This week on July 4th millions of United States citizens will celebrate 242 years of freedom with picnics and backyard BBQ’s surrounded by family and friends often with the evening culminating with an aerial fireworks display supported by a soundtrack of patriotic music. July 4th is personally one of my favorite holidays of the year because it unifies our nation with everyone celebrating in common regardless of religion, ethnic heritage, or political affiliation.

There are many American freedoms to be thankful for on July 4th including our nation’s freedom from the tyranny of England almost 2 ½ centuries ago, the freedom to practice a religion of choice, and the freedom to assembly peacefully as a group and voice our opinions in the public square. These freedoms are the foundation of the United States and unique in the countries of the world. This foundation has allowed our nation to cultivate a garden of opportunity where people of every gender, religion, ethnic heritage, and sexual orientation have prospered and thrived.

As the owner of the Pacific Northwest’s oldest business brokerage firm, IBA, I have been provided with an unique vantage point and the opportunity to survey numerous people who have taken advantage of the ladder of opportunity existing to everyone in our free market, capitalist economic system. The success stories I have witnessed have included people who immigrated to the United States from Iran, Morocco, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Greece, Germany, Poland, Russia, Tanzania, South Africa, China, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, and Canada. They have involved members of the LGBT community who wanted to create a corporate culture where they could be themselves and people who came from dysfunctional and economically challenging upbringings in the inner cities and rural communities of America. All these people had one thing in common. They had the opportunity to execute their vision as entrepreneurs and achieve results commensurate with their risk acceptance and ability. Many did it on their own, some started with support of family & friends, and countless others tapped into the resources uniquely available in America supported by government agencies like the Small Business Administration. Each was thankful they lived in a country where the opportunity existed. A survey of economic opportunities in the nations of the world will quickly identify how rare the opportunity and institutionalized support systems to support entrepreneurship that exist for our citizens are on this planet.

The success of these entrepreneurs has been the lifeblood of my company, IBA, a business brokerage firm specializing in the sale of privately held companies and family owned businesses, since 1975. I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all the entrepreneurs who have entrusted IBA professionals to sell their businesses, all the buyers who purchased businesses in deals facilitated by IBA, and the United States for providing an economic environment that supports entrepreneurship on many levels.

IBA, the Pacific Northwest’s premier business brokerage firm since 1975, is available as an information resource to the media, business brokerage, and mergers & acquisitions community 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”.