RCSE had a packed house on Friday with potential new members as well as visiting Rotarians in the room. In fact, there were five previous District Governors all in attendance with three of those being members of RCSE. President Gordon Matthews reminded everyone of the Oyster Roast on Saturday, February 22 and announced to the club that Greenbriar Children's Center received a donation in the amount of $473 from RCSE through money raised in Fines, Happy, and Raffle in Q2. Once all Rotary business items were discussed, Laura Lane McKinnon introduced our speaker for the day - Dean Burnett who is a Managing Director for Best Business Brokers.
Mr. Burnett started out by explaining what business brokers do. When businesses want to sell, they typically do not want anyone to know. Business brokers help put buyers and sellers together and serve as a vital advisor during the selling process. In other words, business brokers sell secrets. Brokering started back in 1742. In the 1960's, many blue collar workers were leaving large companies in order to go into business for themselves. The average cost of a business was $16,000. In the 1970's, a lot of foreign buyers became interested in owning their own business and the 1980's is when franchising became popular. The 2000's began with technology making a huge impact in business world.
78% of small business owners make profits and rank their happiness high. Small business owners continue to be ruled by baby boomers. The average age of a seller is 70 and the average age of a buyer is late 30's-50. Many factors go into determining the value of a business. Some of them are geography, revenue, and similar businesses in the area. Mr. Burnett concluded his talk with a quote: "Don't wait, the time will never be just right."