 2014 is now due.

The GABB soon will begin inactivating the memberships of those who have not paid dues for 2014, so please renew now. All business brokers should renew as BROKER members, after the GABB board eliminated the associate membership category. All others renew as AFFILIATE members. Go to the GABB website to get information on applying for membership.

Proposed Georgia Real Estate Commission Rules Changes

The Georgia Real Estate Commission is proposing two changes to the current Rules of the Commission which affect the use of the internet and the number of continuing education credits required to keep a license. All GABB broker members must have a real estate license, and GABB conferences are eligible for CE credits.

Advertising – The purpose of this change is to address the use of the Internet to advertise real property. This proposed Advertising Rule is a revision of an earlier proposed Rule sent to real estate licensees previously.

Maintaining a License – The proposal is to increase continuing education hours from 24 to 36 over a 4 year license renewal period. Also, after July 1, 2016, continuing education shall include a mandatory 3 hours on the topic of License Law.

Note: This Rule will NOT apply to those individuals known as “Grandfathered Licensees” who were actively licensed prior to January 1, 1980. Grandfathered Licensees will continue to be exempt from continuing education requirements.

The proposed Rules are available for review and comment by going to www.grec.state.ga.us and following these steps:

1. On the left-hand column, under “Quick Links”, click on “Real Estate License Law.”

2. Click on “Proposed Rule Changes.”

Then click on the link to view proposed Rule 520-1-.09 Advertising and proposed Rule 520-1-.05 Maintaining a License.

M&A Brokers No-Action Letter

Earlier this year, the SEC issued a sweeping M&A Brokers No-Action Letter clarifying and simplifying the complex, overlapping and unduly burdensome regulations that can impact buyers and sellers of privately held businesses, and the professionals who seek to assist them.

In a nutshell, unregistered brokers and intermediaries operating within the bright guidelines of the No-Action Letter can now take some added degree of comfort that the SEC very likely will not pursue action against them, regardless of the size of the transaction. We have little doubt this was influenced by our legislative successes. Unfortunately, an SEC no action letter does not prevent attorneys or courts from tangling brokers in asserting the need for registration, and it can be withdrawn by SEC at will, and further does not obligate any state from following suit in contradiction to their state securities licensing laws.

The Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors has posted the SEC letter and a response to it.

To urge support for legislation to codify this recommendation, Share this link with an urgent plea for support to the Brokers, Lenders, and other Transaction Professionals in your network to insure their clients, business owners are not put at risk in the event of an asset sale converting to a stock sale.

This site amaaonline.com will take an inquirer to a copy of the most recent SEC no action letter regarding M&A / Business Broker services dated 1/31/2014 along with the letter from the attorneys representing our profession in front of the SEC.

Excerpt from Request for No Action Letter- M&A Brokerage Activities

A long-standing issue in the area of broker-dealer regulation concerns the treatment of persons who help to facilitate the sale of operating businesses. For many years there was an open question as to whether a sale of all of or a controlling interest in a business was a securities transaction or effectively a sale of the assets of the company (and not a securities transaction). As a result, a person that is in the business of effecting the sale of operating businesses through the sale of securities generally could be viewed as falling within the meaning of the term “broker” as defined in Section 3(a)(4) of the Exchange Act. Absent an exception or exemption, that person would be required to register as a broker-dealer pursuant to Section 15(a) of that Act and become a member of a self-regulatory organization. If, however, the transaction were structured as an asset sale and did not involve the sale of securities, a person could engage in the same types of “brokering” activities without registering as a broker-dealer.

To read the letter and response, go to amaaonline.com.

Girl Scouts and GABB?

What do Girl Scouts and GABB have in common? Not a lot, except that your humble Executive Director is a Girl Scout volunteer and a freelance writer, and a story she wrote about Girl Scout dropouts was published today on the national Women’s eNews website. So, click the link and find out what this national organization founded in Savannah, Georgia, is doing to attract more girls. https://womensenews.org/story/traditions/140315/girl-scout-dropouts-want-camping-not-cookie-sales#.Uyb8p4Wa-No

Diane Loupe

You are receiving this email because you are or were a member of the GABB, or have requested to be put on our mailing list. Don’t want to hear from us any more? No problem, just email georgiabusinessbrokers@gmail.com and you will be deleted from our mailing list.

Want more information about GABB membership? Contact GABB Executive Director Diane Loupe at georgiabusinessbrokers@gmail.com or 404-374-3990. If I don’t reply within 24 hours, that means there’s a technical glitch, so please contact me again.

“Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get.” Ray Kroc, McDonald’s CEO.