ELEMENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
Selling Your Practice the Right Way Irina Bartnik
I
was a Cohort 1 BC Notary graduate in 2010.
As of December 1, 2021, I sold my Notary practice. This article addresses what made the sale a success for both parties involved and why I decided to sell. The most important part of the sale is full transparency. I began by putting my practice-for-sale ad on the Notary Members Private Website and also participated in the annual Notary Job Fair. Very quickly, several people were interested. The next step was to show my financials to potential buyers. Some sellers may not be comfortable with that part of transparency, but it is important. I was selling a successful business and I wanted the numbers to speak for themselves. That step eliminated most purchasers as they realized my practice was much busier than what they thought they could handle. Next, the potential buyer “Test Drove” my business by spending 2 weeks in the office. You would not buy a car without driving it or buy a house without seeing it. The buyer needed to know the business was the right fit for her. The next step was for the Notary to confirm she agreed to purchase the business. We agreed
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on the price, the terms, and the date the transaction would take place. Lawyers, one for me and one for the buyer, drafted the purchase and sale agreement. The purchasing Notary placed a good faith nonrefundable deposit in Trust with her lawyer and we started our journey to transfer the ownership of the business. Since she was a new Notary, she needed to learn a lot about actually running a busy Notary business.
The business structure resonated well with the purchasing Notary as it allowed for a good worklife balance for everyone on our team. As a part of a smooth transaction, we agreed the purchasing Notary would be a Staff Notary for 6 months in the practice, allowing time for business training and to introduce her to my existing clients. My staff and clients loved the new Staff Notary . . . we were on the right track. For the comfort of the purchasing Notary, I offered her the option of my staying there as a Roving Notary for 6 months after the initial 6 months of training. BC Notaries Association
The second important selling feature of the successful sale of my business was that Office Strategies and Procedures were set and easy to follow. I had developed a manual. I am a big supporter of worklife balance and always promoted that balance with my staff. For example, my staff knew that if they needed to take a couple of days off or a month’s vacation to travel in Europe, the answer was always, “No problem, you should do it.” Everyone in my office was always finished by 5 p.m. and would rarely stay past that time. As a result, we worked as a team, strived to be as efficient as possible, and only took as much business as we could handle . . . and it was still substantial. The business structure resonated well with the purchasing Notary as it allowed for a good worklife balance for everyone on our team. I am now a Roving Notary who provides vacation relief for other Notaries. My dream is to travel and explore BC as much as I can. I have an exciting and flexible career that allows me to achieve my travel goals at the same time. If you have questions about the sale of a practice, I am happy to chat. Irina Bartnik notaryinbc@gmail.com Volume 31, Number 1, Spring /Summer 2022
