IBA Blog
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IBA (International Business Associates), commonly recognized in the business community as a market leader for knowledge & experience, maintains a blog featuring content from our professional team and industry colleagues as a library resource. Information published in the venue is focused on selling and buying privately held companies and family businesses, plus topics relevant to successful entrepreneurship in the Pacific Northwest. The president of IBA, Gregory Kovsky, frequently provides content for the blog. Mr. Kovsky has over 30 years of experience in mergers & acquisitions, business brokerage, and commercial real estate. He has personally completed over 300 transactions involving manufacturing, distribution, industrial, marine, education, retail, service, and technology companies.
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. Video and audio content from IBA is available on the video page of this website: Videos – IBA Business Brokers. IBA is recognized as one of the best business brokerage firms in the nation in terms of successfully negotiating transactions that are “win-win” in an environment of full disclosure while employing “best practices” between the parties.
Guest Articles
Blog article submissions are welcome from the accounting, legal, banking, financial planning, and other industries affiliated with the sale or purchase of businesses and real estate.
Read the Latest Articles
Featured Articles
Most Popular Articles
Sell a Business Articles
How Tax-Aware Equity Investing Can Help Business Owners Reduce or Eliminate Capital Gains Taxes When Selling a Company
IBA, as the premier business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is firmly established as a respected professional service firm in the legal, accounting, banking, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and financial planning communities. Periodically, we will post guest blogs from professionals with knowledge to share for the good of owners of privately held companies…
Real Estate, a Must Have Professional Domain of Knowledge, Experience, and Skill, when Selecting a Business Sale Intermediary to Sell your Business.
IBA was recognized on page 68 of the 2025 Puget Sound Business Journal Book of Lists published in December (https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/subscriber-only/2025/08/15/largest-commercial-real-estate-brokerages-in-the-seattle.html) among its peers in the commercial real estate industry operating from Bellingham to Olympia for continuing to be one of the top 20 firms in the area in terms of licensed real estate professionals affiliation. …
Strategies for Successfully Selling a Hair Salon, Barbershop, Nail Salon, or Spa
IBA, as the premier business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is firmly established as a respected professional service firm in the legal, accounting, banking, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and financial planning communities. Periodically, we will post guest blogs from professionals with knowledge to share for the good of owners of privately held companies…
Buy a Business Articles
The Five Elements That Will Determine Which Business You Will Buy As An Entrepreneur
Probability theory is the mathematical framework that allows individuals to analyze chance events in a logically sound manner. The probability of an event is a number indicating how likely that event will occur. This number is always between 0 and 1, where 0 indicates impossibility and 1 indicates certainty. IBA, the oldest & largest business…
Valuation 101 for the Sale or Purchase of a Business (EBITDA Times a Multiple)
Valuation of privately held companies and family businesses whether done on Main Street by business brokers, the Middle Market by M&A intermediaries, or for deals in the nine & ten figure realm by investments bankers at its core involves a simple multiplication equation EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Income Taxes, Depreciation, & Amortization) times a multiple. …
Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) – A New Name for an Intelligent, Old Business Savvy Action
I am not a big fan of the use of abbreviations in communication. It has been my experience that depending on the context and the parties involved that their use can result in confusion. The “hot” abbreviation in the mergers & acquisitions world currently is ETA or Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition in its long form. If…
Entrepreneurship Articles
Entrepreneurship Incorporating a Passion for the Outdoors
I fondly recall planning and provisioning for a family road trip approximately 20 years ago where our young family was going to travel down I-5 to see the Redwoods of California (You really can drive a car through a tree) and return on Hwy 101 to Seattle. One of the planned stops on the southern…
Key Accounting Considerations When Starting a Business
IBA, as the premier business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is firmly established as a respected professional service firm in the legal, accounting, banking, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and financial planning communities. Periodically, we will post guest blogs from professionals with knowledge to share for the good of owners of privately held companies…
How to Choose the Right Business and Confidently Start Your Journey
IBA, as the premier business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is firmly established as a respected professional service firm in the legal, accounting, banking, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and financial planning communities. Periodically, we will post guest blogs from professionals with knowledge to share for the good of owners of privately held companies…
Business Brokerage Articles
IBA Spring 2026 Update
As the managing broker for IBA’s Washington territory (1997 – 2000) and the President & CEO of the firm (2000 – Present), I have experienced as a mergers & acquisitions intermediary and entrepreneur the Dot.com Boom, Bubble, and Bust (https://www.tickerhistory.com/p/the-dot-com-bubble-explained), the Great Recession (https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/great-recession.asp), the decade that followed the Great Recession economically (https://www.cbpp.org/research/economy/tracking-the-post-great-recession-economy), the COVID…
’Twas the Night Before Closing
Annually at our holiday party, IBA’s President & CEO, Gregory Kovsky, awards a Broker of the Year trophy to a deserving M&A intermediary based on a set of established metrics. Seven members of IBA’s present business brokerage team, working out of our ten offices in Washington & Oregon have won the award. This year IBA’s…
Thanksgiving Gratitude – It Takes a Village
Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. I embrace the concept that every one of us can find elements of our lives to be thankful for and express gratitude. One component of the tapestry of autumn leave colors that is the Thanksgiving holiday I appreciate is that in a world that seeks to…
Information Resources
Big Banks: Debunking the Myths (Because They’re Not Actually Movie Villains)
IBA, as the premier business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is firmly established as a respected professional service firm in the legal, accounting, banking, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and financial planning communities. Periodically, we will post guest blogs from professionals with knowledge to share for the good of owners of privately held companies…
Regulatory Shift: Department of Labor Proposes New Standards for Independent Contractor Classification
IBA, as the premier business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is firmly established as a respected professional service firm in the legal, accounting, banking, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and financial planning communities. Periodically, we will post guest blogs from professionals with knowledge to share for the good of owners of privately held companies…
Understanding Washington’s Tax Penalties and How the Voluntary Disclosure Program Can Help
IBA, as the premier business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is firmly established as a respected professional service firm in the legal, accounting, banking, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and financial planning communities. Periodically, we will post guest blogs from professionals with knowledge to share for the good of owners of privately held companies…