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WBENC 2022: Randy Brown with Emory University

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GWBC Radio
WBENC 2022: Randy Brown with Emory University
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Randy-Brown-GWBC-WBENC-National-ConferenceRandy Brown, Emory University

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from WBENC’s National Conference 2022 at the Georgia World Congress Center. We’re inside the booth of GWBC, and that’s booth 1812 if you want to come by and see us. Right now, we have Randy Brown with Emory University Manager, Supplier Diversity Program. Welcome, Randy.

Randy Brown: [00:00:37] Thanks. I appreciate it. Looking forward to the conversation.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:39] Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re doing at Emory. Talk about the Supplier Diversity Program over there. How are you serving folks?

Randy Brown: [00:00:47] Well, first of all, Emory is listed as the largest employer in the metro area for the last two years. We’re the largest healthcare in the metro area. Prior to the pandemic, our economic impact was 14.8 billion, including health care.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:00] Starts adding up to real money, right, after a while?

Randy Brown: [00:01:03] Yeah. Well, that’s the economic impact, not spend. The thing for us is that we spent the last couple of years, about 20-plus years, focused mostly on our government contracts that we get from NIH, and research contracts, and also CDC. We have about $2 billion in research contracts. Bringing me on in 2020, December 2020, my current boss, Scott Schachter, and our CPO, Kevin Nash, and then our VP of Finance, Debbie Mowry, wanted to expand the program to survive diversity and inclusion.

Randy Brown: [00:01:36] So, in the first year, we were able to increase our spend exponentially. I think it’s around $10 million from me coming on and including the fact of adding more diverse vendors. One that we talk about the most is the fact of even having a diverse vendor for our sanitation that we deal with. It helps us from a sustainability standpoint and increasing visibility for Emory as well to be more inclusive within the metro area.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:04] And it’s one of those things when the enterprise-level organizations like yours come into play and start thinking about, hey, let’s see if we can engage with the more of the diverse suppliers, the impact is huge for them. Like a contract for them of 20,000, 50,000, 100,000 it’s game-changing. You can change their individual—them as an individual, their family, their community. And for you to be thinking like that and to opening kind of a wider net for folks, it must be very rewarding for you.

Randy Brown: [00:02:39] It is. I think that we look at it from a standpoint of what our mission is. Our mission is to create, teach, preserve, and apply knowledge in the service of humanity. Emory is really no more so for some of the research or the educational pieces that we do, but I talk about the fact that as we continue to do this work, we’d be in the business already of students, research, and patients, and health care. By being more inclusive and diverse vendors in the metro area, we’re able now to expand those areas, where people are going to come to Emory for those things that I just mentioned.

Randy Brown: [00:03:13] The best thing about my job is the fact of seeing businesses that mature as they grow. Now, I’ve only been there a year-and-a-half, but however, we’ve accomplished a lot, even using for—since the pandemic, we usually have a staff fest in the spring right after graduation, hadn’t had it in two years, had it this year. The first time ever we used a certified woman-owned minority business and we sold more t-shirts that we have in the last—any staff as we have prior to me coming.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:42] Right. So, the impact is real. Like this is not kind of this hypothetical, I wish this could happen. This is something you’re seeing it happen. You’re seeing the results, and then the impact you’re making is real. Now, as you’re moving forward, why why was it important to partner with GWBC?

Randy Brown: [00:03:58] Well, previously, Emory was members of the Georgia Supplier Development Council, but I felt that expanding our reach into other areas and other councils. So, the first was Greater Women’s Business Council. Then, this year, we expanded the Georgia Hispanic Chamber, and then OUT Georgia. The more that we’re able to expand our reach and engagement, it allows us to get more diverse vendors in, because we can’t reach them.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:22] Right. You don’t know everybody.

Randy Brown: [00:04:23] We don’t. I try my best, though. I’ve been here a lot. But yeah, that’s basically the goal, is to try to at least be able to reach out to those that we don’t know or get the word out.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:32] So, now, if there’s somebody that wants to partner with Emory, do you have a directory? Is there a way to kind of let them know they exist and to get on your radar?

Randy Brown: [00:04:41] So, one thing I would suggest is going Google, in the sense of Emory Supplier Diversity Program. We’re revamping the site, so at some point by August, we hope to have it changed. But you can email supplier.diversity@emory.edu. Again, supplier.diversity@emory.edu. Send us your capability statement. I always ask that they include at least 2 to 3 things that they feel they can do for Emory. The reason I say that is my background originally was working with an MBE, but also worked in various other positions.

Randy Brown: [00:05:18] But from a sales standpoint, you should already know the customer you’re trying to get and you should know some information about them. You also leverage the fact of Emery’s name being a very prominent figure in the metro area. However, I also recommend to vendors that come in, don’t try to eat a whale. They assume when they see Emory, they’re like, oh, it’s huge, we’ve got the Oxford campus, our research, everything else. Focus on what you do. So, we’ve had companies that say they do light bulbs, but they do other—that’s it. Focus on the lightbulbs.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:49] Lightbulbs, right.

Randy Brown: [00:05:50] Stay in your lane.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:51] Start small, dream big.

Randy Brown: [00:05:52] And that’s it, because we understand that. And the other thing is don’t look at it as your pipeline for all your business. Focus on continuing to do it, because the advantage for us is the fact that we’re willing to increase and do this work in the last year-and-a-half. And the other piece is, as mistakes happen, things happen, we want to make sure that we are addressing that through a process so that people don’t get a bad taste in their mouth.

Randy Brown: [00:06:16] Average employee at Emory is around 15 years. We’ve got people on staff that have been there 30 years. So, you imagine them in these cycles of being used to working in the same way, some complacent maybe in the sense of, I’m doing my job, habit-forming, so we started a new acronym that we use called PREP. So, PREP is something I brought along that basically means pause, reflect, evaluate, proceed. Pause before any engagement, reflect on what you’ve done in the past, and then go ahead and evaluate it from a standpoint if there’s an opportunity for a diverse vendor or sole source.

Randy Brown: [00:06:54] We do, do a lot of scientific, so that would mean that we do. And then, the other one is proceed. We don’t want to delay the pipeline of work that needs to be done. And in our case, we’re also decentralized. Because we’re such a big university, some business units that have their own procurement department. So, I try to focus a lot of that through central procurement, but I also do a road show.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:13] Right. So, you have to go around to introduce these vendors to maybe different groups that wouldn’t have been aware, because they have their own system internally. So, now, it was great advice, I think, for folks out there that are listening when it comes to when you’re selling yourself to an enterprise level of organization, start small, do a great job, prove yourself, make everybody comfortable, learn how to work together. And then, over time, you can expand, but don’t try to rush into things and try to do 14 different things for somebody, even though that you know you could.

Randy Brown: [00:07:45] Yeah, I agree with that. I think that I look at it from a standpoint of when we bought a house that had a fireplace, it was a traditional fireplace, not a gas logs or gas starter. So, I kept having problems trying to build this fireplace—I mean, build the fire. And so, I looked it up, Googled it, and then looked on YouTube. So, look at it from a standpoint of igniting your business, right? So, in other words, when you’re doing it, do you need fuel heating air?

Randy Brown: [00:08:08] The fuel is usually the newspaper. The heat is the kindling, which is new wood, thin, and you stack it close together, and then spread it out to allow air to come in. That creates a flame. And that’s kind of how you want to look at it from the standpoint coming into Emory. The advantage is as you continue to do that, at some point, you find a log that will push you other places, because I am not that person that’s authorized to do that. All I could do is be an advocate. And so, in doing so, you know that if you put a new piece of log on to cook, it’s getting cooked.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:41] You’re not going to heat anything.

Randy Brown: [00:08:42] Didn’t need to heat anything.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:43] You’ll just be frustrated.

Randy Brown: [00:08:43] But it has to be something weathered. It’s been through some things. The advantages, you get someone with the wisdom that’s been at Emory that is your advocate that, now, can basically say, hey, we’re going to push this forward. And I think that’s where you develop your relationship.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:58] Right. You have to be patient and let it evolve, and you earn your way up the ladder.

Randy Brown: [00:09:02] Yeah, that’s definitely true. And the one thing I’ll say is that, also, continue to do your research on whoever you’re working with. So, if we’re not in the news, find out where you can find news about us. Use the student paper, use the Emory Report, which is our university paper, but engage with areas of Emory to try to do that. However, I will say, continue to work with the supplier diversity manager, because they are your advocate. So many times, we developed a relationship, and then months later, I’m hearing, oh, well, we’re having a problem, I wasn’t on the email, I didn’t know about it.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:39] Right. You couldn’t help.

Randy Brown: [00:09:40] I couldn’t help. The other thing is having developed those processes in the background that we want to do, quarterly meetings, making sure that we’re doing what we need to do on our part, but also doing the same for the vendor.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:51] Right. The communication is important. I mean, you’ve got to check all these boxes, and that’s why you can’t fast-forward these things even though you’d like to. You just got to let it play out. It’s going to take as long as it takes. Do the best you can, earn your way up the ladder, and do a great job, and then you’ll see it evolve and you’re going to have more opportunities.

Randy Brown: [00:10:11] I think about it from the standpoint of the pandemic. The pandemic put the country on pause for about two years. However, prior to that, everything was microwaved. We’re coming out of the pandemic, now, you’re trying to accelerate that microwave, because you’re like, oh, I’ve had two years.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:26] Right. I’ve been waiting.

Randy Brown: [00:10:26] But instead of basically going back, to steal the PREP analysis, pausing, so you can basically make sure, because things have changed and evolved, technology has changed, however, the opportunities are going to be there if you’re willing to wait, but also be patient and consistent in your communication.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:43] Well, Randy, if somebody wants to learn more about the program, what’s the best way again?

Randy Brown: [00:10:46] Again, Google it. It’s under Emory Supplier Diversity, but also be able to send an email to supplier.diversity@emory.edu. And we ask that you send your capability statement. If you don’t know what that is, get with Greater Women’s Business Council, they’ll be happy with that.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:04] Right. They’ll be happy with that.

Randy Brown: [00:11:05] The other one is that you also need to make sure that you are a certified minority vendor. We definitely ask that. The other one is that as you do that, make sure you give us one or two items that you feel you can provide for Emory, but stay in a smaller-

Lee Kantor: [00:11:18] Right. The super power, the thing you do best.

Randy Brown: [00:11:22] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:22] Well, thank you again for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Randy Brown: [00:11:26] Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:27] This is Lee Kantor. We’ll be back in a few. Broadcasting live from WBENC’s 2022 National Conference inside the GWBC booth.

About WBENC

The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) is a leading non-profit organization dedicated to helping women-owned businesses thrive.WBENC-Logo

We believe diversity promotes innovation, opens doors, and creates partnerships that fuel the economy. That’s why we not only provide the most relied upon certification standard for women-owned businesses, but we also offer the tools to help them succeed.

About GWBC

The Greater Women’s Business Council (GWBC®) is at the forefront of redefining women business enterprises (WBEs). An increasing focus on supplier diversity means major corporations are viewing our WBEs as innovative, flexible and competitive solutions. The number of women-owned businesses is rising to reflect an increasingly diverse consumer base of women making a majority of buying decision for herself, her family and her business. GWBC-Logo

GWBC® has partnered with dozens of major companies who are committed to providing a sustainable foundation through our guiding principles to bring education, training and the standardization of national certification to women businesses in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

BRX Pro Tip: How to Reduce Client Churn

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Access to this series is restricted to Business RadioX® Studio Partners.

Mike Hall with Transworld Business Advisors of Raleigh

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Buy a Business Near Me
Mike Hall with Transworld Business Advisors of Raleigh
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Mike-Hall-HeadshotBWMike Hall loves connecting with business owners and hearing their stories. Being a good listener and a determined problem solver is what makes him good at what he does. He is a business broker and he helps people to buy and sell businesses.

Mike has had an entrepreneurial spark in him going back to the days of setting up lemonade stands in his parent’s front yard. He knows what it means to work hard, and take risks. He knows what it means to fail and to fail miserably, but in failing, he’s learned valuable lessons that pave the way for future success. Transworld-Business-Advisors-logo

Mike has been a business owner and knows what the world looks like from your chair. Since becoming a business broker, he has had the opportunity to be a part of listing and selling many businesses from mom and pops all the way to multi-million dollar ventures.

Regardless of the size of the business, the commitment on his part remains high. Mike will not rest until he has done his best to broker deals that his clients can look back on with pleasure.

When he isn’t connecting with clients or negotiating deals, Mike spends time working on his MBA at Longwood University. He also likes to read, exercise with his beautiful bride Patti, and travel around the United States and East Asia.

Connect with Mike on LinkedIn.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:07] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Buy a Business Near Me, brought to you by the Business Radio X Ambassador Program, helping business brokers sell more local businesses. Now here’s your host.

Stone Payton: [00:00:32] Welcome to another exciting and informative edition of Buy a Business Near Me. Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. This is going to be a marvelous show. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with Transworld Business Advisors, Mr. Mike Hall. Good afternoon, sir.

Mike Hall: [00:00:52] Well, good afternoon. It’s a pleasure to be with you today.

Stone Payton: [00:00:55] Well, we are delighted to have you on the show, man. One of the first things I wanted to ask you a little bit about is just this this whole general concept of exit planning. I’ve been running into that term a lot lately, and I know Lee and I, who owned the Business Radio X Network, I suppose at some point we should have some sort of plan for for our exit. But from your perspective, why is it so important to have an actual exit plan for your business?

Mike Hall: [00:01:32] Well, so that’s a great question. It’s a big part of what I do is educating people on this very topic is the importance of having an exit strategy. So for many people who own small businesses, their small businesses represent a huge investment of their time and money and their source of retirement. And in order for them to be able to maximize that investment, they need to have an exit strategy so that they can exit their business on their terms. Unfortunately, what we see a lot of is business owners will contact us and say, hey, look, I’ve got a health issue. I’ve got my parents live out of state and they’re in and declining health and we need to sell our business within the next 3 to 6 months. Can you help us? Well, our answer is always yes, because we want to help as many people as we can. But that’s not the ideal scenario. The ideal scenario is that I would have met with that business owner a year or two, even longer ahead of time. And we had sat down and come up with a strategy for how they were going to exit their business, what their benchmarks were, how they were going to ensure the longevity and the health of that business long after them.

Stone Payton: [00:02:55] So so in terms of time and timing, yeah, what are we looking at? How far out should we get on top of this thing is should it be one or two years or more?

Mike Hall: [00:03:06] Yeah, it could be even longer, because the fact of the matter is, if you’re a small business owner, you don’t have a crystal ball. You don’t know what life circumstances are going to hit you. And so in a sense, we use this phrase begin with the ending in mind. I use the analogy that entrepreneurs and small business owners are like someone who can build a plane and and get it off the ground and get it flying at a nice cruising altitude, but have very little, if any, training on how to land the plane. And that’s kind of what the strategy is. And that’s what I help do. I help these business owners land that plane successfully.

Stone Payton: [00:03:51] So I suspect that you’ve probably got a pretty good handle on you can probably pretty quickly when talking to someone get a get a handle on how sellable that’s a word how sellable their their business is or maybe even could be, or there’s some criteria or there’s some things you look for, some markers, some red flags, some green flags, kind of things that you’re looking for. At least get a baseline.

Mike Hall: [00:04:20] Yeah. So here’s a stat for you just to paint a realistic picture, anywhere from 60 to 70% of businesses that list never sale. And so what I’m looking for is I’m looking to get as many business owners and small businesses into that that 30 to 40% that do sell. And to get them there, there’s three criteria stone that that we really like to see. Number one, a motivated seller. In other words, they’re engaged with going through with the process and they’re going to be forthcoming with their financials and they’re going to be cooperative and helpful in the process of getting that business listed for sale. So number one and motivated seller number two, they’ve got clean books. That point cannot be overestimated because clean books, that is the rails that allow that train to leave the station. If you don’t have good, clean books that are a buyer or banker or another professional can follow very easily. It makes it very difficult to sell that business. And then the third thing is you’ve got to have that business competitively priced. So that business owner has to have a very realistic, market based understanding of what their business is worth.

Stone Payton: [00:05:43] Yes. Say more about that, because instinctively I can envision, for example, me and Lee, I mean, this is our baby, right? I can envision us feeling like this is worth maybe more than the than the market says that it’s worth, which if that’s the case. Back to your earlier point about time and timing. Okay, great. What can we do to get those two numbers closer together but that say more about this? Is valuation the right word? What this market?

Mike Hall: [00:06:17] Yeah, no. Valuation is precisely the word. In fact, normally when I engage in a conversation with the business owner who’s at least remotely interested in selling their business, that’s where we always start. Well, let me do a valuation for you. We don’t charge anything to do those. That’s our way of earning your your trust and your business. And so we we start with those valuations. Unfortunately, what we run into stone is we do a very realistic market based. We take a very realistic, market based approach to our valuations. And sometimes that means we just have to honestly tell a business owner something that they really don’t want to hear. But the fact of the matter is, so there’s no point in me giving a bloated valuation for the purpose of of enticing that business owner to list their business with me, because at some point reality is going to dawn and we’re not going to be getting buyers calling us to want to buy that business. Or if they do, they’re going to be putting in offers that are substantially lower than what it’s listed for. So we’d we’d much rather and the colleagues I work with in my office, we rather much get that valuation very grounded in the reality of where the market is so that we have those hard conversations up front.

Stone Payton: [00:07:40] So I won’t ask you to do a valuation webinar today, but like some of the high, high points they’re looking at what cash flow revenue, profits, like the number of customers, that kind of stuff I guess, right?

Mike Hall: [00:07:56] Yeah. So if I were to throw out a few key things that, that obvious attracting factors as it relates to a valuation, obviously profitability, if you’re not making any money, it’s going to be very difficult to sell your business and consistent profitability, too. That’s one issue we run into where, you know, is it something that you’ve steadily your profitability has steadily grown over time or do you see sort of a low profitability and then some kind of spike and then it goes back down again? So consistent profitability is a big, big attracting factor. If your business is the type of business that can have recurring revenue, that’s something that’s always very attractive to a buyer. And then other things like, you know, is your business the type of business that can be run with the minimal attention of the owner operator? So in other words, can it be a semi absentee business or is there management in place that the owner has to do very little? So it could almost be an absentee business. That’s obviously an attractive factor to an investor or buyer.

Stone Payton: [00:09:12] So how did you get in this business, man? What was the catalyst for you to start doing this kind of work?

Mike Hall: [00:09:18] You know, it’s interesting you ask that I actually have a background as a history teacher and so I yeah, yeah. So I did that for a number of years and I was also doing a little bit of real estate brokerage on the side. That’s how I got my teeth cut and the sort of the brokerage industry and brokerage knowledge and representation. And then a friend of mine, a lifelong friend of mine, the owner of our office, decided he wanted to open up a Transworld office in the Raleigh area. And after he did, I was very much curious as to what this was. But like many people out there, people just don’t know what business brokerage is or what business brokers do. And I was one of them and so I had a meeting with my boss. Now Balls and I just kind of started asking him a lot of questions and I was intrigued by what he was doing. But I thought, Yeah, I just don’t know if I’m going to be a good fit for this because I’m not a quote unquote salesman. And he said he said, Mike, you’ve been a teacher. You know how to educate people. You’re good with people. You’re a person of integrity. And, you know, you’ve worked in small business before. You have all the skills that are needed. I don’t need it. He’s basically said I don’t need some. He’s a salesman. I just need somebody who knows how to work with people and who wants to help people. And he said on top of that, he said, How many real estate brokers do you know in the greater Raleigh, Durham area? And I said, Well, quite a few. He said, How many business brokers do you know? And I said, one you. So that was that was pretty much the deciding factor. So then I came home and I talked to my wife about it and we both agreed that it was a good fit for me. So I’ve been at it going on four years now.

Stone Payton: [00:11:13] So let’s talk about the local market landscape and maybe you do more national work as well. But but I’m curious, is the is that Raleigh area a good place to to look to buy a business?

Mike Hall: [00:11:28] Well, you know, it’s funny you mentioned that, Carrie. The area outside of Raleigh where I live was just voted by, I believe it was MSNBC as the most prosperous place in the United States. Oh, my. Yeah. And this area has numerous accolades. Best place to start a small business. Best place to raise a family. This area is growing like gangbusters. I mean, we recently had commitments from Google and Apple to to increase their presence here. So this area is growing like crazy. And the small business climate here is is on the rise as well. So I know I’m a little bit biased, but I think the facts speak for themselves. This area is a fantastic area to start or to buy a business.

Stone Payton: [00:12:26] Now, it strikes me that if you’re if you’re selling a business, you’ve got this weird hydraulic this weird dichotomy of you want some degree of confidentiality maybe, but you also want to promote it, right? You don’t want to like I don’t know that I would want my clients to know that I was selling or maybe my employees. Can you speak to that a little bit? This, this, this. Yeah. Confidentiality, but promotion all at the same time.

Mike Hall: [00:12:56] Yeah. So there’s a little bit of sort of subtlety that a business broker has to be capable of and marketing a business because a hallmark of what we do is helping business owners to sell their businesses confidentially. And so to give you a perfect example, there’s a there’s a few things that we do in order to ensure that. So if I’m writing ad copy and I’m going to let’s say you you’ve got a restaurant selling that you wanted to sell, and it’s a fairly well known restaurant in my area. So I’m going to give a very vague description of that in the ad copy. I’m not going to name the name of the business. I might not even say if it’s a in Raleigh. I may not even say it’s in Raleigh. I may say it’s in Wake County. Oh, I may say it’s in central North Carolina if it’s very well known. The key thing is you want the concept of here’s a restaurant, and then you want to just throw out a couple of little sort of pieces of bait to catch a potential buyer. So the gross sales, the seller discretionary earnings or EBITDA, the net income essentially. And just a couple of other small things that typically is enough to attract a buyer. And then once they are attracted, they contact me. And then the first thing that I have them do is I have them sign a nondisclosure agreement. So anything that we discuss with them from that point on is just covered under that NDA. And then we kind of reveal information to them in stages to sort of keep them on the hook and keep them interested, keep them in the process. And as they make a greater commitment to the deal, whether it be an offer or whatever, that’s when they learn more and more and have more access to the business, if that makes sense.

Stone Payton: [00:14:56] It does. And I think you may have just answered this question just by virtue of your experience, based on your examples. But I’m going to ask it anyway, because I think some listeners might ask it. I mean, do I really need a broker? Can I just go out and sell it on my own?

Mike Hall: [00:15:14] So the quick answer to that is, no, you don’t need a broker. You absolutely can go out and sell a business on your own. But the problem with that is, and I just recently wrote an article about this for my website is I laid out all of the steps that you have to go through and all of the things that you have to give attention to if you’re going to sell a business. It requires a lot of time. It requires a lot of attention. And yes, you can absolutely sell your business yourself. But when you do that, you’re putting yourself at a great disadvantage because now you’ve got two jobs. Okay. Selling a business is not a part time job. It’s a full time job that requires full time attention. And if you think about it like this, let’s go back to the restaurant analogy I was just giving you. Well, let’s say that you’ve got buyers trying to contact you during the lunch lunch rush at your restaurant. Well, you can’t be taking care of your employees and your guests at your restaurant. If you’ve got people on the phone call and you’re trying to get information about the listing that you have for sale. I mean, that’s just one example of how. Yes, absolutely, you can do it. I don’t recommend it. And I know it sounds biased coming from me, but if I had a business for sale, there’s no way in the world I would try to sell it on my sell it on my own. I would want somebody to be an intermediary for me who was impartial, whose primary line of work was selling businesses. I would want to focus on keeping my business healthy and strong up until the finish and not having to take on that second role. But the short answer to your question is yes, it can be done.

Stone Payton: [00:17:03] Yeah. So so there’s all the work that you put in to helping other people sell their businesses. How does the whole sales and marketing thing work for you as a broker? Like how do you get the new business for yourself? That seems like that could be a bit of a challenge too.

Mike Hall: [00:17:21] Yeah, I mean, I think marketing is probably the greatest challenge can be the greatest challenge for any small business owner. And I just think it requires a lot of creativity and a lot of time investment. So for me, you know, there are some marketing channels that I use to help bring in new business. Sometimes it may be direct mail. I spend a lot of time networking, so I’m constantly meeting with small business owners and getting to know them and to know their needs. I have several networking groups that I’m a member of. You may have heard of an organization called BNI, so I’m a member of a local BNI group and that’s a huge source of referrals and encouragement for me. So networking is a big part of that direct mail. And then of course, I try to have an Internet presence and use social media as well.

Stone Payton: [00:18:21] And you’ve got to develop, nurture relationships on both sides of the equation. Right. Because you need you need buyers and sellers, don’t you?

Mike Hall: [00:18:32] That’s exactly right. So I’m a I am a candidate for one of the designations for our industry called Certified Business Intermediary. And that means a big part of what I do is just being an intermediary excuse me. Intermediary. I’m a go between. And so in order to be a go between, you’ve got to have something on either side. So, yes, you’re exactly right. I have to first of all, when the business of sellers and then once I win their business and they become my clients, then I have to help them to make a good case to buyers that this is a good business for them to buy.

Stone Payton: [00:19:10] Yeah. So let’s talk about deal structure for like how to finance the deal because it doesn’t always have to be straight up. I like your business. I agree with your valuation. Here’s your check. Right. It can be more creative than that, right?

Mike Hall: [00:19:25] Oh, absolutely. There’s any number of ways that deals get funded. It could be the traditional route, which is SBA funding. So if that particular business meets the criteria and credit worthiness of the buyer is there, they may be able to get SBA lending. And so that’s a perfectly normal and common way for people to buy businesses. It could be something that that business or that buyer doesn’t fit the traditional SBA model. So then you have to go for a more creative type of financing. And more, more than likely, it’s going to mean a combination of some type of banking bank financing, along with what we call seller financing. And so I always encourage my sellers to at least be open to offering part of the deal as seller financing.

Stone Payton: [00:20:26] So this kind of it kind of goes back to, yeah, you need a broker, but I envision you. I suspect you have a great deal of your own counsel on some of these matters, like due diligence and deal structure and all that. But I’m also envisioning you as kind of a almost like a quarterback, right? Like if we need to talk to investment bankers or people who can loan me money if I’m buying or even on the seller side so that we can grease the skids for the the buyer. So you must be you must cultivate and really nurture relationships with other practitioners that handle these specific aspects of a deal, huh?

Mike Hall: [00:21:07] No, that’s exactly right. So and that’s been one of the benefits to expanding my own professional network is now when someone contacts me a seller and saying, I want to sell my business, well, if I need to talk to an SBA lender, I’ve got a network of SBA lenders that I several SBA good SBA lenders. And in my network I can call if they are having some issues with their their bookkeeping. I’ve got a bookkeeper on standby and she’s ready to go to work and to help them out if it’s accounting and tax related issues. I’ve got a fantastic CPA now that’s in my network. So yes, I am quarterbacking a lot of issues because ultimately Stone, my job is to get this deal done. And so I’ve got to find creative ways to solve problems and to bring people together. It’s a huge part of what a business a business broker does. And, you know, and it’s one of the interesting aspects of what I do is just figuring out how to solve a problem and to keep that deal alive when in many cases it dies several times before we get it across the finish line.

Stone Payton: [00:22:26] Yeah, that’s you must be incredibly patient and persistent, but I can tell that you love the work, man. What are you finding the most rewarding about the work?

Mike Hall: [00:22:37] Thank you. Yeah, I do. I do enjoy it. I think a big part of it is the fact that I get to contribute to the future health of our local economy. So if you understand the nature of small business and where we are demographically, we’ve got a huge swath of baby boomer business owners that are really in need of passing the baton. And so I get I feel a sense of achievement and reward when I get to step in and help them to do that and to do it well, because that means that’s another. Of our area businesses that’s going to remain open and vital and serving our community for years to come. It’s going to provide employment for people. It’s going to help a business owner provide for his family. The new business owner provides for his family, and it’s going to provide retirement for that, that owner who’s stepping away. So I get to facilitate all of that and in a way I get to make a huge, like I said, a huge contribution, contribution to the local economy.

Stone Payton: [00:23:53] You know, I hadn’t really thought about it until you just touched on it, but I suppose there really is a what would you call it, like like a demographic trend. That’s I mean, that’s really going to this business is not going anywhere. Because what you said about the baby boomers. Right. Speak more to that, because that’s got to have a direct impact on this arena.

Mike Hall: [00:24:17] Oh, absolutely. Yeah. In fact, I did. Part of what I do for our office here in Raleigh is I have a background in research and writing, so I like to do research on topics related to the work that we do. I did a project on what we call the Silver Tsunami, which is basically a coin, a phrase coin to describe this this large exit of baby boomers from small business ownership. And so it’s roughly 27 million businesses representing anywhere from 5 to $6 billion worth of in our economy. And so this phenomenon is is so interesting because according to research in this area, only 20% of these baby boomer business owners are going to hand their business off to a family member. Roughly 18% of them are going to shutter their doors. And so that business will not exist anymore and the remainder of them will have to have somebody to help them to pass that business on and fund their retirement. And so I’m really keeping an eye on this trend and really trying to do my best to educate these baby boomer business owners. Hey, look, you have options, right? You know, even though over half of you have never had a business valuation, if statistics are correct, you have options. Let me help you understand what those options are.

Stone Payton: [00:25:54] All right. So let’s leave our listeners with a few pro tips, a few pieces of counsel. Buyers and sellers alike. I mean, one pro tip is just reach out and talk with Mike and have a conversation. But, you know, even short of that, some things that we ought to be thinking about, I don’t know if it’s something we ought to be reading or just a couple of actions we can take now so that we’re properly prepared when the time comes to buy or sell. Let’s leave him with a couple of pro tips.

Mike Hall: [00:26:20] Yeah. So one huge tip I would give our our business owners out there is don’t wait till the last minute to to come up with an exit plan. Again, over half of those business owners out there have never had a business valuation done. It doesn’t cost anything to contact me to have a business valuation done and that information can be used for you can useful be useful to you to set your benchmarks for your business. So even if you’re not ready to sell now, you can you’ve got something to aim for. You know where you are that will enable you to know where you want to go. So that’s the first thing. For buyers, I would say, hey, you know, don’t get frustrated. I know that there’s a lot more buyers out there looking for businesses than there are businesses to list for sale, but there are a lot of good businesses out there. Also, get to know brokers in your area. They can be some of the best source of information and they can also tell you things that you need to be doing to be prepared to get ahead of the game when you find a business that you want. So getting your financing in place, getting your financial statement in place, when you have to submit that to a potential landlord, if you’re going to buy a business that has a commercial lease, just little things like that that help you to be more prepared. A reputable broker is going to be able to help educate you so that you’re ready.

Stone Payton: [00:27:48] Yeah, well, I’m glad I asked. So what’s the best way if someone hears this conversation, but they’d like to get in touch with you and have a conversation with you or somebody on your team, whatever you think is appropriate email, phone, website, LinkedIn. But let’s leave them with some points of contact.

Mike Hall: [00:28:05] Yeah. So my website is very easy to remember. It’s a business broker. Raleigh R a l e business broker. Raleigh dot net. And my email address is m hall mphahlele at t WorldCom for Transworld T WorldCom. And then they can give me a call at 9194241927.

Stone Payton: [00:28:30] Well, Mike, it has been an absolute delight having you on this show, man. Thanks for coming on and sharing your story and your insights and your perspective. This has been very informative, man.

Mike Hall: [00:28:41] Well, I appreciate it, Selwyn. It’s been good to talk with you and to communicate with your listeners.

Stone Payton: [00:28:47] All right. Until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Mike Hall with Transworld, Business Advisors of Raleigh and everyone here at the Business Radio X Family saying We’ll see you next time on Buy a Business Near Me.

 

Tracy and Anthony Latronica with Ant’s Inspections

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Fearless-Formula-Ants-Inspections
Cherokee Business Radio
Tracy and Anthony Latronica with Ant's Inspections
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Fearless-Formula-bwAnt’s Inspections is owned and operated by Tracy and Anthony Latronica out of Hiram, GA. Our focus is on home inspections as well as mobile crane inspections, however we tend to think of ourselves as “Jack and Jill of all trades” and are currently serving the community with small construction projects such as fence repair, deck and porch construction, residential renovations, etc.

We met in a small town outside Austin, Tx in 2008 and, as cliché as it sounds, it was love at first sight. We immediately started making plans to move to the city where there was more opportunity for work and in 2011, we met that goal and started a new life. Anthony answered a newspaper ad that simply said “operator needed, call Mike” and just like that he entered the world of underground tunnel mining.

Over the next 10 years we followed that career path as he advanced amongst the ranks of a very uniquely skilled group of individuals, landing us here in the Atlanta area in 2016. As rewarding and amazing as that industry was, life presented us with some clear signs that it was time to stop working for “the man” and start working for ourselves. In June we both quit our jobs and took the plunge into small business ownership and have not regrated it for a single moment in the short time since.

We look forward to servicing our community while engaging with our neighbors in charitable efforts whenever we can. Our 17-year-old son designed our logos, we have a close friend currently building our website, our brother (not by blood, but by heart) has been an integral part of developing our business and now here we are sitting down with you, one of our favorite people in the world! THAT is what this is all about- working with your friends, building each other up and celebrating each other’s successes. My mentor used to say, “a rising tide lifts all boats,” and we live by that moto and hope our business exemplifies that sentiment as well.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:07] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Woodstock, Georgia. It’s time for Cherokee Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Sharon Cline: [00:00:24] And welcome to Fearless Formula on Cherokee Radio X, where we talk about the ups and downs of the business world. And I’m your host, Sharon Cline, and our guest in the studio. We actually have two guests in the studio today. It’s a husband and wife team and they are focusing on home inspections as well as mobile crane inspections. And they really think of themselves more of a Jack and Jill of all trades. And they currently serve the community with small construction projects such as fence repair and deck and porch construction. You kind of do it all. This is Tracy and Anthony Latronica. Thank you for coming on the show.

Tracy and Anthony Latronica: [00:00:59] Hi, Sharon. Thank you for doing good.

Sharon Cline: [00:01:01] Welcome. So excited to have two people this the first time I like having to so I’ll have to say like, hey Anthony, let’s answer. Although you probably know it’s Anthony as opposed to Tracy, okay, because you’re a woman and all. But you know, what I think is really great about your story is and it’s kind of different from so many different businesses that are out there right now. And I talk to a lot of different business owners, but you’re in a really unique spot at the moment because you’re just getting started with your company. Can you tell me a little bit about what it’s like to be in the infant stages of creating a whole new business?

Tracy Latronica: [00:01:34] You know, it’s been interesting because we had this instinct to make a change and start doing something for ourselves and open up a small business. And we weren’t really sure what that meant. And with Anthony’s background and his knowledge, it led us into the crane and heavy equipment sector. But as we started to develop that, the home inspections just started to organically become more and more demanded, more and more common, more and more falling into line with what we thought was going to be requested out of our community. So we are still looking to do the mobile crane inspections. He is certified and trained to do so, but the home inspections has kind of had us pivot a little bit and focus more on that as opposed to the equipment.

Sharon Cline: [00:02:20] So with the the industry, the I guess, real estate industry, the way it is right now, has that just been so much on your plate to do inspections? What is that like?

Tracy Latronica: [00:02:31] We’re not sure yet because you’re just getting started. Yeah. So we I make a joke that we’re in the nick you of the of the hospital of the of the, you know, labor and delivery. Division because we are so brand new. We just are. Llc was just established June 30th, so we’re still in the process of establishing and from what we’re hearing from friends and colleagues is there’s a high demand for it, reliable, honest inspectors that have integrity. And the realtors that we’ve spoken to and the people in the real estate community are like, Oh my gosh, if you could just be that person, that go to person. We have so much work for you.

Sharon Cline: [00:03:12] Well, that’s exciting because it feels like you’re going right into a very on demand necessary industry that for like my guest last week is is a real estate agent and we had talked after the show it just about how busy she is. I mean, it’s almost nonstop.

Tracy Latronica: [00:03:27] Yeah. Yeah, exactly. There’s more demand for it than there are people to do it. When you Google home inspections in Atlanta, Georgia. And I was just telling Anthony this today, the whole first page is how to become a home inspector, not how to find one. So the demand for them is clearly present as opposed to the amount that is saturated in the market these days. And if you look around you, I mean, look around you, there’s there’s townhouses and homes and developments and commercial commercial buildings going up everywhere.

Sharon Cline: [00:03:56] Everywhere, even downtown Woodstock. I’m sure when you saw coming in, they’ve got all of this new construction, which it’s exciting and I guess obviously it’s going to be selling if it hasn’t already sold. But it’s it’s must be encouraging to you to see so much, just even right around you.

Tracy Latronica: [00:04:10] Absolutely.

Sharon Cline: [00:04:11] So, Anthony, I wanted to talk to you a little bit about how you got started in in the crane inspection industry. I know that you had mentioned that you answered an ad that said operated operator needed call mic and it could have been anything. What kind of operator you called?

Anthony Latronica: [00:04:26] What happened? So that’s actually where my career changed. I was doing houses in both docks and and all that stuff before that and apartment maintenance, you know, all that kind of stuff. And then one day I found myself in the need of finding another job and I answered, answered that ad. Tracy pushed me to answer the wife. I had some equipment experience, so I, I went in and next thing you know, this guy is telling me, you know, there’s a he’s like, start digging this hole. And I said, How deep? He’s like, just keep digging. I’ll tell you when to stop. Next thing you know, I’m 460 feet down in the ground and going, What are we doing here? But yeah, that’s and then, you know, of course cranes are involved with that and and all that. So that’s pretty much how I ended up in the heavy equipment side of the industry. And it’s a very lucrative business. So I stayed it paid more than houses and now I find myself, you know, I guess the older you get, you don’t want to be in the physical aspect anymore. Inspections is a way to get to retirement without hurting yourself.

Sharon Cline: [00:05:34] Right. Well, you had you had become really specialized kind of in the underground tunnel mining, which I find so fascinating because I don’t know anything about that industry. What was that like?

Anthony Latronica: [00:05:47] Scary, dangerous, but fun. I mean, I learned a lot. It’s a whole different type of construction, very lucrative. And, you know, as I said, you get paid because of how dangerous it can be.

Sharon Cline: [00:06:03] So when you talk about danger, what Steve, I know this is a basic question, but like cave ins, like I’m trying to picture you and all I can picture are like black and white photos and like little kids in, like, scruffy clothes, like, back in the day. That’s what that’s what comes to mind when I think of that. But I know that’s not what it was like for you. But what.

Sharon Cline: [00:06:20] Was what was it.

Sharon Cline: [00:06:23] Like with canaries? You know, like you bring canaries down. Do you know.

Anthony Latronica: [00:06:26] That’s how it was? That’s a real thing. It’s how it was, but not when I entered the industry. Of course they have come a long way as safety wise, although people still do die on a yearly basis in the industry. I’ve been there and witnessed it firsthand with one of my guys passing away and people getting critically injured. So you have things you’re in. You can’t predict what the ground is going to do. How are you going to I can go on up up top here and tell you, hey, the ground’s going to do this if you step on it here. But how do you know what it’s going to do when you’re on the ground?

Sharon Cline: [00:06:59] Do you see that big sinkhole that just opened last week or whatever somewhere? I mean, exactly like in the middle of a road, completely unpredictable. So I can see why maybe you wouldn’t want to stay in that industry for so long. But I guess also I was thinking there are there are things that you’ve worked on here that.

Tracy Latronica: [00:07:14] I’ve it’s Like, is it at the airport? I’m trying to remember I think I heard a story or somewhere along the way that you had worked at something that I was like, Well, I go through there all the time and I never appreciated the work that you did.

Anthony Latronica: [00:07:27] So the airport is the most recent one. We extended the tunnel for the train underground to get to the terminals. Previous to that, I spent four years doing supplying Atlanta with emergency water supply. It was a five mile underground tunnel that was down in a quarry. So we basically dug the tunnel to fill the quarry with water from the Chattahoochee River, which is five miles away. So that was an interesting project as well.

Sharon Cline: [00:08:00] Yeah. And you take all of these different skills that you just learn on all kinds of different jobs wherever they take you. And then now you get to use them in a way where you can say, I really do understand how the earth settles. Right? Is that how you look at it? Kind of like this is this is what I know potentially will happen. From my.

Anthony Latronica: [00:08:17] Experience. It’s all about paying attention to detail and you learn that as you move up in the ranks, right. So if I’m leading a crew underground, I have to be very aware of the ground and what it’s doing. They don’t have to be they have to be focusing on work. It’s my job to be focused on details. And so that’s where inspection comes into play. At the same way, you know, when I go inspect a crane, I have to pay attention to every little detail because the operator, he sees that crane every day. He’s just going to be like, you know, it looks good to me. So and he might overlook something. And that’s where I come in and play. That’s why they require annual inspections on cranes. Some companies require monthly, so as well as homes. I mean, as a housing inspector, you need to have every detail in your mind and be aware of it. So that’s how it kind of plays all together.

Sharon Cline: [00:09:04] What does it feel like to be in this infancy stage? I mean, that’s what Fearless Formula is all about, is like how do you manage the feelings that must be kind of prevalent when you’re starting a business like this?

Tracy Latronica: [00:09:16] I you know, I just feel like there’s no time like the present, right?

Anthony Latronica: [00:09:20] I don’t very well manage the feelings for me.

Tracy Latronica: [00:09:23] I know for Anthony, Anthony’s the day to day. You know, he’s the day to day guy. He’s the one that’s doing the schooling, doing the inspections, putting his boots on the pavement and not more of the bigger picture aspect of the conversation. And, you know, while we’re talking, we were both unhappy with our most recent employment. And instead of looking for another job that would potentially relocate us to another city, state or even country, we’ve moved a lot with Anthony being in the mining industry. You know, a tunnel is over and then they move you to another place. And we just thought, why not? Why not try and do something? And if we were to do it, what would that be? And this was the kind of natural answer to that question. He’s been in various aspects of construction. He he surprises me every day when I witness him on these various job sites. How does somebody know how to build a fence and lay concrete and put a roof on and fix plumbing? And I mean, it’s just he just shocks me with the amount of no. And how accurately and successfully he does the work. And it’s like, how do you bundle all of that knowledge into a business that can carry us further down the road and the stress level of the mining industry is unmatched? You know, the. Danger was absolutely there, which adds to it. But it’s a very intense work environment for him and a very intense spouse environment for me, as well as it was difficult for our children moving and going through this. And how can we de-stress a little bit or focus that stress in a way that’s going to benefit us in the long run instead of having all of the stress benefits somebody else.

Sharon Cline: [00:11:13] I know I love that you guys will be working together. It’s not just your worrying or something. You actually have an active role in in this company together, both of you.

Tracy Latronica: [00:11:21] Right. And we are I mean, you’ve known us for a few years now, and we are very yin yang kind of people. And I think that that’s important in any partnership is what he’s good at. I’m not so much what I’m good at. He’s not so much. And then there’s some things that we both are good at. We both may think we know better, but for the most.

Anthony Latronica: [00:11:41] Part, create an argument.

Tracy Latronica: [00:11:43] Everyone. So a discussion. A discussion.

Sharon Cline: [00:11:45] Nice, nice way to frame it.

Tracy Latronica: [00:11:47] There’s a there’s a clear division of labor that is natural that we didn’t have to talk about. It’s like, okay, this has to happen. That’s clearly going to fall on you and this needs to happen. That’s clearly going to fall on him.

Sharon Cline: [00:11:58] So when you’re looking to start a new in a new business and an LLC, what is the first step that you take? I know there are people out here in the world listening who don’t even know where to start.

Tracy Latronica: [00:12:10] So we had some some insight from a couple of friends that had started their own business. And I’m forever grateful for that personal insight. But honestly, the Internet provides so much information and you don’t have to start an LLC. You can start a business without having that. But what we learned is the LLC allows you to differentiate between your personal life expenses, finances and the business, and that was hugely important to us. So it really was not that difficult. You Google how to start an LLC.

Anthony Latronica: [00:12:44] Maybe for you, we didn’t start out where we were going to plan that. You were going to be doing this with me. It was like, Hey, we’re going to I’m going to start doing this and you’re going to do this. And then all of a sudden you started taking up all this, all my my likings.

Sharon Cline: [00:12:56] And it’s nice.

Sharon Cline: [00:12:58] You all complement each other. Yeah. It’s a perfect partnership that way. Yeah.

Tracy Latronica: [00:13:02] And it’s crazy when you can Google the longest sentence in the world. I’m interested in starting a business in Georgia, and honestly, the wealth of knowledge that is presented to you is is overwhelming. And then you just have to hope that you’re following the right the right guidance. We’ve been given conflicting advice by some people, especially when it comes into the insurance landscape, part of the landscape of having your own business. I feel that we’re getting conflicting advice from a few people that we trust. And then you almost are like flipping a coin. You know, I I’m hoping that this is the right choice. I’m going to go with this kind of policy.

Sharon Cline: [00:13:40] I love that because that’s really what fearless formula is all about, is I have analysis, paralysis and think too hard and too long and don’t do anything and know a lot. Like, I’m not proud of it. I’m I’m trying to work through it, but I really appreciate that you don’t let the not having certitude, I guess, stop you from pursuing a dream. I mean, it’s very easy for me and I’m sure other people out there to just have have that insecurity.

Tracy Latronica: [00:14:08] And you know what I’ve learned and he can be that way a bit, too. He’ll he’ll he won’t want to make that decision until he knows for sure. And what I’ve learned is if you make a mistake 99.9% of the time, you can fix it. It may take a little bit of work, maybe a little bit of money, but if you make an error, it’s going to present itself as a as a poor choice. And then you just take the steps to fix it, and then now you’ll never make that error again.

Anthony Latronica: [00:14:31] Sometimes, if you think it over, it’s common sense. Just plays a huge role in it. Right? Right. If you go to make the just quick judgment, rather than thinking it over a little bit, you’ll end up finding out you think about it and go, Oh, you know what? This is the right way to go.

Tracy and Anthony Latronica: [00:14:45] Instinct comes into play. Yeah, yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:14:47] What do you think’s been one of the biggest challenges for you getting started?

Tracy Latronica: [00:14:52] I mean money, right? I mean, let’s let’s let’s let’s just put it out there, make.

Tracy Latronica: [00:14:57] The world go.

Tracy Latronica: [00:14:57] Round. So what’s crazy is how much time and energy is it takes putting out at this beginning phase. But you’re obviously not bringing in the revenue yet because you’re still establishing. So you have bills to pay. You still have a refrigerator to fill with very expensive groceries.

Sharon Cline: [00:15:17] I know.

Tracy Latronica: [00:15:18] And so we have those those small jobs that you were talking about earlier. You have to kind of suck it up a little bit and make money where you can and to your roots. Yeah. Don’t turn down any offer and put yourself out there and spend wisely and cut corners because you know, it does. It’s it’s time is money and it takes time to to get going. So there’s some savings depletion that’s a bit painful to watch.

Sharon Cline: [00:15:45] But but that’s that gives me a panic feeling when you say that. Yeah. Oh, no, no, no, no. Like, that’s very important to me. So that’s another thing that I’d be like, Nope, can’t do it because I can’t watch that savings.

Tracy and Anthony Latronica: [00:15:58] We just have to. That’s me too. She’s like, Calm down. We got this.

Tracy Latronica: [00:16:01] We, you know, we set a boundary, right? You know, we allow this to to go into a negative space up to a certain amount. And if we haven’t started to see the come around, which we already have, but then, then that’s when you say we tried and it didn’t work out, we drew a hard line in the sand financially and said we’re we’re willing to spend this much money to get this going. And if we’re not at least angling towards a successful business at this time, then we need to re-investigate. But luckily, so far it doesn’t seem like that’s going to be the case. Luckily, so far it seems to be. Knock on wood.

Anthony Latronica: [00:16:40] Trying not to go back to dig holes.

Tracy Latronica: [00:16:44] But you know what? If you had to.

Tracy and Anthony Latronica: [00:16:45] You would at least I have something to fall back on. It’s not just sitting there waiting to fail and have nowhere to go.

Sharon Cline: [00:16:53] So. Well, I like to that you have a lot of support. You have your your son drew your logo, which is the cutest. Yeah. And I love that you say you’ve got some really good brothers from another mother or whatever you called it. I don’t know. You said you had some fam family, but like people you’ve made your family that are sort of all rallying around and giving you emotional support and website help. And so you’re creating your website now, is that right?

Tracy Latronica: [00:17:18] We are. We just had a meeting with him today and he’s a friend of mine who I’ve known four of hours, who I’ve known for years.

Anthony Latronica: [00:17:25] That’s part of the reason we chose to do it, to stay here, because in Atlanta, we’ve made so many connections and friends we are like, if anywhere is a place to do it, let’s try here. Because all the other places we’ve been, it would have been a total leap without the help that we’ve had.

Sharon Cline: [00:17:40] Yeah. Yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:17:41] I think that what’s so important too is, is surrounding yourself with good people. Do you find that to be the case as well when you’re starting your business? Because to me, that’s kind of that’s kind of everything.

Tracy Latronica: [00:17:49] It’s integral, it’s, you know, who you can trust. And instead of having to figure it out, we already knew when this person presents something to us. Okay, this is somebody I can trust. Let’s go as opposing to have, have having to navigate. Oh, I don’t know this person. I’m having an awkward first conversation with an insurance broker who I don’t know know. This insurance broker has been recommended to me by a friend and colleague who I’ve known for years and vouches for her. So you can make those leaps of faith. You can take back that fear a little bit because you are trusting that network. The networking is so important in ways people that have helped us are not in any way near the business that we’re in either. You know, some of the support and assistance that we’re getting from friends have nothing to do with construction or inspections or anything. And it’s kind of been interesting to see how far apart we can be in in in our in our goals and in our businesses. But how intermingled in one way or another, we really are.

Sharon Cline: [00:18:52] Well, if you’re just joining us, my guest in the studio, my guests with an S is Traci and Anthony La monica with Antz Inspections. But I think what you were saying is really important in that if someone is out there who sort of doesn’t really have a huge group of people to draw from, what would you recommend for them? Because that’s I know people have started businesses and been had maybe made a choice in a person to go into it with financial backing and it didn’t work.

Tracy Latronica: [00:19:21] And that we definitely leaned on the wrong people before. But, you know, I don’t know I don’t know what this would be like if we didn’t have the people around us that we have that we can call and say, Hey, what did you do in this scenario? Hey, when this government agency gave you a roadblock, how did you overcome it? And we have a multitude of friends that have those answers for us and are eager and willing to help. To have to navigate that alone is a would be a scary thing. Not not to say that it’s impossible, but I guess you would just have to lean on your gut and your own intuition. The advice of others is is invaluable to us. I think right now I don’t know if we would be going as quickly and as positively as we are right now without some of these core people surrounding us, for sure.

Sharon Cline: [00:20:13] So who are some of your mentors? Do you have some mentors that are in in similar industry or. I know. I kind of threw that question out out of the blue, but I didn’t know if you had someone that you’re sort of like, I see how they made this work. I can do it like them.

Anthony Latronica: [00:20:27] I know. A huge one for her is her. Her her old boss.

Tracy Latronica: [00:20:31] Yeah, my old boss, Frank Smith. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Anthony Latronica: [00:20:34] He taught her a lot about business. He even somehow taught me some stuff about business, and I didn’t even work for the man.

Tracy Latronica: [00:20:41] So and this is a restaurant owner, so that kind of hits the nail on the head about how you don’t have to be. Do we have a home inspector mentor? No, we don’t. Do we have met business mentors? Absolutely.

Sharon Cline: [00:20:53] I think that’s really important for anyone listening that you don’t have to have an inn somewhere. Right. You know, you can kind of dream big and and go back to what somebody else has told you in the past. Right. Which which I think is really important. Like one of your phrases that you talked about is a rising tide weight. Is that.

Tracy Latronica: [00:21:10] Right? When the tide rises, all boats float. Yes, I was going to say it.

Sharon Cline: [00:21:14] There’s a great way.

Tracy Latronica: [00:21:17] Well, there’s a variety of ways of saying it. But, yeah, the premise is, if, if, if and Frank used to say this to me all the time, he would talk about competing restaurants in the neighborhood. And I would be like, Oh, there’s a new restaurant opening up. And I would get all kind of pouty about it, and he’d be like, What great news? And I would say, How could you say, That’s great news, that’s competition? And he would say, When the tide rises, all boats float. And I didn’t understand what that meant. And he would say, listen, the more activity and and foot traffic and thriving your neighborhood is, the better every business in that neighborhood is going to do. So don’t look at somebody else as competition. If they’re doing well, then that means that there’s a potential for you to do well to.

Sharon Cline: [00:22:00] Isn’t that a great way to look at it as opposed to competing? You’re actually just watching someone else succeed, which puts a different energy around all of it, I guess.

Tracy Latronica: [00:22:09] Right. And it keeps you allows you to be positive and cheer for each other instead of trying to bring each other down. And that’s really what we want to do. I mean, if there are.

Anthony Latronica: [00:22:17] I think that goes for life in general.

Tracy Latronica: [00:22:19] Though. I agree.

Anthony Latronica: [00:22:20] Being instead of being jealous because your friend is doing well, you’re be like, hey, man, that’s really great. I’m proud of you.

Tracy Latronica: [00:22:25] And maybe you get inspiration from that. How can I? Maybe I want to be doing something that cool too. But if there’s 20 home inspectors in Hiram, Georgia, that means that there’s a lot of construction going and there’s a lot of building and there’s a lot of progress to require that. So that’s all a good thing. So every carpenter that’s doing well, every electrician, every realtor, every roofer, every road worker is all a part of the same rise of the economy in general that I think we’re all going to benefit from.

Sharon Cline: [00:22:55] I think the same about my voice over industry is that there’s room for everyone. Like if someone got a job that I’m like, Dang, I really wanted that job. Like, I’m not unhappy for them. I’m more like, Wow, you know, good for them. Well, there’ll be another job that someone will think I sound just right for. Like, there’s just there’s a voice for everything. There’s room for everyone. There’s a style, right?

Anthony Latronica: [00:23:15] I think if you’re that person, you might get some of their overflow work if they like you that much because you’ve been supporting them, even though they’re in the same industry as you they might like. Hey, listen, I’m. My hands are full. I’m all tied up. I have this going on. Will you please take this for me? And then you might take that and run with it in a whole nother direction. That might be your opening to whatever.

Sharon Cline: [00:23:35] Do you think faith is? Is how does faith play into this? Because I kind of lean on faith a lot.

Tracy Latronica: [00:23:42] Faith is in as in taking a chance and just just hoping that that it works out. It’s I mean, it’s huge. I mean, it’s it’s really everything, you know, because.

Sharon Cline: [00:23:51] I can’t control I think about this a lot. I have control issues.

Tracy Latronica: [00:23:54] Yeah. So say, did you raise your hand? Oh, I run a company.

Anthony Latronica: [00:24:01] I am so OCD. That’s why I’m going to make good inspector one day. Yeah.

Tracy Latronica: [00:24:06] Yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:24:06] You can use it to your advantage. It’s a strength in your case. In my case, I’m like, Oh, well, I mean, it’s kind of nice to know I’m in good company because we’re all trying to control this interview. By that.

Tracy Latronica: [00:24:15] You don’t want to jump off a cliff and hope that there’s a soft landing underneath you. You want to look into it and make sure that there’s that soft structure to land on. So faith is I don’t want to say it’s everything because it’s not intellect and and investigation and research and plays a huge part. Yeah. But at the end of the day, this is not a sure thing for anyone. And so you have to take a leap of faith and just say, you know what, let’s just try this and let’s hope for the best. Let’s do our best. And if if we are doing everything we can and putting all of our effort. Into making this work and it doesn’t work, then it wasn’t meant to be. And our life will take a different path.

Anthony Latronica: [00:24:57] Some some comfort for me is to have a fallback plan, have that plan, you know, even if it’s okay, I’m not going to make as much money as I did before or not as much money as if I got this business going. Just have that in the back of your head and that helps me at the end of the day, rest a little like, okay, if this doesn’t work out, this is what I plan to do. And maybe reach out to those people and say, Hey, I’m trying to do this right now, but if it doesn’t, you think you’ve got a spot for me and then, you know, you have something there and that kind of helps you.

Sharon Cline: [00:25:28] It changes the energy, doesn’t it?

Anthony Latronica: [00:25:29] Right. Yeah. Not just faith that you know, that you aren’t going to just go broke and homeless on the side of the road because you’re, you know.

Sharon Cline: [00:25:35] Well, I mean, is that not the ultimate fear? I mean, that’s kind of what I’m talking about. It’s cool to have you on here is because this is really the ultimate scary leap of faith that you’re doing that is it’s admirable.

Tracy Latronica: [00:25:47] But you wouldn’t let it get that far. You know, you would you would you would recognize when you’ve given it your all and it’s just not working out. And then it would be an emotionally difficult process to revert back to what you were doing before. But I mean, there’s there’s jobs out there for everybody.

Anthony Latronica: [00:26:05] I don’t think it’s time to give up on your dream exactly. But maybe fall back to another plan until you can get in the right spot to follow your dream again.

Tracy Latronica: [00:26:14] I love.

Anthony Latronica: [00:26:14] That. Never give up.

Sharon Cline: [00:26:16] I think that’s a really huge theme that I’ve heard in just different interviews that I’ve done, not just recently about how giving up is like. It’s like the Achilles heel. It’s like, Oh, I’m just going to never consider giving up.

Anthony Latronica: [00:26:30] Just say, Hey, I have to have to take another little shortcut to get to where I want to be eventually.

Sharon Cline: [00:26:36] But I think that’s.

Tracy Latronica: [00:26:37] That’s a.

Anthony Latronica: [00:26:37] Long cut, not short.

Anthony Latronica: [00:26:38] Cut.

Sharon Cline: [00:26:40] Long or short, as long as it’s not the end, like a complete no. But that’s huge because that’s kind of what this show is all about, is talking about people who are continuing to navigate ups and downs and backs and forths and setbacks and how do you get yourself out of it. And I also wanted to ask you to what what’s been the most surprising that you’ve kind of figured out in the last six weeks or so? What’s surprised you the most about switching? Switching gears?

Tracy Latronica: [00:27:05] You know, for me, I think what’s been so surprising is the small, detailed aspects of organization that you have to have in order to be successful. You have to track all of your spending, all of your where every penny goes. You know, Anthony is so great about he spent $3 on a new drill bit, let’s say, and he’ll turn in that receipt. And I remember it like kind of rolling my eyes out at first. But it’s so true because $3 a day over the course of 365 days a year, you know, $1,000.

Sharon Cline: [00:27:39] Yeah.

Tracy Latronica: [00:27:40] And so for me, trying to, you know, navigate how to keep that organized has been surprising. I think another thing that has been surprising is how easy it is to be self motivated. I was worried that without having a quote unquote supervisor that, you know, you want to lay in bed till noon and flip through the channels. But the drive of wanting to get your business going is what wakes you up before your alarm goes off. And it is what keeps you going past when you would normally quit. And so it doesn’t feel like work.

Sharon Cline: [00:28:15] It feels like 9 to 5 clock in crank out. It feels like your life. Right, right, right.

Tracy Latronica: [00:28:21] Exactly.

Sharon Cline: [00:28:22] But I feel like that’s kind of the goal is something that kind of marries your your spirit as well as your want to have a financial security. You know, you’re integrating both, I guess. Yeah.

Tracy Latronica: [00:28:34] Yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:28:34] Well, if you could give advice to someone out there that’s listening right now who would be interested in trying to start their own business, could you give me, like, two or three things that we could tell them?

Tracy Latronica: [00:28:44] I would say research and ask around. You know, one of my buddies, Brian Wojnarowski, is his name and he’s Anthony’s friend as well. And he owns a small business and he’s been a real asset as far as getting business off the ground. He told me for the first nine months he was working 16 hours a day, just all day. Half of his day would be actually doing the business that he’s involved in. And then the other half of the day would be doing the the promotion and the building of the business. And so having a partner like Anthony or Anthony, having a partner like myself allows us to divide that a little bit to where it’s not so cumbersome with time. So, you know, maybe, maybe have that network of people that that network of support so you don’t overdo it. You know, that would be some advice. And then YouTube tutorials, the most basic Internet searches, how to start a small business. It’s crazy what you would see and the stuff on there that you wouldn’t even know to think about. I mean, I didn’t know what an iron number was. I didn’t know what I’d done this number was or how to register with the government as a female owned business. And the way that I found out is by typing on that keyboard. So, you know, just take the time to do some some research and have some savings.

Anthony Latronica: [00:30:09] And a fallback.

Anthony Latronica: [00:30:10] Plan.

Sharon Cline: [00:30:10] Yeah, fallback plan. So if if can you give me a quick rundown of some of the things that if someone were listening right now and they have this house, they’re like, I’d really like to improve something here. What could you say? Here’s what I can do.

Anthony Latronica: [00:30:26] As far as house and home improvement.

Sharon Cline: [00:30:28] Because we talked a little bit about construction. I know when I was reading the intro, I was thinking, man, I could use someone to do a fence for me. We’re going to talk afterwards. But you you don’t just do inspections. You do other other home improvement.

Tracy and Anthony Latronica: [00:30:43] As a project. Oh, yeah. That’s what’s keeping us floating right now is the doing some of the home improvement tasks that I that I know how to do from my past experience.

Tracy Latronica: [00:30:51] What could build the value of somebody’s home? What kind of projects would increase the.

Tracy and Anthony Latronica: [00:30:54] Value of that? Definitely concrete and decking. I mean, a lot of houses adding a deck or some sort of exterior foundations such as concrete slab or whatever, can add value to your home upgrading inside, you know, as far as light fixtures and stuff like that, things that make the house look nicer. You know, there’s there’s lots of things, the open concept, you know, maybe.

Sharon Cline: [00:31:22] If I wanted to change like a wall, I could be like, Anthony, come into my house, fix this, fix that. I’m serious. Like, if you to have someone who’s able to do so many different things, it’s not like you’re just a plumber or you don’t only do fencing, it’s nice that you have skills.

Tracy Latronica: [00:31:37] So yesterday he installed an American flag on the top of a 30 foot commercial building, and today he fixed the toilet. Right. So this is all wall. He’s getting educated and certified in the inspection home inspection sector. That’s going to include mold testing, radon testing, termite inspections. And obviously there’s certifications and licenses that go into that. We’re also delving into drone roof inspections where we can fly a drone over a home that you wouldn’t normally be able to walk on to get a thorough inspection. We will be able to offer that with the use of that technology. So while he’s doing all of this learning and we’re developing the business, we are also doing these renovations or these these jobs, like you just mentioned, if you needed a wall taken out or floors redone or your deck is a little rotted and needs some boards replaced, those are all things that are sustaining us financially as we get to the point where we hope the home inspections will take up our full time.

Sharon Cline: [00:32:40] That’s the dream. That’s the goal. So five years from now, what would you like it to be.

Tracy Latronica: [00:32:45] Five years from now? I’m not I’m sorry.

Sharon Cline: [00:32:47] I know both of you.

Tracy Latronica: [00:32:49] Whichever five years from now, I would like to have employees. Five years from now, I would like to see us where we are running other inspectors who maybe don’t have the wherewithal or the means to do the business part, but they still want to see a lucrative, in-demand job. That is, it’s never going away, no matter what happens in the world with politics or with the economy, when houses are sold, they need to be inspected, period. And so the goal is to have one or two men or women beneath, for lack of a better term. Anthony That would be doing the inspections for ants inspections. And that way we would be able to develop our business that way.

Sharon Cline: [00:33:35] What I like to given that you would know how to fix all of these things, what better person to come in and say, I see that this is wrong, right? You know, I love that not I’m sure not every inspector knows how to fix decks and change walls. And do you know what I’m saying at all?

Tracy Latronica: [00:33:50] His instructor mentioned. He said, You can take this course and have never touched a hammer and you can become a certified home inspector, which is kind of scary to think that you have people coming to your home to do inspections that don’t really know what’s going on. They just memorize some stuff for a test. And with Anthony, like he actually knows he’s seen that failure of that structure, he’s seen that electrical problem, or he’s seen that flooring issue and repaired it in his past. So I do think it gives him a more in-depth ability to give a thorough and honest and genuine inspection when he comes out.

Anthony Latronica: [00:34:24] There and there’s other need for inspectors as far as annual house inspections, if you don’t know much about fixing your house and and you want to have someone come out yearly to point out things that you may or may not know to fix, you know, that there’s a there’s a reason for inspections there. And then there’s for banks, there’s bank door inspections where the bank loans out a certain amount of money at a time per phase of of of a job that’s being built. And you’re supposed to go out and approve. Yes, this part’s done. Now, give them the next drawer. So there’s there’s those there’s need for inspection as well as that. So if you get a good customer base and you did the inspection when they bought their house, you can get get the business from them to come back here and and help them keep up with their house upkeep, inspections.

Tracy Latronica: [00:35:11] And the and the relationship that we plan to develop with the realtors.

Sharon Cline: [00:35:16] Yeah, the relationships to me, I know this business, but business is relationships too. So it’s.

Tracy Latronica: [00:35:20] Really important. I say that all the time. Everything is a relationship. Any interaction you have with somebody else is a is a relationship and there’s trust there and and honesty that’s expected. And we we always want to be the people that can never be accused of letting someone down or do what we say kind of people.

Sharon Cline: [00:35:40] Well, if someone were listening right now and wanted to get more information about you, what would be the best way? Where could they go? I know you’re building your website right now.

Tracy Latronica: [00:35:47] We are. We are. So the website is antz inspections dot com ants like the bug plural inspections dot com. It is in construction right now. So probably more so on social media. We’re on LinkedIn, we’re on Facebook, Instagram, we have we’re on nextdoor. But that’s that’s definitely one of the areas that we need to spend more time on and focus and develop is how to get our name out there. So the first half of our day was spent doing that before we came here to you, and hopefully that website will be up and running in the next two weeks.

Sharon Cline: [00:36:24] Well, I hope this also helps and lands wherever it needs to land, because it’s very exciting to see the very infant stages of a of a business come to fruition and know it’s important. And I think to just supporting each other. I’m happy to be able to support your business in your endeavors. And I’ve really appreciated how honest you are about how vulnerable you kind of need to be a little bit in having faith to build a brand new business in an industry that’s like, to me, I don’t know anything about. So you’ve really helped me to kind of understand a little bit of the backstory of how you get started. Because doing voiceovers, I was just like, Google, I got it. But like this is totally different, a much bigger endeavor. So I appreciate you giving me some time today and thank you. I know it’s been here.

Tracy Latronica: [00:37:11] Hopefully a year from now you’ll have us back. Yeah. And we can be talking about how amazing our first year is and we’ll have some more specific advice.

Sharon Cline: [00:37:20] I know your advice is perfect because really there are a lot of people that have gone through the same thing that you are now, or people that are unsure of how to go through.

Tracy Latronica: [00:37:27] What my advice is. Just do it. Just do it. I mean, just go for it. What is the worst that happens? You give it a go and it doesn’t work out and you go back to doing what you were doing before, but at least you can say you tried, right? Well, everybody has a backup plan. Everybody has a current job.

Anthony Latronica: [00:37:42] Not everybody has that. You got to think you’ve got to think about it.

Sharon Cline: [00:37:46] He’s right, though. There is something to be said about not having a desperate feeling of this has to work or I won’t be, you know, like that desperate energy is a terrible space to be in. So the fact that you’re thinking contingency.

Anthony Latronica: [00:37:58] I mean, it.

Sharon Cline: [00:37:59] Releases the pressure.

Anthony Latronica: [00:38:00] It’s scary. I mean, yes, we’re going to burn a lot of our savings and stuff trying to do this, but it’s not going to leave us in a terrible spot.

Anthony Latronica: [00:38:07] Well, we will.

Anthony Latronica: [00:38:08] We’ll be able to get back to where we were.

Tracy Latronica: [00:38:11] We did work for 25 years to get here. We are not super young people. We’ve worked and saved and put in, you know, four one k’s and percentages into savings and made some wise investments and things in order to get here. So maybe that’s the core advice is before you start thinking about starting a business, start putting a chunk of your money away to.

Sharon Cline: [00:38:33] Go to probably the best advice for any anybody, anybody, any time, any business. Put some money away.

Tracy Latronica: [00:38:38] Put some money on like 10%, 10% makes all the difference in the world.

Sharon Cline: [00:38:43] Well, on that note, thank you. Thanks, Tracy, Veronica, for coming. Thanks for joining us to you on Fearless Formula. And this is Sharon Klein reminding you that with wisdom and understanding and 10% of your savings, we can all we could all have a fearless formula. Have a great.

Sharon Cline: [00:38:58] Day. Thank you.

 

The Hardy Realty Show – Cristin Warden with Brighter Birthdays

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The Hardy Realty Show
The Hardy Realty Show - Cristin Warden with Brighter Birthdays
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2022-08-04 hardy realty show pic 1 of 1

Small Business Broker Joe Vagnone

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Buy a Business Near Me
Small Business Broker Joe Vagnone
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Joe-VagnoneSmall Business Broker Joe Vagnone has sold over 387 small businesses and has hosted a live business radio show for 9 years WSIC 105.9fm & 1400am “Local Biz NOW.

Joe’s interest and experience is in helping small business owners sell their businesses in the least possible time. He defines a small business as one with gross sales of $3 million or less.

Because of the unique challenges that come within a small business re-sale, Joe has become very skilled at finding and transitioning buyers where others have had a difficult time making the deal work.

Connect with Joe on Facebook.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:07] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Buy a Business Near Me, brought to you by the Business Radio X Ambassador Program, helping business brokers sell more local businesses. Now here’s your host.

Stone Payton: [00:00:32] Welcome to another exciting and informative edition of Buy a Business Near Me. Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. This is going to be a marvelous episode. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast. Mr. Joe Virginian. How are you, man?

Joe Vagnone: [00:00:49] Thank you so much, buddy. I appreciate you having me on. You know, I’m not I’m quite familiar with with the mic, but I’m not familiar with being on this end of it. So you ask me questions. I’ve got to I’ve got to be honest with you. It’s kind of intimidating.

Stone Payton: [00:01:04] Well, I don’t think it will be in just a moment, because we’re going to have a conversation about we’re going to be in your wheelhouse, man. You clearly have a great deal of specialized knowledge and expertise in this arena of helping folks buy and sell businesses. And I know in a moment I’d like to dive into a few of those tips, if we could, but I well, I’ve got a thousand questions and we will get to all of them either. Sure, but but there are a few that I have, and one that comes to mind immediately for me is how do you and I may not use the right word so you coach me through it. How do you price or value a business properly? And isn’t there maybe sometimes some discrepancy or a little bit of a gap between what a what an owner thinks is baby is worth and what a buyer might feel like is worth.

Joe Vagnone: [00:01:57] Yeah. Yeah. You were generous by saying gap. So. So you are correct. This is a business valuation. We do a lot of what we call market driven valuations. And what I like to tell my clients is, listen, I’m not asking you to agree with me. I’m not asking you to even accept what I’m saying is being accurate. What I’m asking you to agree with is it’s what a buyer thinks. And so that’s really what I’m trying to do is define the expectations for sellers so that they understand what a buyer thinks and how a buyer is going to be valuing their business. And if we’ve done that, then if there are these, you know, divergence of of valuations, at least they both the buyer and the seller know why they’re coming at this from a different standpoint. It also helps with the negotiation. Once we get to a point that we’ve got a target buyer that’s interest. Did that did that answer your question or I can get much more in the weeds if you if you want me to.

Stone Payton: [00:03:00] Oh, no, absolutely. That’s perfect for for now. So in terms of time, timing, it strikes me that it might be very difficult to influence shift a potential buyers perception tomorrow or this month on my business. But if I know that I want to sell my business down the road, surely there are some things that we ought to be thinking about or some things we ought to be looking at so that that perception would be very different when we’re ready to sell. Is that accurate?

Joe Vagnone: [00:03:33] That’s absolutely accurate. And I like to talk people through this process and explain to them, listen, there are multiples for buyers to consider, multiples of sales, multiples of cash flow. Again, we don’t need to get into the to the details of that, but those multiples are attached to your business. Right. If you’re the seller, it’s attached to sales and it’s attached to to the cash flow that you create. So you should be considering these interest, right, these multiple interests when you are operating your business, because it will help in the value of your business once you’re ready to sell. Just a just a broad example. Let’s say that you’ve got a business that buyers like to look at gross sales. That’s how they want to create a a multiple of gross sale. Well, if you’re in the service business, you may agree to some business that increases sales but isn’t really profitable because it ultimately helps with the valuation of your business. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you may be a business that purely cash flow is what buyers are looking for. So you may not try and increase sales so much. You want to make sure the margins of what you’re selling are good so that the cash flow is good. Those are sort of operational choices that decisions you can make on the front end before you ever decide to sell your business.

Stone Payton: [00:04:59] Man, I can hear it in your voice. You must really find this work incredibly rewarding. What do you enjoy the most about it?

Joe Vagnone: [00:05:09] So that’s such a great question. You know, I’ve been doing this for years. I love to tell people I have bought and sold, owned and operated more small businesses than anybody you’re going to meet. And now I know when I say that a guy like you is thinking, oh, I’ll test you on that. And and that’s kind of the idea, right? You know, I’m sure there’s some people out there, this world that have that have done more, but it makes. You think through. Hey, Joe must really know what he’s doing. He’s been around the block enough that he kind of gets this right. And so the reason I’ve been doing it for so long, whether personally for myself or for clients, I just absolutely love it. It is me. You know, I tell people and I’m sure you’ve heard this 100 times, I’ve been self-employed since I’m 17 years old, not because it was my choice. It’s because there’s no way in the world anybody is going to hire Joe. Right. So, so, so because of that fact, it’s just it’s just it really is part of my life.

Stone Payton: [00:06:03] So with that kind of background, was there this this moment, this this catalytic event that compelled you to get involved specifically in this arena?

Joe Vagnone: [00:06:13] Yeah, that’s such a great question. And I’ll try and make it as short as I can. I own the largest closed market environment restaurant concept in the Southeast. I had 40 operations in Charlotte, metro area, 26 in Jacksonville, Florida, and 18 operations in Nashville, Tennessee, 5000 square foot commissaries and all of them and truck drivers and area managers and blah blah blah blah blah. Right. I read a book on how to create a money machine. It was actually a real estate book talking about how to buy a piece of property, get a second mortgage. You know, this is back in the eighties now, right, when you could do that easy. Right. And so I literally built my business by doing that. So for every operation I had, I’d have a small house, residential house that I’d buy and then get a second mortgage on, which is how I would fund the operation. Right. And so that same book talked about how to create a money machine, which is when you sell the business, finance the sale and create a a cash flow. And so it took me about three and a half years and I sold all of those operations myself. Probably 70% of them I sold to the to the managers and created this sort of informal franchise where if they needed some help, in some cases, I literally had to teach some of these women how to how to write checks and that sort of stuff.

Joe Vagnone: [00:07:34] But I created this informal franchise and I love telling people I was making about $7,000 a year less with no operational responsibility. So life was good, right? You know, and that’s when I realized, you know what, I think there’s more money in selling the businesses than there ever wasn’t actually operating them. So it was this natural progression. I got to be pretty good in proficient at selling these businesses, so I just started moving in that direction. And then it seemed to be a natural thing that if I could do it for restaurants, I could do it for other kind of businesses as well. So I created this informal capital investment firm, you know, way back before there was a cool name for it. I was just helping people by business and helping people, you know, taking a piece on the way in, taking a piece on the way out. And so it just became this natural progression for me.

Stone Payton: [00:08:24] Well, you’ve really piqued my interest when you talk about financing, because when it comes to deal financing, we can actually you can get pretty darn creative with it, can’t you?

Joe Vagnone: [00:08:36] Oh, yeah. You just sort of hit on my sweet spot, right? I love to tell people and there’s no real way to measure this. Right. So so every time I make one of these bold statements, I know a guy like you kind of chuckles, right? But I love to say I am the top small business. Please hear the word small, small business broker in North Carolina. And the reason why is I wrote a book on how to buy a small business and the core premises. It’s not about price, it’s about terms and deal structure. And so you hit on it. That really is the core. And if you’re going to buy a small business, you want the business to pay for the business as much as possible. And I’ve done my share of those type of deals, and I certainly help and advise my clients through those those type of structures all the time.

Stone Payton: [00:09:25] So do you find it more complex, more work when you’re working with a business that has multiple owners?

Joe Vagnone: [00:09:35] You know, that’s interesting. Most of the time I won’t even get started until I’ve clearly defined the expectations. So whether it’s five owners or one owner, I want to make sure everybody is on the same page because when I’m speaking for them, I want to make sure I’m speaking with one voice. So most of the time I can get the partners to agree and we can agree on one person that I’m going to communicate with, and then they talk to the partners. I’ll tell you where it gets tricky is with family members. When family members are trying to buy a business where family members are trying to sell a business, getting them all together, it gets really tricky. So family members to me is probably a little bit more emotional and tricky than partners, only because I have learned over the years to get all those partners together on the front end.

Stone Payton: [00:10:27] Yeah, I bet you’re. You’re part therapist sometimes, right? Getting them all singing the same notes.

Joe Vagnone: [00:10:34] Man. Don’t say part. I am. Absolutely. I’ve got I got a sister and brother in law with master’s degree from from Boston University and therapy and I can hold my own with them when we’re having conversations. Right. So there’s no question about it. You know, the statement that you’ve heard many times, you know, it’s it’s just business, not personal. Well, if you’re a small business owner, you know, it is very personal. And so all of this is personal. And most of the choices and decisions small business people make are because of personal interests and motivations. And so you have to get that first so that it makes the actual deal structure much easier to put together.

Stone Payton: [00:11:15] Well, and then there’s the whole sales and marketing aspect to this thing, because if you’re taking my business to market, I’m operating under the impression you must have some some rigor, some discipline, some methodology for doing that effectively. And I don’t know, maybe sometimes I don’t want the the entire market to know that or maybe even my employees. Yeah. To yet speak to that a little bit.

Joe Vagnone: [00:11:40] Yeah. Well you, you, you hit on you kind of there’s, there’s some secret sauce in this, right? So, so I’m going to have to be careful before I let you push it out to your your market. Right. But the truth is, there are some things that I have put together that make us marketing the business very successful. One of them is I have a database of over I haven’t counted in a while. I want to say about 16,000 independent buyers and sellers. People like you and I are small business people. And so that database that we can do a search on, based on how much money they have, what their interest is, that’s the first place we go. So for example, if I’ve got a color, whatever you want, it doesn’t matter what the business is. Let’s say I’ve got a a light manufacturing business. The first thing I would do is do a search in my database for anybody that is inquired on like manufacturing and their finances fit with what I’ve got. And I’ll send them out a a inquiry and give them an exclusive ten day window of opportunity before I go, quote, live to the market. And so I can sell about three or four businesses a year just with that exclusive program, because buyers appreciate that they’ve got this window and it forces them to kind of move fast. And to your point of your question, it’s very discreet. You know, out of 16,000 people, I might be sending a exclusive opportunity to 200, maybe. In some cases, it might be as little as 50. And so that discrete approach is really important. The other thing we do really well is describe these businesses without describing who they are and where they are. And I don’t have to tell you, that’s kind of tricky.

Stone Payton: [00:13:31] So when you were talking earlier about making the shift into this arena, you clearly had the background and the motivation and some knowledge and expertise to pull it off. Did you also have the luxury of a mentor or two that kind of helped you along your way? That’s part one of the question, actually. The second part is, now that you have been at this a minute, have you had an opportunity to to mentor some other folks in this space?

Joe Vagnone: [00:13:59] Yeah, great questions. First of all, you are not successful in business without a mentor in your life or two or three. So I have certainly had mentors and each and every one of the different industries in which I have progressed. And. Right. Because you can you can tell that and it’s in my story is very common to most small business people. And that is, you know, these progressions of it’s one industry and it naturally moves into the next industry. And so I have had some mentors that have been very helpful. To me, one of the things that happened to me years ago, it’s such a special treat. One of my very first restaurants was a small sandwich shop inside of an office building. And so you can imagine it was this this small group of people. And every day around 3:00, these executives would come down for a cup of coffee and a cracker. Right. And tea just to relax for 30 minutes or so before they finish out the rest of their day. And I get to sit and talk with these people and gather so much information. And so I was getting this big business advice for this small sandwich shop for years. And those guys have been friends and have carried me through many years of of different business life cycles that I’ve had.

Stone Payton: [00:15:28] Well, that was my experience as well. When I made the shift from the training consulting arena to this kind of specialized little sandbox where we try to help folks use the platform to to grow their businesses. There’s no way in the world that Lee or I, either one could have could have accomplished what we have to date without the benefit of some mentors. And now we’re enjoying as we have studio partners as we expand the network. I really enjoy, you know, trying to trying to help the next person with what we think we’ve learned over the last eight years.

Joe Vagnone: [00:16:01] You make a wonderful point, which is we have learned over the years they need that information, right? They need that jump start, which is what we got. Right. And so you don’t know what you don’t know. And until somebody gives you that little piece of information, I tell people often, listen, I’m going to tell you what I know. And then once I tell you, you got it right, you know? And so so it’s just one or two pieces of information properly placed with the in the right person’s hands, with the right motivation. And it is such a joy to watch them move forward.

Stone Payton: [00:16:36] So back to the sales and marketing conversation, how does the whole sales and marketing thing work for you? Like how do you get to have that conversation with that light manufacturer or whatever it is? Is that hard? Or have you kind of cracked the code on that too?

Joe Vagnone: [00:16:54] Yeah, well, here’s you know, I’ve been doing this for so long now, right? That, you know, probably my answer today is different than it was ten years ago. Right. But I will tell you this, that the key is trust and credibility. Small business people are always looking for somebody they can trust and they find to be credible. Credible means genuine. And so you remember I was describing myself as, you know, patting me on the back. Right. Is I’m the best guy in the whole world. Right. You know, a small business broker. Right. And I had to clarify small business broker, because genuinely I have operated and owned many different small businesses. None of them have had gross sales over $5 million. So I like to tell people I am an expert. You will have a hard time finding somebody as skilled, as capable as I am at 5 million on down. But I am not the guy that you absolutely need. If it’s something over 5 million, that’s what that’s why I partner with association with Jeff Snell with online business brokerage out of Raleigh, North Carolina, because he handles the businesses above that. You really have to know where you are and you really have to be comfortable in that area.

Joe Vagnone: [00:18:17] So as long as you’re genuine, that’s step one to actually attracting small business people that are interested and doing business with you and they can start to trust the statements that you make. That being said, I have had a small business radio show that I have been putting on now for going on ten years, and it is a wonderful opportunity to invite people. And I don’t think don’t I have to tell you this, right? You already know this. You’ve already cracked that code, right? And that is you and I never met. And now all of a sudden we now know each other because of your program. What a wonderful way to promote and actually network with other people, referral with other people. And it gives you a chance to present me to your listeners that otherwise they may never hear me. And so that platform for me has been very helpful so I can expand my marketing. One of the things I do is take on a co host every month and allow them to bring guests every Friday morning. And so that helps me grow my, my, my database and it helps me grow my marketing and networking. Does that does that answer your question?

Stone Payton: [00:19:40] Well, it not only answers my question, it absolutely lines right up with my experience in using this platform. It’s such a marvelous way to genuinely serve whatever ecosystem is important to you and build real relationships because, you know, you get past the in this frame, you get past the kids in the weather pretty quickly, and you’re giving them this gift of giving them a chance to share their story and promote their work. But the relationships that you build doing this, well, that and it beats the heck out of work and doesn’t it?

Joe Vagnone: [00:20:13] Yeah. Well, I’ll tell you something. One of the things that also does, which is so important in my industry, you know, I’m asking you for a lot of money to sell something. You’ve spent a lot of time developing and. Right. I want to help you sell your biggest asset. And so you really have to trust me. And so if I if you can hear me every Friday morning on the radio and other business people are trusting and respecting me, it allows you to trust and respect me also. So it helps on the credibility side, which is really important.

Stone Payton: [00:20:53] You’re going to have to send me an invoice because I could just play your clip for us to sell our services. But but no, obviously.

Joe Vagnone: [00:21:00] You’re not going to get invoiced, but you are going to get an invitation on my on my radio show. So so you’re going to have to you’re going to have to share your time with me, buddy.

Stone Payton: [00:21:09] Fantastic. Well, I’m looking forward to that. So, for example, if and it’s not really an if, it’s a win, but if Lee and I are looking at selling the business radio network, how far out should we begin that planning begin to build a relationship with a business broker? Does it vary or is there some kind of rule of thumb about when you need to start getting your ducks in a row on that?

Joe Vagnone: [00:21:34] Okay. First of all, I can tell you a sharp business card because you you ask the question knowing sooner or later you’re going to sell your business. Right. It’s it’s not as if you intend on selling it today. You enjoy doing that. Right. But, you know, sooner or later, somebody else will be operating your business. I mean, it’s just, you know, we’re not going to live forever. Right? Right. And so that’s wise of you to know that. So what I like to tell people is if you start thinking about 36 months out, talking to some people, putting your team together, you any problem that you would have had with the organization, you will have time to correct where a buyer may not even know that those things existed. Now, I say that because there are these things you want to do. You want to get your books in order, right? There’s some you know, you want to get some systems in place. You know, we can go through all that stuff, kind of like painting the, you know, the dining room, you know, and cleaning up the bathroom before you sell your home. Right. And so you want to do those things. But the reality is, there are some voids in your business, some mistakes you’ve made, some marketing that was good that you don’t do anymore, you know what I mean? Or if you had more money, things, you would do, all of those things.

Joe Vagnone: [00:23:02] We can detail them out and a buyer really wants to look at those because I tells people all the time, I’m going to value your business based on what you’ve done today, but the buyer is going to buy it based on tomorrow. And so if we’re not only cleaning things up and takes about 36 months to do that. Well, right. We’re also detailing the things we’ve done. Should have done. Could have done. So it’s a package in my world. We put together a confidential memorandum and we have something which we call brokers opinion. And that’s where we drop in what we think the future could look like or some things they could do better to improve the business. So as you’re cleaning things up for those 36 months before you want to sell, you’re also detailing some things you may not want to do, but that another buyer may choose to do. Does that answer your question or did I ramble on that?

Stone Payton: [00:24:02] No, absolutely. That was perfect. In a moment, I am going to ask you for a handful of pro tips to to to help sellers, you know, get their their business ready to sell. But before we go there, I did just enough pre-show stalking research to know that I can ask you about this. I’d love to get your your insights on this whole art skill, practice, discipline, on negotiating.

Joe Vagnone: [00:24:35] Yeah. Yeah. Gosh, where do I start with this? You know, I think you probably can tell I’m pretty good at negotiating. Right? And it’s not because I’m brilliant. And I went to Harvard. Right. It it’s it’s because my experience over time has led me in one direction or another. And so there are areas of negotiating that are really important for us to be able to know and share with our sellers so that sellers know what we’re trying to do or how we’re trying to help them. Because, you know, one of the interesting things that happens when we’re putting our our systems and processes in place, we’re trying to drive a buyer through a process so we can control it. And sometimes that control requires me to be able to manage that process. And so I tell people often, listen, the reason why I want to be in control of this process, not because you have a negotiated half your life just as much as I have all of us. Small business people have negotiated tremendous amounts of stuff. Right. But the point is, as a broker, I can plug myself in and I can read buyers in a way that is much harder for a seller to be able to do. And then I can advise what we call prep a seller for those sooner or later conversations that they’re going to have. So it is it’s an interesting question. I probably could talk for hours on all of the details of negotiation, but the core point is that a broker or any third party person that is experienced, that broker will be able to help you because essentially what they’re doing is they’re plowing the road. So before you even step into the negotiations, there won’t be a conflict. The broker will have already been able to warn you what’s happening. And that’s the core.

Stone Payton: [00:26:47] All right, before we wrap, let’s leave our potential sellers out there with with a handful of of your favorite pro tips for for getting the business ready for sale.

Joe Vagnone: [00:27:00] Okay. So let’s do this. Let me let me give you three of them, if I may say, you know, and shamelessly plug my website stone, if you don’t mind.

Stone Payton: [00:27:10] Absolutely.

Joe Vagnone: [00:27:11] They can go to Jay Wagner, CNN.com. That’s Jay Wagner, CNN.com. And we have all of these tips on there. They also can go to my YouTube channel where we’ve got all of these videos on there, if you like to hear me talk. If you don’t go to the website, you can read it. You know, I’m an acquired taste. I would just say, you know. Right. So so if you go to Joe Wagner and business broker, we’ve got we’ve got these 20 tips videos that you can go to. So I’m just going to touch on three of them. Your finances have to be in order. And the best way to do that is a third party bookkeeping firm, accounting firm, to put it in order, because buyers really appreciate that. And we’re here’s the key word trust that so a third party accounting firm puts your accounting in order is very important. The second thing is you have to be able to have a measurable lead generation source that somebody believes they can duplicate or continue to operate. Lead generation. Tomorrow’s business is why I’m buying your business. I love to say this. Stone Nobody is going to buy your business and write you a check unless they think they can do something better than you. Lead generation is how they think that’s going to happen. So you really need to be able to measure your leads and be able to define for people where they’re coming from. And the third thing is you’ve got to know your customer. And the best way to know your customer is a customer database. Customer profiles are just the core of what buyers are buying nowadays. It’s no longer the the name or the location. It is database and customer base that they’re buying. And the more you tell them what the profile of the buyer is, the more than their mind’s eye. They can come up with other products and services they can sell them, and those three things are going to create great value for your business.

Stone Payton: [00:29:16] What a marvelous and informing and inspiring conversation. I am so glad that we got a chance to visit and I think you and I are probably going to get a chance to visit some more. We may find some other ways to to work and play together. Let’s leave our listeners with some easy ways. You mentioned one, the website. Let’s mention that again. And then any other way for them to reach out and have a conversation with you or someone on your team, whatever you think is appropriate, you know, email, website, LinkedIn. But let’s make sure they can get to you, man.

Joe Vagnone: [00:29:47] Thank you. Yeah, you can email me at Joe at Jay Vagabond or go to my website, Jay Wagner Buncombe and I will be more than happy to send you a lot of this information. I, as you can tell, enjoy having conversations, talking about small business, and I’ll be more than happy to talk to you. There is no cost or obligation or responsibility. Feel free to reach out to me and I’ll be more than happy to talk to you again. That is if you want to email me at Joe at Jay Wagner. Stone Thank you so much, my friend. I really do appreciate you letting me be a part of this.

Stone Payton: [00:30:28] Well, it is absolutely my pleasure, you guys, you’re doing such important work and we sincerely appreciate you, man. So I can’t thank you enough for for joining us this afternoon.

Joe Vagnone: [00:30:39] Now, don’t forget, you’re going to have to return the favor, and I’m going to I’m going to get you on my show soon.

Stone Payton: [00:30:44] Yes, sir. It’s a date. All right. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Joe Vigneault and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying we’ll see you next time on Buy a Business Near Me.

BRX Pro Tip: Valuing and Allocating Your Time

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BRX Pro Tip: Valuing and Allocating Your Time
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BRX Pro Tip: Valuing and Allocating Your Time

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] And we are back with Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor and Stone Payton. Lee, today’s topic is valuing and allocating your time.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:10] Yeah. This is something that as an entrepreneur, the sooner you realize how valuable your time is, the better and more successful you will become. Because once you realize how valuable your time is, you’re going to better allocate that time to the things that are most important to you.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:29] So, like qualifying leads by carefully curating potential clients can make a real difference in using your time to be effective in growing your business. The clearer you can be on who that perfect client is, then the more effective you can spend your time in marketing and attracting that ideal best fit client. And the value of that best fit client is that that best fit client is going to be better for you because you enjoy working with them and you’re going to be successful working with them. And it’s going to be better for the client because you’re going to be an expert in their niche. You’re going to have deeper understanding of the best practices on how to serve them better.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:07] So, you’re not going to waste your time with clients who you can’t serve optimally and they are going to get a great result because you’re going to have such deep knowledge and really understand the pain that they’re going through and how to solve that. So, the faster that you can get to that point and spend your time with this highly curated group, the more effective you will be, and the easier it will be to reach those people, and the quicker you will become the go-to resource for them. So, understand your time is valuable and understand how to use that time in order to maximize the value you provide to your clients.

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