On a December 2024 family trip to Thailand & Cambodia, I read Karen Armstrong’s book, Buddha (https://www.amazon.sg/Buddha-Karen-Armstrong/dp/0143034367), to better understand the dominant religion in that part of the world. Over 93% of the population of Thailand observes the Buddhist faith. The percentage exceeds 97% in Cambodia. Three elements of Buddha’s teachings resonated with me as relevant to business brokerage and entrepreneurship. The first one applies specifically to this time of year as one year ends and another commences. Buddha taught a profound allegorical image with his observation that a fire started in the evening still burning in the morning is both old and new at the same time.
This concept can be applied to business. A company that existed in 2024 generating revenue, profit, and creating employment has a heat producing bed of coals in place to ignite performance in 2025 provided new fuel is added. The coals in the analogy consist of staff, operational practices, and tangible & intangible assets. A truism in life is that adaptation and evolution are necessary for all living things, including privately held companies and family businesses, to thrive and grow. Businesses that did not adapt and evolve in 2020 & 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic did not survive. It is my opinion that one of the positives of the pandemic was that the best & brightest entrepreneurs demonstrated their business acumen. This group was further culled in 2022 – 2024 when executive management at companies were asked to navigate high interest rate environments, spiked fuel expenses, virtual work environments that did not facilitate direct mentorship and team building, and declining demand for products and services in an inflationary economy with poor growth dynamics. The result of these two ill economic tides was that many businesses were washed away from the face of the landscape creating OPPORTUNITY for existing companies to enhance their positions and new businesses to fill voids created through filling vacated spaces and innovation by reimagining how to compete in the provision of products and services. This once in a lifetime business environment creates several unique opportunities in 2025.
- Companies that are willing to invest capital have the opportunity to either grow organically or through business acquisitions.
- Individuals have the ability to start new businesses, purchase existing businesses, or bring proven franchised concepts to marketplaces.
- Entrepreneurs wishing to sell their businesses to facilitate retirement or a transition can take advantage of the robust marketplace conditions to complete transactions.
IBA, as the oldest and largest business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is uniquely positioned to serve all three of these groups with knowledge, experience, and skill. Our mergers & acquisitions group frequently represents founders in the sale of privately held companies in seven and eight figure transactions to vetted publicly traded companies, privately held companies, family offices, and private equity firms looking to grow by acquisition. These parties contact IBA weekly and are participants in our Buyer Database Program, that can registered for through DocuSign on this page of our website, https://ibainc.com/buy-a-business/, which provides our clients with the ability to sell confidentially in a timely manner in a competitive marketplace for strong market values.
IBA’s business brokerage group represents businesses for sale with values of $350,000 to $7 million dollars. IBA selects to serve the low end of the range with the same quality and care as our larger clients as we feel these entrepreneurs who have successfully lived the American Dream deserve high caliber professional representation. Unfortunately, it has been our experience that many business brokers representing family businesses for sale below $1 million do not possess the knowledge, experience, and skill to do the job right often leaving dollars on the table for their clients, not employing best practices, and creating unnecessary trailing liability. Many acquisitions in this space are acquired with the support of SBA backed business and real estate acquisition loans. The ability to find funds is often the difference between getting a deal done or having it fail.
IBA, uniquely in Washington & Oregon, also has a franchise brokerage division allowing entrepreneurs to buy franchised business models with all fees associated with the acquisition paid by the franchisor. Franchised business models are economically proven and often offer desired products and services with a recognized brand in the public domain.
A second teaching by Buddha relevant to the successful facilitation of the purchase & sale of privately held companies and family businesses is that it is important and necessary in assessing and resolving any confrontational situation to take the position of each party with a vested interest or advisory position. The purchase & sale of a business is one of the most sophisticated and nuanced transactions that can be negotiated. The negotiating table will frequently have numerous seats filled by parties whose endorsement of the deal will be necessary to achieve successful completion. Some of the common parties beyond the seller and buyer that will need to be satisfied in most deals include attorneys, accountants, landlords, banks, and/or investors. Consent can also need to be obtained from shareholders, minority partners, key employees, customers, suppliers, unions, franchisors, and spouses. It is prudent to engage a negotiator with experience and knowledge relevant to transactions involving the industry, geography, and size of a specific company. Selling a business often involves selling one’s life work. It is not something that can afford to be done incorrectly. Buying a business can risk significant capital and change life direction for the acquirer. Often a second opportunity will not exist if failure results. IBA has specialists with experience facilitating transactions in a broad spectrum of industries (https://ibainc.com/industries-served/).
Finally, Buddha taught that situations should be evaluated based on a complete understanding of the facts. IBA also holds this position and strongly believes that the best decisions are made from a position of knowledge. This is true whether it is knowing the likely market value of a business, a service IBA provides for free to potential clients as a method of demonstrating our knowledge and customer service; creating an environment of full disclosure for the buyer pre offer and during due dilignece; or ensuring that all parties understand legal and tax liabilities created.
At his core, Buddha was a teacher who wanted to create a just world where no one was negatively impacted by other’s actions. A transformational experience for him as a child was witnessing the destruction and good of plowing a field and planting a new crop. The destruction occurred in destroying the habitats of animals and plants that peacefully existed. The good being the new life and nourishment for the population provided by the field. IBA, for fifty years, has strived to sell companies in transactions for fair market values employing best practices where a buyer enters with open eyes and an opportunity for entrepreneurial success. We receive no better testimonial of the quality of our work than a seller who retires in comfort with dignity or a buyer who bought a company from IBA returning in the future to sell.
It is our hope as a firm for 2025 that all experience health, fulfillment, and prosperity.
IBA, the Pacific Northwest’s premier business brokerage firm since 1975, is available as an information resource to the media, business brokerage, mergers & acquisitions, and real estate communities on subjects relevant to the purchase & sale of privately held companies and family businesses. IBA is recognized as one of the best business brokerage firms in the nation based on its long track record of successfully negotiating “win-win” business sale transactions in environments of full disclosure employing “best practices”.