You can already picture it – you’re sitting poolside in a lovely cabana in Hawaii, surrounded by the sounds of clinking pina colada glasses and splashing dolphins. “Ahh…retirement is nice…”
But wait.
You still have to actually sell your business… at a high value!
This is when the mirage all comes crashing down.
For many business owners, the reality is you’re still in your office contemplating the best route to sell your business and you don’t even know where to begin!
This is where a business broker comes in.
Business brokers are the best option to get a valuable and successful sale of your business. Below are a few reasons why you should invest in your future; by investing in a business broker.
The first thing a business broker will do is analyze your business and map out its strengths and weaknesses. These are going to be very important to a potential buyer and can have a huge impact on the price you can offer.
(recurring customer base)
(good traffic or scarcity of competitors)
Once they have done your analysis, they can walk you through ideas on how to lean on your strengths and cure your weaknesses.
• Organize financial reporting
• Write down clear operations and procedures
• Assist with marketing i.e. re-examine your target customer and expand or begin focusing on the best target audiences
If your sales and revenue reporting is accurate and easy to understand, this is a “plus” for potential buyers! They are much more willing to accept your price point if they can easily see the revenue AND the costs of your business. Also, giving the buyer a written down form of your business’s daily or yearly operations and procedures shows the buyer how stable your business is run and encourages them that they will have an easy transition when the time comes. These are just a few examples of how having a business broker organize and create easy-to-digest information about your business can increase its value in the mind of a buyer.
Riding on the backs of the last two projects your business broker does for you to help sell your business, they can give you a professional value proposition!
A certified value proposition is key if you want to get the best value for your business during its sale. This document is going to back up the price you’re asking for and makes it that much more concrete during negotiations. It is also a trust builder between you and the buyer. They know exactly what they are purchasing and the facts to back up the price point.
It is a business broker’s FULL-TIME JOB to market your business and search out the perfect list of buyers for your business. While you are busy maintaining the day-to-day operations to effectively run your business, the broker is handling everything, from pulling all the necessary paperwork together, to making connections with buyers and setting up meetings.
One of the biggest mistakes that a seller can do is begin slacking off on running the business during the process of trying to sell their business. This risks decreasing the value of your business, leading to a shaky transfer period for any potential buyer. A business broker would help ensure this doesn’t happen.
Source: Investment Bank
Lastly, a business broker is an excellent impartial viewpoint to have during what can be a very emotional and stressful process. Many business owners are very protective and attached to their businesses, understandably so! You want someone who is going to put as much care into the continuation of your business as well as have a good outside perspective to find the best solution to achieve your future goals. They are also exceptionally useful as a mediator between a buyer and the seller during the negotiations phase as the proposals get more intense and in-depth.
You can absolutely sell your business on your own, but it’s important to know what you are getting yourself into before attempting what will most likely be the biggest sale of your life. Much like selling a house, it’s not unheard of for someone to sell their own business. Though, the process of selling a business can be much more complex than selling a home.
Here are some of the tasks you must take on if you plan on doing this “solo”.
**It’s important to note that the sale of a business takes an average of 9-10 months, not including preparation time like planning the exit strategy and building business value before conducting the final business valuation.
If you’re thinking about selling your business and don’t know where to start, consider speaking with our team here at Advanced Business Brokers. We specialize in brokering and advising exit plan strategies for various sizes/sectors of businesses.
With over 25 years of dedicated experience, Bob empowers small business owners in the Indianapolis metro area to achieve their entrepreneurial visions, whether by building scalable operations or crafting highly sellable entities. For three decades, he’s cultivated a robust network of owners, buyers, and strategic partners, a resource he fully leverages to help clients meet their unique objectives.
Bob’s expertise spans a diverse range of industries, including trade-based businesses like construction, HVAC, skilled trades, and manufacturing, as well as white-collar professional service firms such as law, finance, marketing, and technical services. Beyond his client work, Bob actively contributes to his community, serving as Treasurer for the Boone County Chamber Board and as well as a board member for both the Central Indiana Police Foundation (CIPF) and Fiscal Sponsorship Allies (FSA).
Bob holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and teaches there as well in the Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program, which is ranked among the Top 50 programs in the U.S.
He lives with his wife Lori in Zionsville, just outside Indianapolis, and in his free time, he enjoys working on his home, playing golf, and traveling.
With a degree in psychology and a professional background in social work, Marissa
brings a people-centered lens to every project. Her experience includes being a Project
Planning Specialist at GE Aerospace, creating efficient processes and structures that
help teams work smarter and stay aligned. Marissa joins the Main Street Market Maker
team with Advanced Business Brokers to dedicate time and attention to smaller
business opportunities and provide excellent and supportive customer service.
Outside of work, she is a mom of three young men who finds joy in the everyday chaos
of family life. She loves strong coffee, warm beaches, and any excuse to spend time in
the sunshine. Hot yoga and hammocking are some of her favorite ways to reset and
stay grounded and help her show up with more presence both at home and in my
professional life.
Steve brings more than 20 years of experience as a legal and financial professional to
his work with business owners preparing for transition and sale. He advises owners and
their families through every stage of the exit planning and transaction process, with a
focus on thoughtful assessment, risk management, and strategic value enhancement.
Steve is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®) and an active member of the Exit
Planning Institute. He previously served as Director of the Small Business Development
Center in Toledo, Ohio, where he worked closely with entrepreneurs across a wide
range of industries on growth, financing, and succession planning initiatives.
Earlier in his career, Steve practiced law with a nationally recognized Chicago-based
law firm and held roles in capital markets and commercial banking with leading financial
institutions. This multidisciplinary background allows him to approach business
transactions with a practical understanding of legal, financial, and operational
considerations.
As a business broker, Steve specializes in industrial and manufacturing companies,
skilled trades, and professional service firms, including marketing, staffing, and financial
services businesses. Steve earned his Juris Doctor from Loyola University Chicago
School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Notre
Dame. He lives in the Toledo area with his wife and two daughters. Outside of work, he
enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time at his family’s lake house.
A lifelong resident of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Dr. Mark Hagar brings decades of hands-on experience in small business ownership, acquisitions, and turnarounds to his role as a business broker. Over his distinguished career, he has acquired and operated more than 20 companies and engineered over 50 successful turnarounds, giving him a uniquely practical understanding of what makes businesses succeed, and sell. His portfolio spans manufacturing, distribution, and service firms in industries including printing, education, military contracting, aerospace, and orthopedics. This diverse background enables him to identify value, anticipate buyer needs, and structure complex deals with confidence and precision.
Mark holds a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from Cranfield University’s School of Management in Bedford, England—one of Europe’s leading business schools. His research on small business resilience and operational excellence has been recognized by the Small Business Institute (SBI), the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE), and the International Council for Small Business (ICSB).
In addition to his business career, Dr. Hagar has served as a member of faculty at several institutions of higher education, including Holy Cross College (Notre Dame), Trine University, and the University of Saint Francis. He also hosted Your Business Matters, a small business–focused radio show and podcast for more than a decade and is the author of Small Fortunes – the Acquisition Entrepreneur’s Guide to Buying a Profitable Small Business.
A passionate advocate for entrepreneurs, Mark previously chaired the Indiana Leadership Council for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), representing small business owners before state and federal legislators. He currently serves as President of the Allen County, Indiana Economic Development
Commission.
As a broker, Mark specializes in industrial, manufacturing, and distribution firms, with particular expertise in special situations, distressed assets, and complex transitions where experience, creativity and discretion are central to success.