Issuu

Building Dream Homes

CUSTOMIZING A FRANCHISE DREAM PG. 8

Silicon Valley Meets Silicon Prairie NEBRASKA WEB STARTUP EXPANSION PG. 5

Traction THE ENTREPRENEURâ€™S OPERATING SYSTEM PG.4

A Publication of The Firm Business Brokerage

Winter 2017

TALENT EDITION

Volume 1 Issue 10

President/Editor • Cortney Sells

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s O MA H A M ’

Director/Assistant Editor • Cassandra Powers

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Published by The Firm Business Brokerage

In-House Legal Counsel • Susanne Miller

2016 Winner

In-House Accountant • Cassandra Waltrip Brokerage Principal • Rene Rademacher Director of Strategic Development • Liz Jones Research Analyst • Daniel Hayes Research Analyst • Seth Balke

J OIN US APR I L 19 F O R A D AY O F LE AR N I N G, I N SPI R AT ION & CONNE CT ION

Outreach Coordinator • Jordan Burt Outreach Coordinator • Tina McGill Outreach Coordinator • LeAnn Moore Outreach Coordinator • McKenna Thorngren Office Associate • Adam Jaime

R E G I S TER N O W

IC A N G LO B A L. N ET

Design • OBI Creative Contributing Writers • Kathy Rygg, Maureen Tierney, Kris Kluver Photography by Bill Sitzmann

To Subscribe: The Firm Business Brokerage info@TheFirmB2B.com 210 N. 78 St. Omaha, NE 68114 402.998.5288 Advertising Inquiries: 402.884.2000 todd@omahamagazine.com

The Firm Deal Review

Winter 2017

A Publication of The Firm Business Brokerage

The Bottom Line

Apg.8Dream Business Special Section

Features

7 Take Our Hand

The Firm Business Brokerage has over

Valley Meets 5 Silicon Silicon Prairie

$90 million in assets under management

Samantha Masson Acquires CareerBum.com

Absolute Customs Restructures into

of current cash flowing businesses for sale—from contracting companies to professional service businesses, to medical-based practices.

Dream Homes 8 Building Becomes a Dream Business an Ideal Franchise

12 Former Mrs. Nebraska

Makes a Winning Move

Columns

4 Kris Kluver

Take a Look at Traction: The Entrepreneur’s Operating System

11 Trending 15 Executive Impact,

Insight on List vs. Sale Price

Jordan Burt:

A Mutually Beneficial Relationship: Making an Internship Count

Sale of Dress Boutique Becomes Perfect Pageant Partnership

Discipline Translates 14 Military in Business

Sells Insights

Acquiring the College of Nail Design

The Importance of Talent Acquisition

inding, training, and keeping the right employees can seem like a daunting task. Hiring and developing the right ties into company branding and messaging have far-reaching impact on the long-term success of a business. Strategic decision-making, rather than short-term position fills, should factor into these activities.

by Cortney Sells president/editor

the open position. Finding a company that shares their culture, philosophy, and values is often more important than the job opportunity. Once you onboard the talent, stay flexible. Sometimes that person you hired is a great fit for your business, but not the position you hired them for. If that occurs, try to move them to a position which capitalizes on their strengths and experience. As author Jim Collins advises: if they are a fit for your bus, then you need to find them the right seat.

Business owners need to be savvy in recruitment efforts, taking advantage of opportunities including online recruiting, social media, and networking contacts. Candidates have often done extensive research on your In this Talent Edition, we bring you brand, employees, and reputation in articles that further explore these the marketplace before they apply for ideas. Career and life coach Samantha

Masson purchases staffing business CareerBum.com with the goal of reducing the stress experienced by both job seekers and employers. Using the experience of The Firm’s Jordan Burt, Executive Impact explores the role of interns within a business (discussing the benefits both for the intern and the employer). Kris Kluver shows how EOS Traction provides entrepreneurs the tools needed to grow and strengthen the key components of their business. These are just a few of the stories which show that the right talent will take a business to the next level. THE FIRM

Winter 2017

The Firm Deal Review

A Publication of The Firm Business Brokerage

Take a Look at Traction:

The Entrepreneur’s Operating System written by Kristopher Kluver

ll businesses get “stuck” or hit the ceiling at one point or another. This process is inevitable and is actually part of the life cycle of every business. As human beings we innately know how to survive our growing pains, but it is often another story for business owners. According to a 2013 Forbes article, eight out of 10 startups “crash and burn” within the first 18 months. Please note, this excludes franchises and existing business that are purchased. The percentages are scary; however, before you go down the rabbit hole of despair, there is hope. In Gino Wickman’s book Traction, Wickman addresses this issue and provides solutions. His solution is known as the “The Entrepreneurial Operating System” or “EOS.” EOS is a complete system with a simple set of proven tools that help leadership teams to obtain three things: Vision, Health, and Traction. • Vision—from the standpoint of first getting the leadership team 100 percent on the same page with where the organization is going and how the team is going to get there. • Health—meaning to create an environment where the leadership team becomes open, honest, functional, and cohesive. Unfortunately not all leadership associates function well as a team.

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Winter 2017

• Traction—from the standpoint of helping the leadership team to become more disciplined and accountable, becoming masters of execution, and achieving every part of the organization’s vision. Where the leadership team points, so goes the rest of the organization. The objective is for the entire organization to become crystal clear on the vision, becoming much more accountable and executing on that vision while gaining consistent traction. The Traction plan works well for any organization that is looking to grow, willing to be open and honest, and ready to do the work. This is not a seminar, quick fix, or flavor of the month. This changes culture, creates clarity, and establishes accountability. There are specific steps that can be taken to “implement” the EOS system into your organization. In some cases, leadership teams will work on self-implementing EOS and there are tools on the EOS, website to assist. In other cases, there are professionals who will help companies with the implementation. As Omaha’s first professionally trained EOS Implementer, I encourage you to visit entrepreneurial-advisors.com. On the website you can download the first chapter of Traction for free, and there is a complimentary download library of tools available to get started. If you would like to learn more about what the pure implementation of the EOS process looks like, feel free to reach out. One of the core values of EOS is “Help First,” and we live that. THE FIRM

A Publication of The Firm Business Brokerage

Silicon Valley Meets Silicon Prairie

Samantha Masson Acquires CareerBum.com written by Maureen Tierney photography Provided

areer coach Samantha Masson’s plans for her new purchase, CareerBum.com, are both impressive and anxiety-inducing. Her ambition for the Nebraska-born job search board reaches far beyond its current local presence. What is now a humble, rural-servicing website may one day be a national employment engine, and Masson is moving quickly. She doesn’t even let a little thing like distance get in the way, despite the 1,500 miles between CareerBum’s home in Grand Island and her life in San Francisco; that’s the beauty of owning an online company.

Now, there’s not much in common between the Bay Area and Nebraska, but that divide is leveled when it comes to the need for effective job search tools. Launched in 2013, CareerBum.com was created to help rural communities attract the right talent to fill much-needed jobs. Masson was attracted to the perfect fit between her life as a career coach and the simple message of CareerBum: “give people what they need to get where they need and enjoy the process while doing it,” she says.

The Firm Deal Review Business Location: Central Nebraska Buyer Location: San Francisco, California Growth Plan: Grow from regional to national Industry: Online job search site Website: careerbum.com Purchase Type: Asset agreement

Masson, whose innate ability to reach people is what led her into career coaching, is a natural at sales and networking. Her determined approach and endless enthusiasm for her work and CareerBum’s potential is palpable. It helps that she not only has experience in sales, hospitality, and community relations, but she genuinely has a “passion for helping people and enjoying seeing people reach their goals.” Since 2011, Masson has worked with around 10 clients at a time to give them a singular experience in the job search arena. Even though she’s had success, she still wanted to branch out and own a business so that she could “take something (she’s) really good at and expand upon it.” Knowing what it’s like to apply for jobs, Masson “put her experience, talents, and knowledge into one basket and used it to find the right business,” and CareerBum more than delivered. It’s now become a launching pad for Masson to put her many ideas into practice, such as the staggering goal of doing business in all 50 states and potentially beyond. She’s even toying with taking CareerBum.com on the road in an RV, “but that’s just an idea right now.” Masson’s expertise in networking will be put to good use when she works with chambers of commerce to introduce CareerBum into a new area. There’s also the unique notion of working with small business licensing to give each new business registered information on CareerBum and how it can work to their advantage. Masson really takes to heart “making a difference in each community for both job seekers and employers.” After all, CareerBum.com is more than just another online business. Its aim is to be a job search lifestyle. >

Winter 2017

The Firm Deal Review

A Publication of The Firm Business Brokerage

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Travel is a major bonus of CareerBum (and also a factor in its purchase), but she is more than comfortable with the less exciting side of business and is adept with cold calling. Masson, who “loves meeting new people and making new friends,” is prepped for the marathon networking she’ll need to do so that CareerBum.com can mix with the big boys of the job search world. It’ll be a long haul, and while CareerBum consumes much of her thoughts, so far she’s “really loving it…and it’s brought so much joy” to her. Masson hopes to share that joy with as many as possible, working to alleviate the stress both job seekers and employers feel in today’s market. So, get ready. CareerBum.com will soon be coming to your town, and with it Masson’s contagious enthusiasm. THE FIRM

< While CareerBum is still in its infancy with Masson, she soon hopes to graduate from central Nebraska to a regional presence, and will then start her 50-state conquest with California, which she hopes to have saturated by the middle of 2017. Masson plans to use her experience with career fairs to start working with college campuses by helping recent graduates hone their job search and résumé building skills. The younger crowd also means perfecting a social media presence, which Masson considers crucial to success. “It’s a matter of spreading the word, doing a great job with social media, press releases, and getting into newspapers and chambers of commerce” to keep growing, she says.

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tel 800.608.3645 info@onesourcebackground.com onesourcebackground.com

2015 Winner DURO-LAST ROOFING, INC.

Visit us online Ciaccioroofing.com or call 402.293.8707 for a FREE estimate! 4420 Izard St • Omaha, NE

The Firm Deal Review

Winter 2017

A Publication of The Firm Business Brokerage

Take Our Hand:

Featured Opportunities for Sale Commercial Cleaning Services with Clients Over a Three-State Area

** Durable Medical Equipment Business—40 Percent Seller Carry

PRICE $505,000 OWNER PROFIT $140,617 (Three-year average)

PRICE $805,000 OWNER PROFIT $476,420

This janitorial and maintenance service provider works to clean and maintain large office complexes. Services provided include: construction site cleans, office cleaning, floor care, mowing, snow removal, and more. The work is evenly split between weekly and quarterly cleanings for commercial complexes. These jobs are located in and across the states of Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. and consistent.

New Profitable Childcare Facility PRICE $165,000 OWNER PROFIT $99,109 Being located in an upscale expanding neighborhood allows this business to flourish in the upcoming years. At its current growth rate, the building will reach capacity of 125 in less than two years. The 6,000-square-foot building was recently custom built with five classrooms sized for 25 children, each of which have child-height sinks, child-size restrooms, and individual egress to the 1-acre play area.

Downtown Lounge in Historic Building Featuring Live Jazz and Blues PRICE $65,000 SALES $155,568 (Annualized 2016) Excellent liquor selection in a 1920s building with lustrous original woodwork! Offering up to four nights of live music per week, this very popular lounge evokes a retro-modern vibe with its mix of ornate woodwork and comfortable modern furniture.

Full Service Lawn Care Company PRICE $1,095,000 OWNER PROFIT $304,859 Servicing southwest Iowa and southeast Nebraska for more than 40 years, this full service lawn care business has a strong and experienced staff along with hundreds of continual clients. Offering anything from regular lawn care to seeding, aeration, fertilizing, and tree or shrub clean up—this business has it all.

Providing support for Durable Medical Equipment (DME) mobility and respiratory needs, this two-location business serves clients in eastern and central Nebraska. Typical client is 55+ years old. The storefronts are open five days a week, stocking a variety of products and services that include: CPAP, ventilators, nebulizers, scooters, ramps, and lift chairs.

Pallet Distribution PRICE $7,943,845 OWNER PROFIT $1,765,299 (3 yr. avg.) This 60 year old business is currently shipping to all 50 states. The current owner is passive in the business and is seeking to retire which is the reason for the sale. The business is fully staffed and equipped to keep running successfully. The business emphasizes on customer satisfaction and has in return received several rewards.

Geotechnical Engineering & Environmental Services PRICE $1,195,000 OWNER PROFIT $380,299 With licensed staff in place and seller training for up to one year, this business is the perfect size for a new owner to maintain existing clients or pursue growth opportunities such as marketing (for the first time in company history), expanding into new territory, or providing additional services.

Allstate Insurance Agency with Highly Qualified Client Base PRICE $350,000 OWNER PROFIT $114,545 This Allstate Agency serves a prime market in Omaha which is expecting major growth in the next 5-10 years. The insurance policies are split 90 percent “Home and Auto,” 5 percent “Business,” and 5 percent “Life/ Retirement.” With two well-qualified employees, clients know that they will be taken care of.

** Broker’s Choice | 110+ Available Business Opportunities For Sale. Please visit TheFirmBusinessBrokerage.com.

Winter 2017

The Firm Deal Review

Winter 2017

A Publication of The Firm Business Brokerage

Building Dream Homes Becomes a Dream Business

Absolute Customs Restructures into an Ideal Franchise written by Kathy Rygg | photography by Keith Binder

The Firm Deal Review Reason for Sale: To franchise nationally Seller Attorney: Abrahams Kaslow & Cassman, Jennifer Rattner Buyer Attorney: McGill, Gotsdiner, Workman & Lepp, Gary Gotsdiner Transition Period: Six months Custom Homes Per Year: 30

ntrepreneurship can start at any age. When he was just 10 years old, Scott Warren started his first business making and selling sack lunches to construction workers on job sites. In junior high he had his own landscaping company, and in high school he started an asphalt driveway sealing business. So it’s no surprise that he eventually became the owner of his own home construction company, Absolute Customs, which he recently sold so that he can franchise the business concept nationally.

Following the path of his previous endeavors, Warren got into residential painting while attending the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. That led him to becoming a subcontractor for custom home builders. Ultimately, it was out of tragedy that he started building his own homes. When Benchmark Homes filed for bankruptcy in 2006, Warren became part of its unsecured creditors committee. What he learned from that experience enabled him to start a home building company with a different type of business model—one in which subcontractors are paid directly from the bank, and the homeowner carries the loan, ensuring neither loses money.

“What we offer is transparency,” Warren explains. “We partner with the homeowner so that there are no hidden fees or costs along the way.” Absolute Customs establishes an up-front management fee for building the home, and everything after that is done at wholesale pricing. Warren says this gives the homeowner greater value, either by allowing them to choose higher end finishes or having more equity in the home when it’s finished. And with up to 30 custom homes per year at an average price of $650,000, that business model pays off for everyone involved. As the company grew and expanded outside of Omaha, Warren’s time was divided between various markets. He saw there was opportunity in other cities such as Des Moines, Sioux City, and the big three in Texas—Houston, Austin, and Dallas—but knew he couldn’t give the Omaha market the attention it still needed if he was focused elsewhere. So at the beginning of 2016, Warren decided to look for a new owner for Absolute Customs and sell the business. He contacted The Firm to start the process and soon found the right buyer: Brett Eby. “Brett came across as having an understanding and a passion for custom homes, and he had the business experience necessary, so I felt comfortable he could come in and grow the company,” Warren says. Eby’s management background wasn’t the only thing that made him a good fit; outside of his regular work hours, he did a lot of home remodeling on his own. “I’ve always loved construction and the process of creating something new and beautiful,” he says.

WHEN HE WAS JUST 10 YEARS OLD, SCOTT WARREN STARTED HIS FIRST BUSINESS MAKING AND SELLING SACK LUNCHES TO CONSTRUCTION WORKERS ON JOB SITES Eby’s father and uncle were both small business owners, and for years he dreamed of owning his own business. He just didn’t know what type of business that would be. When faced with the risk of losing his job after the company he worked for was sold in 2015, Eby decided it was time to pursue that dream. “I reached out to everyone I knew asking if anyone was aware of a business for sale, but nothing interested me,” he says. That’s when he contacted The Firm. They started the process of looking for the right company for Eby, but home building never came up in conversations. “Construction companies typically aren’t for sale,” Eby says. “They’re usually passed down to a family member, so I never mentioned that would be an industry I’d be interested in. I didn’t even think it’d be a possibility.” He looked at several businesses but didn’t feel passionate about them. Until he learned about Absolute Customs. “It instantly grabbed my attention,” he says. After learning about the company’s structure, Eby knew it was a concept he could get excited about. And it was evident after his very first meeting with Warren that the two shared the same vision and passion for the business. “Our personalities really meshed,” Eby says. “We have similar life goals, and even the way we talk about business is the same.” Every conversation they had reaffirmed that it was the right move. And after five months, they closed the deal. “The Firm did a great job of knowing exactly what each side needed to come together, and they have a good deal process,” he adds. >

Winter 2017

The Firm Deal Review

A Publication of The Firm Business Brokerage

< Eby acknowledges that there’s a big difference between remodeling and new construction and knew he had a learning curve ahead of him. So the fact that Warren would stay on for six months and teach him everything he’d need to know about running a whole home construction business was a big factor. In fact, Eby can call on Warren at any time. “Omaha will always be the home base for the company, and I’ll always be here to help him grow the Omaha market,” Warren says. That’s a rare feature when purchasing a business. Even Eby says that when he decided to pursue entrepreneurship, he assumed he’d be buying a business from someone who planned to retire and wouldn’t be involved. Either that, or with most franchises there’s an element of corporate control. “This model is perfect because I own 100 percent of the business, but I have the resources of a national company behind me,” Eby says. And he’s eager to combine his business expertise in team management and marketing with his passion for the home construction industry. “This is so rewarding. I love this more than any other job I’ve ever had,” he adds. Although wearing so many hats can be challenging at times, Eby says he welcomes the responsibility of overseeing every aspect of the business. He’s already set financial goals for how to grow Absolute Customs locally while expanding into smaller surrounding communities. “The company is in good hands, and the Absolute Customs brand is going to be enhanced in the Omaha market, and hopefully I improve the process of building a home even more than before,” he says. The biggest surprise for Eby, when it comes to owning this business, has been how much he enjoys the actual sales process of home building. “I thought I’d like sales least and the construction aspect the most, but I love talking to homeowners,” he says. “There’s nothing better than talking to people about the one place where they want to spend all their time: a home.” THE FIRM

The Firm Deal Review

Winter 2017

Trends for Business Sales

A Publication of The Firm Business Brokerage

written by Sue Miller, J.D.

As 2016 comes to an end and 2017 begins, business owners need to understand that the decisions they make will impact the ultimate price a buyer will pay to acquire their business. Day-to-day operations are often the focus, but understanding annual cash flow is important when planning an exit strategy. Consider the trends that The Firm has observed over 2015 and 2016:

List Price vs. Sale Price Graph

$5,000,000

• Price negotiation is occurring across all business tiers.

$3,750,000

• Average sales price is within a 6-12 percent margin of list price.

$2,500,000

$1,023,000

• On average, businesses in Tier Three, with a list price of greater than $1.5 million, have less negotiation on sale price. • List price and sale price are directly related to the business’ cash flow.

$930,000

$1,250,000 $0

$1,023,000 $213,344

$187,000

$930,000

88%

List Price: Tier One List Price Average

91%

List Price: Tier Two Sale Price Average

94%

List Price: Tier Three Margin on List Price

List Price: Tier One List Price: Tier One List Price: Tier One $1,500,000+ $501,000 - $1,500,000 $0.00 - $500,000 Cash Flow Average Multiple Average

Cash Flow in Relation to Multiple • Multiples in the Midwest range from one to five. • Businesses with higher cash flow levels, seen predominantly in Tier Three, are obtaining higher multiples. • Higher multiples mean higher list prices and higher sales prices.

$87,790 2.85

$219,125 3.5

$1,400,000

$1,375,059 4.76

$1,375,059

$1,050,000 $700,000 $350,000 $0

$219,125 $87,790

List Price: Tier One List Price: Tier Two List Price: Tier Three Cash Flow Average Multiple Average

Active Businesses • If a business is in acquisition mode or a new entrepreneur is ready to purchase a business, there are many opportunities in the Tier One level.

List Price: Tier One List Price: Tier One List Price: Tier One $1,500,000+ $501,000 - $1,500,000 $0.00 - $500,000 Active Businesses

• With the year-end influx of buyers, sellers are in higher demand, especially in Tiers Two and Three. A business valuation can be done at any time, but acting in the first quarter is a good time. Knowledge is power. Whether or not you ready to sell, a business valuation will help plan for the future. Educate yourself and know your options.

Winter 2017

The Firm Deal Review

A Publication of The Firm Business Brokerage

Former Mrs. Nebraska Makes a Winning Move

Sale of Dress Boutique Becomes Perfect Pageant Partnership written by Kathy Rygg | photography by Bill Sitzman

The Firm Deal Review Stat: On national TV show Obsessed with the Dress Post-Close: Seller staying as creative director Lender: Centris Financial Credit Union, O.J. Spooner Loan Structure: SBA

onfidence and success typically go hand-in-hand. That’s been the experience for Michelle Strom in both her personal and professional life. Growing up as a competitive athlete in gymnastics, Strom has always welcomed competition. So when her friend asked her to compete in the 2007 Mrs. Nebraska pageant, she agreed. And it paid off by winning the title. Little did she know at the time, it would also be the start of a prosperous business career.

Although Strom was married with two children, she saw the pageant as another form of competition and was eager to train and get back into shape. She had never competed in a pageant before, but she was familiar with it, having helped friends’ daughters who competed. Competing also gave her the opportunity to learn how to become an effective communicator, including how to speak well in public. “It kept me focused and gave me a goal,” she says. “It also got me involved in the community, doing more volunteer work, and put me on a new pathway. It was a fantastic move for me.”

The Firm Deal Review

Winter 2017

I WASN’T LOOKING FOR JUST ANYONE TO TAKE OVER; I WANTED THE RIGHT PERSON -Michelle Strom

After winning her first pageant, Strom went on to compete in Mrs. America where she won second runner-up and then to the Mrs. United States pageant in 2009 where she finished in the top five. During her preparation, Strom needed to look for one of the most important pageant elements: the formal dress. Frustrated by the lack of local options, she started to design and sell pageant dresses out of her home. The home-based business quickly grew, and she opened a storefront in Rockbrook Village. Winning Crown Boutique became the premier place to purchase original, one-ofa-kind dresses not just for pageants, but for all special occasion needs. Strom competed in just the three pageants and then decided to shift her focus to helping other women—not only those competing in pageants—to look and feel their best. With her creative flare, Strom has a sense for what looks good on each individual. “I have a good attention to detail and have had a lot of success determining just the right gown for customers,” she says. That talent is what continued to grow Winning Crown into a successful business on an international level. In 2013, Strom was featured for a season on the WE TV show Obsessed with the Dress. Filmed at Winning Crown, the show followed Strom’s process for finding those perfect dresses.

A Publication of The Firm Business Brokerage

Like many successful businesses owners, Strom had grown hers to a point where she had met all of her goals. With kids who are now teenagers, including a daughter who competes on a traveling gymnastics team, Strom felt the time had come to focus more on family and make herself available to attend out-of-town meets. After making the decision to sell Winning Crown, she contacted The Firm because she felt they had the personable, one-on-one approach that she wanted. Since finding the right buyer was so important, Strom decided to do a private listing. “I wasn’t looking for just anyone to take over; I wanted the right person,” she explains.

When Strom finally found that right fit, she says it was because “the buyer had all the right puzzle pieces.” With a daughter who competes in pageants and a business background in accounting, Strom felt the new owner would be able to run Winning Crown successfully. And the best part is that Strom will stay on as the boutique’s creative director. “I’ll be able to continue to coach girls in pageantry skills out of the store’s current location and help the store with the latest trends, buying merchandise, as well as design dresses,” she says.

Even though Winning Crown has changed hands, and they are in the process of transitioning ownership, Strom says the business model isn’t going to change. In fact, by combining the business expertise of the new owner and Strom’s creative expertise, she believes that Winning Crown will be even stronger. “Everything that customers know and love about the Winning Crown isn’t going to change,” she says. “We make sure that everyone we dress feels unique, special, and their very best.” THE FIRM

Winter 2017

The Firm Deal Review

Military Discipline Translates in Business

Acquiring the College of Nail Design

written by Kathy Rygg

The Firm Deal Review Development: Rockbrook Reason for Sale: Owner’s health Lender: Nebraska Enterprise Fund Stat: The only licensed nail college in Nebraska

taking it out from under me,” Myers says. The sale didn’t take long to complete, with Myers’ final offer being accepted within only a few days. That was in part due to The Firm’s ability to work under pressure, and the fact that Myers and the seller clicked during their first meeting. “We had a connection since I was an MP and the seller’s husband is a police officer,” she explains. “We felt we could be honest with each other and shared the same vision for the business.”

eing a successful business owner requires discipline. Not just for yourself, but also for your employees. For Barbara Myers, this perspective is second nature. After a 14-year career in the U.S. Army, she decided to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming an entrepreneur, bringing years of loyalty and discipline to her life’s next chapter. Prior to enlisting in the military, Myers had attended and taught at cosmetology school, hoping to one day own her own salon. Her decision to join the Army was the result of her desire to travel and gain education from the experiences the military could offer. In addition to being an MP, she also worked in logistics and was part of an aviation counter drug unit. As soon as she got out, she felt that familiar pull back to becoming an entrepreneur.

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Winter 2017

“I was working as an operations manager for a company, and my family kept telling me I should be working for myself,” Myers says. “I thought I’d wait until I had finished my degree in business entrepreneurship, but with all my experience, it seemed the opportunities were there.” After many sleepless nights researching companies, she reached out to The Firm to help with her search. “The Firm made all of it seem so simple and took the guesswork out of it,” Myers adds. She described what she was looking for in a company, and as soon as she learned about Bella Dea Day Spa and the College of Nail Design, she knew it was the perfect opportunity. Bella Dea was in an industry that she had always loved, it had the perfect location in Rockbrook, and its staff had been in place for years. “I made it clear to everyone that I wanted Bella Dea and didn’t want anyone

That vision includes making needed technology updates within the college to help improve classes and expanding the salon so there’s more room to hire additional staff to accommodate more clients. Myers was able to get financing through the Nebraska Enterprise Fund that provides financing for small businesses and includes a mentoring program. “I can see the passion and commitment you have, not only for what you do, but to be a great employer and partner (with The Firm),” says Melina Arroyo of Nebraska Enterprise Fund, commenting on The Firm’s assistance in the transaction. “You are doing a great job, and I am very proud of each successful and hardworking female I encounter each and every day.” Myers is focused on all aspects of her business while continuing with her full-time job and finishing her degree. But that’s where her discipline also helps. “I want a team that is loyal to the company where we all have our roles and help each other out. Then we’ll be successful,” Myers says. “Their success is my success.” THE FIRM

A Publication of The Firm Business Brokerage

Executive Impact, Jordan Burt

A Mutually Beneficial Relationship: Making an Internship Count written by Maureen Tierney

While the cost of doing business continues to grow, some of the most significant cost increases are associated with labor (with the added stress of finding qualified, trained talent). The way employees work is a constantly changing battle. As a business is subject to technological and social advances, so too are its employees. It’s beneficial for both parties to begin molding an employee, as early as possible, with the goal of employment upon graduation. The current generation of millennials are marked by the substantial debts they face upon completion of higher education. Tuition continues to rise, but the job market and pay scale have not matched pace. It behooves undergraduates to pursue internships as early as possible. Not only does it provide excellent experience for résumé building, but it increases the chances of retaining employment. It’s a strategy that has served The Firm’s outreach coordinator, Jordan Burt. A current senior at Creighton University, Burt was placed as an intern at The Firm through Jobs4Jays, a service run by Creighton for undergraduates and alumni. It’s been an all-around internship, with Burt working within various departments, and gaining insight into both the buy and sell sides of a deal. Having worked with buyers, Burt has learned “how much is involved with buying a business, and the amount of research it takes” to find the right fit. But Burt is doing more than just learning about an organization and furthering her career. She’s starting at ground zero and is already earning money before having a degree in hand. While still a full-time student and nearly a full-time employee, Burt has secured her future and can already begin paying back college debt or start saving—a struggle for many millennials. “I am one of two in my group of friends that has a solid plan after graduation, and this is so meaningful to me” says Burt.

Going down this path has also helped The Firm. An employer can reap the benefits of training an intern who has a lack of acquired bad habits that can hinder a seasoned applicant. It’s an opportunity to shape and mold an intern along organizational lines, making them an even more valuable employee post-graduation. Plus, there is the added benefit of training without the financial burden of a full-time employee. This win-win scenario has been observed on both sides by Cassandra Powers, director at The Firm. Like Burt, Powers utilized Jobs4Jays while still an undergrad over five years ago. It’s an advantage that has allowed her to grow into her role over a half-decade, rather than job jumping like many others struggling to find career paths. “I was able to become a homeowner at 25. Without my internship, this would not have been possible,” Powers says. Now on the

flip side of this equation, Powers can see the benefit of Burt’s internship with The Firm. “We’ve been able to take (Burt’s) skills and help her learn about the business while also using them to help shape her as a future fulltime employee of The Firm,” says Powers. Conserving the bottom line while keeping employees is a delicate balance, but the value of an internship is steadily increasing for all parties involved. Employers end up with an ideal candidate, and interns gain experience and financial stability. Even if there is a parting of ways, neither time nor money is truly lost in the transaction. THE FIRM

Winter 2017

The Firm Deal Review