Tomorrow America will celebrate its 247th birthday. The nation has experienced periods of great achievement in its history and chapters that should be remembered, studied, and serve as cautionary tales for other nations seeking to emulate our creation of a system of government and country that emphasized freedom and opportunity in weaving its fabric. One of the strengths of this nation is its diversity of people. Together as citizens of the United States we have collectively weaved and continue to fabricate a beautiful tapestry telling our story that has vibrant contributions from people of geographic origin from Europe, Africa, Asia, South America, Native Populations of North America, Australia, diverse religions, different abilities, educational backgrounds, and genders. The impact of America on world history in terms of ushering in periods of peace, diplomacy, innovation, environmental protection, and economic prosperity is without parallel in the modern era. I encourage everyone to pause a moment on the 4th of July, perhaps taking a moment to listen to Ray Charles sing America the Beautiful (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZYH8v42a2w), and instead of looking at the nation with a critical eye, recognizing even a beautiful sunset can be blocked by a stray cloud, to take a moment and think about all the things you appreciate about the country and the wonderful people you have met on your life path who made you smile, feel loved, and become a better person while living in the United States of America.
IBA has been blessed since before the nation’s Bicentennial celebration in 1976, to have been provided with the opportunity to serve a special demographic group of people, entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is a career path choice that requires vision, risk acceptance, execution, collaboration, and the commitment of resources. It is not a path for everyone. It is a journey that has days in the sun & rain, sections where the climb is steep through vegetation & mud and downhill through fragrant meadows of flowers with bird song filling the air, and periods where the crop harvested is abundant and sparse. However, for those who select to be business owners in America the opportunities presented for achievement, fulfillment, and financially are better than anywhere else in the world. I do not make this statement from a theoretical context, but based on what is now the 30th year of my engagement with the entrepreneurial demographic group as a professional advisor.
In my personal facilitation of over 300 business sale transactions involving privately held companies and family businesses and executive management for multiple decades of the largest business brokerage firm serving Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska, I have had the honor of hearing the entrepreneurial success stories of a very diverse set of people that truly epitomized the “melting pot” nature of our county. A sample of the demographic diversity in the entrepreneurial community that IBA has represented in the sale of their businesses and seen firsthand their high achievement includes the following:
First Generation Immigrants from Morocco, France, Poland, Vietnam, India, Mexico, Peru, and Australia.
Female, LGBT, and Male Business Owners.
People of Hindi, Buddhist, Islamic, Mormon, Jewish, Catholic, Agnostic, and Atheist Faith.
First Nation Members and Families that had members who originally entered the Pacific Northwest by covered wagons.
In an effort to share these diverse stories, IBA created the American Dream Achieved project several years ago. If you would like to read some amazing, inspirational entrepreneurial stories they are available on this page of our website: https://ibainc.com/blog/category/american-dream-achieved/ I suspect many of the businesses highlighted will be familiar.
On behalf of IBA, we thank America and the entrepreneurial community on our nation’s birthday for the ability to serve those who through creating and building businesses enhance employment opportunities in communities, pay the taxes that fund schools & social safety net programs, and in general provide the products, services, and quality of life elements that make everything better for all under our proudly waving Red, White, & Blue flag.
IBA, the Pacific Northwest’s premier business brokerage firm since 1975, is available as an information resource to the media, business brokerage, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, legal, and accounting communities on subjects relevant to the purchase & sale of privately held companies and family-owned 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”.