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Would you like to work with better clients, make more money, and build a business that gives you true freedom?
Have you struggled with the loneliness that comes with working long hours and solving the dozens of complex problems you face as an entrepreneur?
Do you ever feel like the most valuable business secrets are shared behind closed doors—where only insiders have access?
Welcome to The Inside BS Show—your daily invitation to step behind the velvet rope and into the room where real business leaders talk strategy, success, and scale.
These are your people. They've been where you are, and they've gone where you want to go. But most importantly, they feel your pain and can help it go away.
If you're an entrepreneur, CEO of a private company, or leader of a professional firm, this show is your secret weapon.
On each show we break down the business growth strategies that insiders use to win—revenue generation, building influence, succession planning, hiring top talent, navigating legal minefields, and crafting an exit strategy that maximizes value.
But this isn’t just a podcast—it’s a community. We don’t just talk at you; we bring you into the conversation.
Your host, Dave Lorenzo (The Godfather of Growth), gives you an exclusive front-row seat to the insights, strategies, and behind-the-scenes conversations that drive business success.
A new episode drops each Wednesday at 6 AM.
Want to connect with Dave? Call (305) 692-5531.
What are you waiting for? Join us ON THE INSIDE.
[Speaker 2]
Welcome to the Inside BS show. My name is Dave Lorenzo. I'm the godfather of growth.
And today we're talking about how you can sell your business. We're talking about what you need to do to get your business ready. We're talking about the transaction itself.
And we're going to talk about what it's like to be a business broker. And we're going to do this all with my friend Sylvia Mullen. Hey, Sylvia, welcome to the show.
[Speaker 1]
Hi, Dave. A pleasure to be here.
[Speaker 2]
All right. Well, thank you so much for joining us. So tell us what a business broker does.
Because when I say to people, you know, I'm a business broker, I can sell your business. They look at me and they don't really kind of get what that means. So how do you explain it to people when people ask you?
[Speaker 1]
Yes, actually, that's a great question. Because I just talked to someone about this every and I love what I do. So every time I'm in a meeting or a meeting someone, I can't wait to tell them that I'm a business broker.
And they're like, What? What is that? And we never heard about it.
So and the poor people, those are the people who don't know. But for those who know, they think that we're just like matchmakers between buyers and sellers. And we do so much more.
We do valuations, we just, you know, prepare the business and in every single way, financially, talk to attorneys, talk to clients, talk to lenders, prepare buyers, vet buyers to make sure that they're a perfect fit. So that's what we do. It's not just like making phone calls and just like, okay, seller, buyer, you're here now.
We do so much more behind the scenes. And sometimes we are the only people who can make the deal, make the deal move forward. So, you know, and when everybody's fighting attorneys, they don't know what to do.
The lenders are like just pushing documents back and forth with a broker step in and we fix everything. So that's what we do.
[Speaker 2]
That is a great description where essentially the people who make sure that everybody moves to the same destination on the pace that they want to move, because the seller says they want to sell, the buyer says they want to buy, and they may agree on everything, but there's still a thousand things that have to happen before the business transaction is actually complete. So I'm going to ask you how you got into this. And I'm going to ask it in a way that I think is going to lead us to a different type of conversation.
So you were a paralegal and so much of what you do now in your role at Sunbelt, I think involves stuff that is very similar to being a paralegal in you got to, you organize everything, you have systems and processes for everything. So talk about how you got into being a business broker and the similarities between being a business broker and being involved in a legal transaction because you are still involved in a legal transaction, just in a different role.
[Speaker 1]
Well, I would like to say that I got into business brokerage through the back door, which gave me the best view of the whole process. So, and I said through the back door because I was at the end of the transaction when the brokers already worked their magic and now it's at the closing table and we just have to make things happen. So I moved here in 1994, moved to Florida in 1994.
And since I was a little girl, I wanted to be an attorney. So, but life had different plans for me. So my law degree just took a back seat and I became a paralegal, a litigation paralegal, just to trying to stay close to that world that I always dream about being part of.
And in 2012, I became, I started working for an attorney who specialized in business closings. And for 10 years working with her, I just was involved in hundreds of transactions, SBA financing, just cash transactions. I mean, little, big, all kinds of industries and helping brokers.
The brokers and I work as a team because if we, they didn't make money, we didn't make money. So we are pushed on the same direction. So that being, becoming a business broker has just felt like the next natural thing to do.
And it's for me, it was the transition was pretty easy. I was working with brokers and now I'm working with brokers. I was working, working with sellers and buyers, and now I'm doing kind of the same.
The only thing is now I am guiding buyers and sellers into what, you know, from the beginning, from valuation, talking to them, is it the right time? Is it the right fit? And moving all the way until the closing table, which is what I did before.
So that's how I got involved.
[Speaker 2]
I think that's great. And I think you had such a good understanding of what is really the most intimidating part of the process for a lot of people. And that's the final closing of the deal, right?
Everybody, everybody that you talk to who's not familiar with lawyers is afraid of the lawyer getting involved because they think the lawyer is going to destroy the deal. And you know, as well as I do that, if you got the right lawyer, the right lawyer is going to make the deal happen.
[Speaker 1]
Absolutely.
[Speaker 2]
That's why you and I want to pick the lawyer to work with on the deal.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. It's the right team. It always makes a difference.
[Speaker 2]
So take us through from start to finish what a transaction looks like. So how do, how does a transaction get started?
[Speaker 1]
So first thing, the connection with the seller, um, they called the office, um, either, I mean, we are very marketing, um, oriented. We, it's either by marketing, social media, uh, networking or referrals. So we get the client, um, and it's very easy.
It's not pushy. It's not a selfie, which is more informative. So let me know.
I want to know more about your business. They share financials. Everything is confidential.
And in a few days we turn around after, um, just reviewing PNLs and tax returns. We come back with a purchase price or suggested purchase price. What it's pretty much what we think it should be, but we always call it suggested.
So people think that they have to make the decision, uh, at the end of the day. So, um, once that is done and we, um, decide that, you know, we're a perfect match match for each other's between the seller and us. Um, if we go to marketing, uh, we prepare all the marketing, um, materials.
Uh, we have, we, um, are part of the BBF, which we have about 900 brokers there that we can, that can bring buyers to us. We have like 10 marketing sites that we market to, and we get those buyers. I mean, they're lined up already.
We don't even have to worry. We don't, that's why we work more with sellers than with buyers because buyers come to us. Um, we, uh, vet, um, all the buyers, just make sure that the buyers are a good fit for the business.
So vetting the buyers is one of the most important things we do after the marketing. And it's not like selling the house. We're not going to bring just anybody and look at this business.
Uh, do you want it? No, no. We bring buyers that are in my case, SBA pre-qualified.
I have their bio or have, I have, uh, you know, their experience. I have, I been, uh, you know, talking to them for a while. And so when I paired those two, the buyer and the seller, it is already a match.
I know this is the right buyer for the business. Um, then after that, if it's SBA, um, I walked them through, there's a list of documents that they need to provide. If it's a cash deal is a little bit easier, but still seller, um, buyers does the due diligence.
I make sure one of the key things during due diligence is to making sure that the buyer is not nitpicking the business. It's just making sure that it makes financial sense to them and, um, and that, uh, they can corroborate the purchase price. That's it.
Then once the buyer does that, um, we move forward with the rest of the landlord and the rest of the, um, uh, contingencies on the, in the contract. And then we, uh, once that's done, we bring it to closing and, um, that's it. It's pretty much that it is.
It's not that complicated either, but it's a lot of moving parts, but we just guided through section by section to what needs to be done.
[Speaker 2]
So the important thing for people who are listening to understand is you do all that. Like we like that. We're doing all that behind the scene stuff.
Right? So now I want you to do that same thing, but I want you to do it from the perspective of the seller. So you're a Sylvia seller now, and you're going to sell your business and you meet Dave, the business broker.
What does it look like for you as the seller? You're going to come to me and what do you, what am I going to ask you for? You're going to have to have your, you're going to have to have your taxes, right?
I want to, I want your taxes for what? The last three years.
[Speaker 1]
So I'm going to say it's the last two years. So there's just a tour for the initial valuation. It's just a few documents, like, um, two, two years of tax returns, PNLs and balance sheet, uh, with sometimes ask for the trailing 12, but not in every business.
And then a little bit of the history of the business management, tenured of, uh, you know, assets and stuff like that. Not, not a lot with those three things, we can come up with the, um, with the valuation.
[Speaker 2]
So, but, but it's not hard for this. My point is it's not hard for the seller.
[Speaker 1]
It's not tedious for the seller. It's like three things, you know, a few financial things, and then a little bit of the history. And then we can put those, uh, that information together to come up with a purchase price.
[Speaker 2]
Okay. Now let's talk a little bit about when sellers come to you and they, so people who, who want to sell are different than people who have to sell, right? So people who have to sell, they're okay for you if they have to sell because they're getting divorced and they have a business that's making a profit.
It's okay for them to come to you. If they have to sell, if partners are splitting up and the business is making a profit, it's okay. If they're coming to you and they have to sell, because unfortunately they have health problems and the business is making a profit.
What are the three things that I just mentioned? What do they all have in common? The business is making a profit.
[Speaker 1]
Exactly. The business is making a profit. It doesn't matter why you have to, if you have to, or you want to, but at least the business is making a profit.
Yes.
[Speaker 2]
So what do we do with people? And this is, this is so important. And this is why I'm going to say it.
If the business is not making a profit, we just tell them that, you know, it's, it's incredibly hard, if not impossible to sell a business that's not making a profit because people are buying future profit. That's what they're buying.
[Speaker 1]
Exactly. That's what they're buying. And you have to be honest.
It might not be what they want to hear, but I had actually a FedEx routes that I was telling. We went to market in about July and we started collecting documents. The owner wanted about 1.5 million, but the business didn't make, I mean, it was like about 1.1. So we stopped and said like, you know what, this is what you need to do. So we stopped in September and he came back in January. And now now it's under contract pretty much. So sometimes you have to tell them, you have to make them wait and be honest with them.
We're not here to waste anybody's time. So if we're going to just like sign you up just to have a business there that is not going to sell because it's impossible because it's not producing any income, then why go fix it and then come back. And we can tell you how to fix it and we can sell it, but we're not going to lie to them that we can sell it when we can't.
[Speaker 2]
No, no. And because you only get paid. I only get paid.
We only get paid when the business sells. So we do all this work and if the business doesn't sell, then what happens?
[Speaker 1]
Nothing for you.
[Speaker 2]
We don't get paid.
[Speaker 1]
Nothing happens.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah. So we don't get paid if the business doesn't sell. So it's in our best interest.
Our interests are aligned with the interest of the business owner. So that's the whole idea. Now, let's talk a little bit about, Sylvia, what business owners, why business owners are, I don't want to say afraid, but some of the things that make business owners hesitant to get into this process to think about or talk about selling a business in the first place.
When you talk to business owners, why do they hesitate sometimes?
[Speaker 1]
In my experience, it's because they don't know what else to do. It's the end of an era. It's the end of the life they know as they know it.
So of course it's scary. It's a big, big transition. So they're scared.
They don't know what to do. What am I going to do next? If I don't do this, then what am I going to do?
So that's the biggest thing that I hear where they're hesitant. And they tell me that all the time. This is my baby.
I have been doing this for years and years. So I think that's the biggest thing.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah. I think that's so spot on because they don't know. So they think, yeah, I sell the business on Friday.
What am I going to do on Monday? Like that's not, like I spend 18 hours a day working on and thinking about this business. What am I going to work on and think about after the business ends?
Let's talk about the size of businesses now. Now I know from talking to you and from talking to other people in the office that you guys in the South Florida Sunbelt office do big transactions. What is a typical size of a transaction for a normal business broker?
And then talk about the size of the business deals that you guys have worked on.
[Speaker 1]
It depends on the time the business broker has been doing this. So you always start like a main street, like small business, maybe under 500,000. Our office in particular, we go over 3 million, 3 to 10 million.
I mean, sometimes we work in a little bit smaller if it's a referral or something like that, but usually it's no less than two. So from two to 10, I will say that that's our niche, what we usually see in our office.
[Speaker 2]
And let's talk about now some of the different industries and different types of businesses. So you mentioned a FedEx route recently that you were working on. First of all, how does something like that come to you?
How do you get that? And what does that business look like? What type of business?
How does that work?
[Speaker 1]
Well, I've been doing that for 14 years now, doing FedEx routes and line holes. I even went to their conference. I know a lot of FedEx contractors.
So that's been my niche, along with another broker in our office. What does it look like? It's very profitable and it's like a cult, I said, because it's FedEx.
They go by the FedEx rules and it's a very, very tight industry. Most of them, a lot of them, not all of them, but most of them, it's like a semi-absentee industry. And some of them even have it as a lifestyle job.
They're remote, they come once a month or whatever. The one I'm selling is like that. The owner doesn't even live here in Florida, but he's making $300,000, $350,000 in SDE.
So it's good if you want to keep your corporate job, but you want to invest as a backup income. But yeah, that's how it is. They can go, I mean, some of the FedEx have about 10 to 15 routes, not routes, but drivers and trucks.
And that's like about two or three routes. But there's some of them are 80 or a hundred routes. So they have big, big, big, you know.
[Speaker 2]
Territories. Yeah. Yeah.
So it's so interesting because everybody thinks that when the FedEx package gets to their house, it's like the person who's working for FedEx, right? But it's like the guy who delivers Coca-Cola to the supermarket or the chips to the supermarket. Those are businesses, individual operators that have contracted and they go to the FedEx location, they pick up the packages that are on their route, and then they go off and deliver them.
[Speaker 1]
With FedEx, there are two, the last mile delivery, which is the P&D, the pickup and delivery, and the line haul, which is like the big truckster you're talking about.
[Speaker 2]
Oh, okay.
[Speaker 1]
There are two different ones. Yeah. So yeah.
[Speaker 2]
Look at that.
[Speaker 1]
That's so cool.
[Speaker 2]
Now you said something in there that I want to make sure we highlight for people. You said that this particular business was doing about 350 SDE. Tell folks what that stands for.
[Speaker 1]
Seller discretionary earnings.
[Speaker 2]
And why do we use that instead of like profit or net operating income or EBITDA? Why seller's discretionary earnings?
[Speaker 1]
Because it's a small business. So EBITDA is an investment. To explain it to sellers that are in a small business, it's what you put in your pocket.
You are running the business. You are an owner operator. That's what SDE is.
Your profit and what you put in your pocket. That's the easiest way to explain it for a small business.
[Speaker 2]
So that includes, that's the money that comes to the bottom line, but it also includes all the other stuff we're throwing in there, right? Like the car that we drive, that we put through the business, it includes all those ad backs, right?
[Speaker 1]
Yeah, that will be, so it's the income minus the expenses. And then we'll bring all those little things that you wanted to, you pay yourself on you, all the ad backs, what we call ad backs. So those that non-business related expenses.
Yeah. And they all, it's more funny because they all say the same thing, but I did this and I run all these things to my business. I'm like, don't worry about it.
We know, we all do it.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah. So that's, that, that was one of the first things when, when I first started talking to, um, to you and to other business brokers, I, I always thought like, you know, I was one of like five people on earth that was like, you know, paying stuff out of my business and it was a big secret and I shouldn't talk about it. And then I talked to, I talked to you and Ryan and you guys were like, whatever.
Yeah. Everybody does that. Whatever.
It's not good. It's not good from an IRS perspective. So if you're listening and you're, and you work for the IRS, we're not telling people to do that.
It's a no, no, they shouldn't do that. Never, never, never. But it can be, it can be fixed before the business is sold.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah, exactly. 100%. Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
Okay. Tell me about the, um, the most fun part of your job. What do you enjoy the most about doing what you do?
[Speaker 1]
I'm a people person. So is that excitement of like, uh, getting the seller to finally make the decision and bringing them a buyer and I get super excited. I'm like, I have this buyer.
You're going to love him. Uh, you, uh, when I do the first, um, interview with the buyer and the seller, I always tell them you have to sell yourselves. Uh, you're going to sell your business and you're going to sell yourself.
Why are you the perfect match? So that's exciting to me. Of course, the closing is exciting for them and for me, but just bringing the buyer and the, um, it just, um, when the seller decides that, yes, I'm going to sell, I'm like, yes, you know, it's, it's a good feeling.
It's a good feeling that whatever I said, make them feel so comfortable that they are making, uh, that taking that leap of faith.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah. Now, do you ever have more than one buyer for a business?
[Speaker 1]
Oh my God. All the time for, I just sold an, um, a pool company, pool repair company. And I had like maybe, um, a hundred buyers that came to me.
I mean, it was overwhelming. Yes. Yeah.
Because that's one of the hottest, um, industries right now. Anything has to do with construction, uh, pool electric HVAC. So it was one of those and it's not pool routes.
It was a pool repair. So, and it had been in business for 40 years and also it was very, very like not so super, um, involved. So, um, yeah, I had a ton, a ton, a ton of, of buyers for this one.
And, um, one of the things that made me really happy for this one is that it was the woman investor. It was the lady who purchased it and she had already hired a technician and, um, somebody for the office to run the business while she's still in corporate America. Very smart lady.
It was amazing.
[Speaker 2]
So how do you, so how do you manage, so multiple buyers and you're, you're representing the seller. You want to get the best possible deal for the seller. Tell me about that process.
How does that process work?
[Speaker 1]
So everybody comes in and that's where vetting the buyers come in. I am, I am very strict. I don't share any information about the business until you tell me that you have the experience, that you are ready to purchase the business and that you have the funds of course, or that you have been SBA pre-approved.
Um, if you don't have, if I see that you don't have the funds because we do not only NDAs but buyer profiles just to screen the buyers to begin with. So if I see that, let's say one of the questions is, uh, how much do you have for the down payment? And it's, uh, you said, um, 200, a thousand and the business is, um, 700 or 1 million.
So obviously you don't have the funds. So my next question is like, have you been pre-approved? Where are you getting the funds to purchase the business?
So they always like, or SBA or whatnot. Um, so until I know if they have the funds, um, I don't share anything. And I am one of the, I'm very strict when it comes to that.
I don't care. I'm not in a rush. I wanted to do this right.
So, and I want the right buyer because when I start the process, um, if you don't have the right buyer, the transaction will die when you're already in under, uh, due diligence or even under going through SBA or talking to the landlord. I mean, you don't want that to happen. So I make sure that my buyer, it's what he says.
And, um, I can show the seller that I have a good buyer.
[Speaker 2]
Okay. So how did you decide when you had hundreds of people coming for this pool company? What's your, what's your filtering process?
How do you get through the process of deciding who's real and who's not? Do you have to do a hundred interviews?
[Speaker 1]
No. Um, I, um, we have a, um, a buyer profile that tells me initially if they have the funds, um, then they, there was a question there for experience. So I pick depending on what industry they have been in, what is their degree, what have they been doing in the past years.
So I see, uh, who will be the best fit for, for the business. And I choose based on that. Um, sometimes, like I said, I ask for, um, a little bit more information.
I've been doing this so long that I already have, I have an eye for, for buyers. So I already know I pick three maybe or four at the most. Uh, because at that, when I finished the, um, you know, deciding who the buyer is going to be, I already know that that is the buyer.
So I don't, I don't have 10 of them for the seller to meet the three that I picked. Probably one of them is the buyer.
[Speaker 2]
So, and when does, when does the price or the, the asking price of the business come into play? Do you say to all three of them, listen, I got a hundred people who are interested in this. So, you know, the price in terms are pretty much fixed.
How does that, so how does that go? Tell me about that part of the process.
[Speaker 1]
I don't, I don't tell the seller that, uh, that, uh, because then they come and say, maybe it's price wrong. No, it's no price wrong. Um, is that, you know, the numbers are the numbers I, uh, based on your numbers.
So of course it's priced correctly, but the industry, it's what's hot. No, the price is the industry. Of course, everybody's looking for that industry.
So I will never say I have a hundred buyers because of 50 of those are just like a tire kickers or window shoppers. And, uh, another 20 are not ready. They're, they're looking for a business and they have the funds and they want it, but they're not ready yet.
Um, and then the rest, some of their don't qualify. And even if they want to, they won't qualify for SBA and it has to be an SBA approved, um, buyers. So that's, that's how I know.
And, and I make it really small when I talk to the seller about the buyers is when I have the buyers or lined up.
[Speaker 2]
And what is the, what is the time? Like, I know there's no standard timetable, but you're doing a lot of work to make sure these people are the right fit. So if the business is ready and the business owner who's selling the business is ready and they have their head on straight and they know what they're going to do afterwards and you get a buyer who's pre-qualified and they're ready to go and you've checked them out, what's the, like in the, in the best of circumstances, what is that timeframe?
[Speaker 1]
Three to six months. And it's three to six months, three being that maybe a cash deal can be 45 days if it's a cash deal, because remember we have 20 to 30 days where due diligence is being done. Um, so, and that's when the buyer, that's one of the contingencies.
So the buyer might say, you know what, this business is not what I want or get, get, um, a buyer's remorse or whatever it is. So they have those 20 to 30 days. Um, and then after that, if it's a cash buyer, it will go pretty quick.
But if the buyer decides to move forward, just the landlord process and the SBA process takes to 45 to 60 days. So that's, um, yeah. So, so the easiest three months, the, and then if it's just like a little bit, you know, maybe the landlord is taking a little bit longer, maybe the SBA is taking then six months from beginning to, to end.
[Speaker 2]
What would you tell somebody who is thinking about selling a business in the next three years? What are some things they should be doing today to make sure that they have the best possible business to sell in three years?
[Speaker 1]
Start cleaning the house. Um, make sure, make a list. Um, it's your business.
Can your business run without you? Uh, because buyers don't want jobs. They want businesses that, you know, that are profitable and they're, they don't have to be there 100% of the time.
Of course, nobody wants to, you know, it's, that's a job. If you, you cannot take a vacation from your business. That's, that's a job, not a business.
Um, uh, start with processes. Like are you, all your processes and all, everything you do from, uh, the time you get your clients, your admin people, your technicians, whatever the business is, can they run without you? Do you have the process for that to happen?
So like this FedEx, they can run with, without the owner. They don't need an owner there. Um, uh, what else?
I would clean your books. Don't be disorganized. Like, uh, your PNL is your, um, uh, balance sheets.
Everything needs to be clean and organized and you need to know where everything is. Don't start scrambling and bringing boxes without seeing people to that. Um, you know, and, uh, Oh, I'm gonna balance my book for all my, um, uh, quick books that I have not done for like years.
So, and then now they're starting. So, um, clean your financials, marketing, work on your marketing, um, work on the, work on the process and make sure that your business can run without you. That, that, that's the biggest thing.
[Speaker 2]
Great. No, good advice. Good advice.
All right. Let's talk about it. So I interviewed a couple of weeks ago, I interviewed the owner of an insurance agency who was a woman.
And I said to her, you know, it's gotta be interesting being a woman in an industry where most of the people who are in the industry are like old obese, you know, balding men. And she said, yeah, we have a term for it. It's pale male and stale.
So you happen to be in an industry where there's a lot of people who are pale male and stale. What is it like being a woman business broker in an industry that, you know, the, the stereotype is, you know, the, you know, a hard charging, slick man, who's going to come in and sell your business tomorrow. What is it like being a woman in this industry?
[Speaker 1]
It's not easy. It brings a lot of challenges. But I think women bring something different to the table.
Um, as long as you are, um, you know, because men are more mostly, you know, number driven, women have a lot of we've built relationships. So when it comes to sellers, I mean, sometimes I always call myself a fun size broker, because I'm little and you know, so and I'm a girl and a lot of these guys that are like trying to sell their businesses, you know, a lot older than I am. So you have to really be straightforward, assertive, you have to know what you're talking about, either if it's a FedEx or a pull route or whatever it is, because we do a lot of construction, you just have to know but you have to be empathetic and build a relationship with that person.
But it's difficult in that sense when they see you, but when you start talking, and they know what you're talking about, then, then it's good. And for I always said that women that make it in this industry really make it we're really good, because we have that empathy part in relationship side of it. So which makes the process a little bit softer, but still like, you know, like, good for them.
So yeah, it's part in the industry is part of psychology is part of management, you know, transaction management. So women can do that all at the same time.
[Speaker 2]
So no, that's, that's great. I appreciate that insight. That's really, that's really good.
Let's take the other perspective. So you're a buyer now, and you're coming to look for a business. What are you looking for when you're so should a buyer go to a business broker?
Should a buyer decide? Like, let's start with an investment. And then we can talk about a business that's going to be owner operator.
So a business that's an investment, what approach should a buyer take?
[Speaker 1]
Well, they should, they should a lot of the PE companies right now are going straight to the sellers. Unless you're really educated, then you should have a broker on your side. Everybody should have a broker on their side.
Because remember, it's not just about finding the business. It's about, okay, let me see how this broker or this business was valued. And, you know, getting documents, usually business that are listed by brokers, the brokers don't talk to buyers directly, because they don't know what they're going to get.
So absolutely hire a broker, you don't have to pay for it, you know, and you'll have somebody that has your back. So I will say, yes, what is the process? The same thing with when I do when I have both sides, but I used to work for a actually strategic buyer, we purchased about 32 businesses by the time I left, he had 32 already.
Very good business. I am and what I did was the searcher. So I did all that I'm doing right now.
But for one buyer, collecting all the financials, assets, talking to the broker, talking to the seller. So before I brought the business to the buyer. So yeah, I have been on that side also on only the buyer side of it.
But yes, 100% you should always have a broker on your side, even if you're buying. Yeah, it's not just for seller.
[Speaker 2]
All right. So a lot of people who listen to the show, a lot of people who watch this are in sales, because of my background, because of the nature of what I do. I've got a lot of people who watch the show, listen to the show who are in sales.
So they're going to wonder how you get leads, because if there's businesses all over the place, right. And, you know, in my mind, when I first started to work with business owners, I would meet business owners from, I don't know, giving speeches or at networking events and that sort of thing, or people would introduce me, I'd get referrals. But I've talked to a lot of business brokers and they get started by like going to a shopping center and going from store to store, asking to speak to the owner.
And if the owner's not there, leaving a flyer or something. So where do leads come from?
[Speaker 1]
I mean, I will say that that for a new broker, that will work. I mean, right now with social media, I mean, you don't, I don't think that that's necessary anymore. But if it works for you, whatever works, but referrals, networking, I think networking that never gets old, that is where you get and social media, because in networking, I especially because people need to trust you before they let you sell your business, you can't sell their business, they don't know you.
So social media, networking, referrals, of course, already somebody, you know, is telling them that you're good. But if you don't have that, you have to get out there. And I think social media is the best thing to get clients that turn into connections, turn into business.
[Speaker 2]
So they stalk your content for a year or two, and then they're like, you know who I'm going to call? I'm going to call the person whose videos I watch every morning.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah, I mean, tell me that is not the truth. You need something and you're like, Oh, yeah, call like that this lawyer, I don't know, whatever, the one you remember the most is, yeah, it's the one you're going to call because Yeah, exactly. So you have to get out there.
Networking is the best, I think, still, still the best source of referrals and leads.
[Speaker 2]
All right, Sylvia. So people want to get ahold of you, what's the best way for them to get in touch with you?
[Speaker 1]
The best way is LinkedIn, they can just search Sylvia Mullen. And, you know, I post videos about how to better your business, how to find a business tips and everything. Every week, I post one video.
And you can just message me. There's nothing, no, nothing to sell, just like information, good information that I will give you. And all the allegations are free.
[Speaker 2]
All right, so we're going to put Sylvia's LinkedIn profile down in the show notes. So you can get ahold of her or you can search Sylvia Mullen on LinkedIn. Sylvia, thank you so much for joining me today.
It was an absolute pleasure having you.
[Speaker 1]
Likewise. Thanks.
[Speaker 2]
All right, that'll do it for this edition of the Inside BS show. My name is Dave Lorenzo. We'll be back here again tomorrow morning with another great show for you.
Until then, here's hoping you make a great living and live a great life.