The “Boys of Fall” (https://youtu.be/3LG0KVPh4Ak?si=x3HLpPun4C6-YN9U) have returned to the gridiron in the Pacific Northwest from West Linn, Oregon to Anacortes, Washington at the high school level, in Autzen Stadium and Husky Stadium in Eugene, Oregon and Seattle, Washington at the college level, and with the annual reformation of the 12^th Man army in support of the Seattle Seahawks. The quality of all football teams is assessed by their performance on the field. It is understood that to be a championship level football team you need to perform at a superior level on offense, defense, and special teams plus mitigate errors that result in penalties and turnovers. IBA wishes everyone who puts on a helmet and shoulder pads this autumn a healthy and successful season.  One of the best experiences in life is to be part of a team that is successful as a unit and achieves their goals.

IBA is entering the 4^th quarter of its 50^th year of being a top performing business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest (https://ibainc.com/50-years-of-business-brokerage-excellence/).  To date, IBA has accumulated more wins (Successfully facilitated transactions) with over 4400 sales of privately held companies and family businesses in Washington & Oregon than any other firm in the region.  To the best of my knowledge, no other firm in the Pacific Northwest has even gotten to four digits in terms of transactional achievement.  IBA’s consistent and long-term success in the field representing entrepreneurs has been based on the strength of our team. Individually and collectively at IBA out of our ten Pacific Northwest offices each business sale has been facilitated with knowledge, experience, skill, and integrity while employing best practices.  It has also been done with the expectation of maintaining an environment of confidentiality throughout the sale process and with a compensation model where no payment from our clients was sought until a transaction had been completed on terms found satisfactory.

IBA has the knowledge, experience, and skill to represent entrepreneurs in the sale of their businesses in a spectrum of industries (https://ibainc.com/industries-served/). The following are some examples of businesses sold recently by IBA.

A foundation for success in life is education.  IBA’s transaction team serving the education sector of the economy has and continues to be busy.  They possess significant knowledge related to market dynamics for correct regional pricing, transactional legal structures, and licensing requirements.    IBA’s sales in 2025 in this space have included a multiple location driving school (https://www.udrivesafe.com/) which was merged into a national player in the industry; a education program supporting court or insurance directed education (https://www.uturn180.com/); and a tutoring business supporting children who are overcoming educational deficiencies as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic or aspiring to go to college (https://www.schoolarchimedes.com/).

The sale and support of Construction and Home Services businesses has been an area of focus for IBA for numerous decades.  We provide guidance to the sector in terms of preparation for sale and valuation through participation in organizations like the Master Builders Association of King, Snohomish, & Pierce Counties.  We serve the industry by representing its business owners with knowledge, experience, and skill consistently achieving strong market values for our clients in transactions facilitated with integrity employing best practices.  IBA’s sales in 2025 involving construction and home services companies with a residential clientele have included Coyote Creek Cabinets (https://coyotecreekcabinets.com/), White Glove Home Improvement (https://www.whitegloveteam.com/), Simplify Experts (https://simplifyexperts.com/), and Sound Pest Control (https://www.soundpestcontrol.com/).

Possessing potentially some overlap in customers served with residential focused construction and home service businesses are the construction and services companies that focus their marketing and efforts on B2B, commercial, and public sector clients.   IBA like in the residential sector is a “go to” mergers & acquisition intermediation firm often referred by corporate attorneys, CFOs, and CPA’s.  2025 successfully facilitated transactions with more of a commercial and less of a residential focus have included Synthesis Architects (https://www.synthesispllc.com/), Kelly Green who maintained foliage in medical facilitates and at companies like SpaceX (https://kellygreenplants.com/), and Buckley Nursery, a company that has been doing landscape construction for municipalities and public sector clients since 1958.

IBA’s representation of companies with a business-to-business orientation is not limited to the construction and affiliated service areas.  The service companies represented and successfully sold by IBA fill an array of niches.  In 2025, IBA’s successfully completed transactions have included a company that fulfilled customer subscriptions for online retailers (https://www.creativefulfillment.us/), a business that executed live video productions for corporations, concerts, and festivals (https://dclivepro.com/), and a business that helped companies, like Amazon, execute events flawlessly across the United States (https://bluedanubeproductions.com/).

Some professional teams are known for a certain style of play, with Oregon Duck Dan Fouts at quarterback the San Diego Chargers were known for their potent passing attack.  The Super Bowl Seahawks teams were known for their Legion of Boom Defense (https://youtu.be/vFPrJbCbKjc?si=kUFMCaJfpIaJ0qTV) and a bruising running game led by Marshawn Lynch ( https://youtu.be/nt0jAa6alUc?si=YxrjRxCwy_ir31r_). IBA is known in Washington & Oregon for, among other things, in the business brokerage community for its successful representation of owners of manufacturing and automotive companies in the sale in their companies.  Transactions completed by IBA in 2025, often including real estate, in these sectors include Mustang Signs in Tri-Cities (https://www.mustangsigns.com/), Industrial Fabrication in Sultan (https://www.indfabco.com/), Bake Works in Vancouver (https://bakeworks.com/), and Hockinson Auto Repair.  Two recently completed IBA transactions of special note in the automotive & manufacturing sectors of significance to us because of the iconic nature and longevity of the businesses were the sale of Dick’s Point S Tire & Auto (https://www.pointstire.com/battleground/) and Larsen’s Bakery (https://www.larsensbakery.com/).

The sales of Larsen’s Bakery and Dick’s Point S Tire & Auto both included coveted commercial real estate.  IBA as a licensed real estate firm in Washington & Oregon comprehensively represented both owners in the sale of their businesses and real estate achieving strong market values for both assets.  IBA only represents real estate for sale when it is attached to a business. Despite this niche commercial real estate specialty the firm was honored in August to be ranked as the 18^th largest commercial real estate firm in the Puget Sound region by the Puget Sound Business Journal (https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/subscriber-only/2025/08/15/largest-commercial-real-estate-brokerages-in-the-seattle.html).  To the best of my knowledge, no other business brokerage firm has ever made the top 20 list, a list that IBA consistently holds a top 20 position in annually.

Many more examples could be provided of 2025 completed transactions from multiple location fitness centers and laundromats to specialty retail stores selling orthopedic shoes to vape products, but I suspect you have gotten the point.  IBA has been very busy in 2025 selling businesses and new franchise opportunities (https://ibainc.com/what-we-do/franchise-sales/).  It is anticipated that this robust pace of activity will continue for the remainder of 2025 and into 2026 with the large number of transactions IBA currently has in escrow pending sale, new companies being staged to enter the market with the firm, robust buyer demand in the marketplace, and anticipated interest rate reductions by the end of the year.  If you are interested in selling a business, with or without real estate, for a strong market value in a transaction facilitated with best practices and integrity, our knowledgeable, experienced, highly skilled team of intermediaries would welcome the opportunity to confidentially speak with you.  If you are seeking to acquire a business in the Pacific Northwest, I encourage you to become part of our Buyer Database Program by completing a document set through DocuSign on this page of our website: https://ibainc.com/buy-a-business/  A significant percentage of IBA’s representation projects sell to participants in our Buyer Database Program with only a short time being advertised in the public domain.

Selling or buying a business is frequently a sophisticated, nuanced process for entrepreneurs with unfamiliar elements.  The best decisions are made from a foundation of knowledge.  IBA wants sellers and buyers to make transactional decisions as educated parties with appropriate professional resource support.  IBA uniquely in the business brokerage community spends significant time, energy, and resources sharing our knowledge and experience with the entrepreneurial community.  IBA designed its Blog as a library resource for the entrepreneurial community.  It has close to 200 authors in its history including attorneys, CPA’s, wealth advisors, and bankers.  I encourage you to read its content:  https://ibainc.com/blog/  Many of the questions you may have are answered in its postings.  If obtaining knowledge through hearing industry leaders speak is your preference, I will be appearing at three events this autumn.  The Buy The Build Summit in St. Louis, Missouri (https://www.thebtbsummit.com/optin1751900999380), The Puget Sound Business Journal Small Business Summit in Seattle, Washington (https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/event/171280/2025/small-business-summit), and The Northwest Electronics Design & Manufacturing Expo in Hillsboro, Oregon (https://www.nedme.com/).

It is my perspective that entrepreneurship is the ultimate competitive sport.  If you have achieved success as a business owner, mission accomplished.  I suspect you have had a personally & professionally fulfilling life that brought financial prosperity.  Some of IBA’s past clients amazing stories have been shared in our American Dream Achieved series (https://ibainc.com/blog/category/american-dream-achieved/). They are truly inspirational.  If you aspire to be an entrepreneur.  Buckle up your chinstrap and get in the game.  Nothing positive can happen with you watching the action from the sideline.

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”.