Thinking of a career change? You may or may not have considered a career in Business Broking before, but WCPT have roped in two of WA’s most successful Business Brokers, Brad Potter and Rajiv Rajan, to give us an insight as to what working in the industry looks like.
So Brad and Rajiv, let’s talk about jobs. As everyone knows, the residential real estate market is tough at the moment, meaning it could be hard to find employment as a Sales Rep. Do you think there are opportunities for people to enter the business broking sector?
Brad – Absolutely! The average age is over 60+
Rajiv – The business broking sector experiences an economic recession in a very similar manner to Real Estate. Many buyers hope to leverage a business purchase, using the equity they believe they have in their primary residence. There are always opportunities for newcomers to business broking. The principal challenge is having adequate funds to manage your living costs, whilst you prepare and lead your first successful settlement.
Do you see an opportunity for women to break into this industry?
Brad – Yes most definitely. Business Broking has very few female brokers
Rajiv – Definitely, there are opportunities for all.
What kind of skills would people need to sell businesses compared to selling residential real estate?
Brad – An understanding of Financials, to be able to read and understand a profit & loss /Balance Sheet. A basic understanding of how businesses run in general, like working with people and managing expectations.
How competitive is the Business Broking industry?
Rajiv – It is competitive, there are 80+ Brokers in WA. You must establish yourself in a niche and specialise.
Brad – Like any industry there are always competitors, it’s what makes it interesting
What do you find most enjoyable about your job?
Brad – Flexibility & variety and recognition in the industry
Rajiv – Variety of businesses, clients, and challenges in identifying buyers.
Do you work long hours or at weekends?
Brad – At times you can work long hours, however, it’s very flexible. There’s no home opens on weekend to contend with!
Rajiv – Yes, as and when required. I’ve spent many years getting clients into a mindset so they see us (Business Broker) as no different to their Lawyer or Accountant. We are open during normal business hours.
The question everyone will want to know the answer to is, how are business brokers paid? Commission vs Salary? And is there money to be made?
Rajiv – I run my own business and pay myself a salary with an incentive scheme in place for achieving targets. There are a mix of salaried and commission only brokers in WA
Brad – Yes there is money to be made. Commission only range is 6-8% which is much higher than Residential
If you could give anyone who is looking to enter the industry any advice, what would it be?
Brad – Business Broking is very rewarding and often you are selling businesses so people can provide opportunities for their families and wealth creation. Selling Businesses still has the emotion as selling houses and you need to be realistic and understand people’s expectations. Listing a business and settlement cant often take much longer than a house settlement.
It is not an industry for the faint-hearted, many things can go wrong, not only dealing with a buyer and seller but also managing agents, Accountants, Lawyers, Landlords, supply companies the list goes on and more things can go wrong. You need to have attention to detail, be well organised and have the ability to manage conflict & tricky situations (e.g put out the fires before they burn you!).
There is an old saying “ Become a Business Broker and have some of you biggest pay days of your life!”
Want to know more? Join Brad and Rajiv for our 7 Point Elective CPD session on Selling Businesses on the 2nd of July.
Click here to register: Selling Businesses CPD