Become A Business Broker

The number of people who want to go into business for themselves is increasing every day. There are thousands of potential entrepreneurs and investors searching for new business opportunities daily. This provides you with the perfect opportunity to capitalize on this entrepreneurship frenzy. There are two ways that you can approach this type of business. One is very simplistic; the other is more complex.

The simplistic approach to starting this business is by providing a listing of potential business opportunities on your Web site. To generate revenue, you can charge businesses a monthly or annual fee for having their business listed on your site. You can then offer businesses the opportunity to purchase banner ads on your site or to enhance their listings with a company logo, e-mail links, or direct links to their Web site. This is a very simple and easy approach to launching this type of business.

he more complex approach to starting your own online business brokerage firm is by actively seeking business opportunities for business buyers and investors to review. This requires a more in-depth knowledge of business fundamentals and excellent sales skills, as you are ultimately negotiating to sell someone else’s business. Revenue is typically generated on a percentage-of-sales basis when you operate at this level. You typically list the businesses that you are selling directly on your Web site at no charge. You do this to expose the business opportunities to potential buyers.

SKILLS NEEDED

The skills necessary to launch this type of business vary depending on which approach you take. If you go with the more simplistic approach, experience with marketing online would be a definite asset, as you are going to want to actively promote your Web site and generate substantial traffic. If you decide to take the more complex approach, knowledge of business valuations would be an asset. There are also several designations available for business brokers. If you were to obtain one of these designations, you would add tremendous credibility to your business brokerage firm.

COST TO START THIS BUSINESS

Since you are providing a service that has no tangible inventory, your initial costs will be minimal. You will need a computer and appropriate software, of course. Initial costs will also include the design, development, and hosting of your Web site. The cost to start this type of business ranges from $3,000 to $10,000. If you take the simplistic approach, you are going to face more extensive costs associated with the development of your site in that a database will need to be designed and developed to list the businesses for sale. You will also need a strategy to develop considerable Web site traffic, as people are not going to pay to have their site listed on a site that receives no traffic. If you take the more complex approach, you will face different costs: You will have to develop professional marketing collateral and invest more in research and business promotion to find businesses that are looking to sell.

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NEEDED TO START

The number of employees needed to run this type of business will depend on which approach you take. The simpler approach can be started by one person part-time. The more complex business should have a full-time person ready and available to communicate with clients and meet with them at their convenience.

INTERNATIONAL POTENTIAL

This business has strong international potential, as business investments are of interest to people all over the world. Using the Internet as a medium to promote this type of business makes the potential for international investment even greater.

IMPORTANT BUSINESS ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED

If you decide to use a more simplistic approach to this type of business, you should do whatever you can to develop traffic to your Web site. People are not going to want to purchase advertising or a listing on your site if you are not receiving any Web site traffic. If you are taking a more complex approach to this business, you should monitor the quality of businesses that you are trying to sell. It can take months, even years, to close a business sale, so you want to ensure that you are not wasting any time on a business that will not provide you with a return on your investment. This is especially important because you are typically receiving payment based on sales commissions.

ONLINE MARKETING TECHNIQUES

• Participating in newsgroups and discussion forums related to your target audience would be a great way to increase the traffic to your Web site.
• Launching a strategic banner advertising campaign on business- and investment-related Web sites would generate targeted exposure for your business.
• Develop links from as many Web sites, directories, and meta-indexes related to business and investments as possible.
• Participating in mail lists and discussion groups related to business and investments would be a great way to communicate with your target market.
• Purchasing advertising in or contributing articles to e-zines related to your target market would help generate exposure and would enhance the professionalism of your brokerage firm.

ADDITIONAL INCOME

In addition to providing brokerage services, you may also want to offer consulting services for struggling businesses. This would be a great way to earn additional income and would also add credibility to your brokerage services. You can provide business valuation services to businesses interested in selling, and you can help procure financing for those interested in purchasing a business.

ONLINE EXAMPLES

Business Brokers Network

https://www.bbn-net.com America’s largest business brokerage Web site, BBN-Net is the Net’s largest database of quality businesses for sale.

International Business Brokers Association

https://www.ibba.org IBBA is the largest international not-for-profit association operating exclusively for the benefit of people and firms engaged in the various aspects of business brokerage, and mergers and acquisitions.