Adam Torres and Curt Maier discuss Curt’s new book.
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Show Notes:
New book alert! In this episode, Adam Torres interviewed Curt Maier, Vice President of Business Development at IBA. Explore buying and selling businesses along with Curt’s new book, Mission Matters: World’s Leading Entrepreneurs Reveal Their Top Tips To Success (Business Leaders Vol. 10, Edition 5).
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About Curt Maier
Curt Maier is the VP of Business Development for International Business Associates, commonly known as IBA. He joined IBA after successfully owning and operating multiple businesses, including a Murphy Business Brokerage franchise, and distinguished careers both in the corporate world and United States Navy.
About IBA
International Business Associates, commonly known as IBA, was established in 1975 by a group of experienced business brokerage professionals who believed that they could provide better customer service, market knowledge, transactional experience, and professional representation while maintaining confidentiality than was currently available to the Pacific Northwest.
Full Unedited Transcript
Hey, I’d like to welcome you to another episode of Mission Matters. My name is Adam Torres, and if you’d like to apply to be a guest in the show, just head on over to mission matters.com and click on Be Our Guest to Apply. All right, so today is a very special episode. We are welcoming back to the show, Curt Maier, who is Vice President of Business Development over at IBA, and I’m proud to announce an author in our most recently.
mission matters. Hey, I just want to say, Kurt, welcome back to the show. Well, thanks Adam. It’s a pleasure to be back with you. So how do you feel? We’re in a book together. We’re bound by ink. It’s fantastic. You know, obviously the hard copy is Particularly impressive and looking forward to distributing thousands of them here after this podcast.
Yeah. Well well, great to have you back on. And before we get into the content, before we get into the reluctant entrepreneur, the book, and also what you’re doing at IBA we’ll take a step back and we’ll start this episode, the way that we start them all with what we like to call our mission matters minute.
So Kurt, we at Mission Matters, we amplify stories for entrepreneurs, executives, and experts. That’s our mission. Kurt, what mission matters to you? Satisfying the needs of veterans, particularly those transitioning from active duty. And really satisfying the needs of any business owner who’s looking to exit through the sale.
Now you’re and thank you for sharing that. And and a big shout out, of course, to our veterans. When, when we were, we have many veteran entrepreneurs that we bring on the line. And I love to get your, your opinion and also your expertise from this, but I guess maybe let, let’s just be honest. Break down your, I know we did one episode in the past, but that was a long time ago and we got a whole lot.
We’ve been blessed. We have a whole lot of new listeners. So maybe let’s break, let’s start off by breaking down your, your background a little bit here. I know you have, you know, three different distinct professional careers. So maybe let’s start there. Sure, Adam. I am blessed by having three careers. My first career after graduating from Notre Dame was in the Navy as a naval nuclear submarine officer, and I had the pleasure of serving aboard the U.
S. S. Robert E. Lee for five years in the Pacific during the height of the Cold War. And that provided a great foundation for me for the subsequent 40 years. Which transitioned from military career to a career in a fortune 300 chemical company, Air Products and Chemicals, where I was in the industrial gas division, where we were selling Products like oxygen, nitrogen, helium, hydrogen to a wide variety of industries.
Started in the field in in Phoenix, went to LA spent some time in the corporate headquarters. Then I actually had an expat stint in Malaysia for a couple of years, came back and took on increasingly responsible positions running, for example, the global helium business for our products controlled 40 percent of the production.
And then finally, I got my M and H ops by rolling up the, in the respiratory therapy industry for air products as a provider of care. And then after 20 years, I entered the third phase of my professional career, I, I became an entrepreneur and have owned and sold several businesses in a variety of industries from healthcare to industrial supply to actually owning my own business brokerage firm.
prior to joining IBA almost five years ago. So again, military career, fortune 300 career, and my favorite being a vetrepreneur, an entrepreneur of the last 20 plus years. I want to stick in that transition from from when you went into entrepreneurship a little bit longer, because when we talk to, I, when we talk about IBA, obviously we’re going to get into some of the nuances of that.
And so for that, they may, they may, we may be talking about some more established businesses, right. When you’re talking about the MNA side of things. things, but I want you to talk to those those early entrepreneurs. And I don’t mean by age, I just mean by like, maybe they’re just getting started and it could be an entrepreneur could be a vet preneur like talk to them for a moment.
Like, what was that like making the transition? Cause cause it’s different when you’re out there on your own. Absolutely, Adam. So when I made that transition, I was in my mid forties and so, you know, the light bulb went on a little late for me, quite frankly. You know, I had enjoyed my career with their products and had challenging assignments that grew me professionally.
To where I became a general manager and, and was familiar with all aspects of running a business. But you know, making that transition is is nerve wracking. You know, I, I had a very comfortable. position and a lot of security, et cetera. But I knew that I wanted to do something different rather than making shareholders rich through my efforts.
I thought, why not why not? I benefit from my own efforts. Why not? I have the flexibility that I craved. You know, I had two daughters growing up. My wife’s a professional. And one of us needed to do something different. I thought my wife would, but she encouraged me to, and it was the best decision I made.
So, you know, that transition was was a challenge because I didn’t know what the heck I wanted to do. You know, when somebody says they want to go into business for themselves you know, you have to have some sort of vision of what that is, you know, and, and hopefully it’s something that plays to your skill set, you know, your knowledge, experience, and skill And I would encourage entrepreneurs when they’re thinking of becoming a small business owner to keep the lens wide open, you know, don’t be focused on, on what you like to do.
For example, when I became an entrepreneur my friends warned me, you know, don’t, don’t start a golf business from scratch, you know, 90 percent of startups, by the way, fail. So the way to become a small business owner, my best advice is either buy an existing business and existing cashflow. Preferably it replaces your corporate income immediately.
And there’s a creative day one or buy a franchise. Because then you’re in business for yourself, but not by yourself and you have a proven business model. And if you execute, you’re going to minimize the chance of failure and you’re going to gain experience over time. And those entrepreneurial juices will continue.
And it doesn’t mean that You know, just because you become a franchisee, you have to stay in that particular franchise or that industry forever. I mean, as you get the confidence going, you can branch off into other opportunities, which is what was the case with me. Yeah, if I if I could go back and I kind of think about it all, I’m like, man, I would have gone the franchise route or some are purchasing a business that was already established because I didn’t really know what I was doing.
And I didn’t. And I think about the years that cost me. And I’m like, I mean, I’m happy now because Mission Matters worked out right. But there was some, you know, bumps in the road prior to that. But I’m thinking to myself, like, yeah, even the training being, you know, around others that understand being part of a model, like All those other things.
I think there’s a tremendous amount of benefits that we don’t maybe always think about, especially for speaking specifically to those newer entrepreneurs or those first time entrepreneurs, the seasoned individuals like yourself who have, you know, been buying and selling businesses for years. That’s, you know, that’s just part of doing business.
Right. So one of the things that we’ve had obviously previous conversations and as we’ve gotten to know each other, I know, I know one of the mantras that I know you for is that, you know, your net worth equals your network. What is, what, what does that mean? Like, what does that mean to you for our audience?
Well, I, I tell you, it starts with, with the definition of net worth. You know, if I ask you, Adam, you know, what is your net worth? You know, you’re probably looking at me like well, you know, it’s none of your business out, the finance out the sheet , you know net worth is how you define it. You know, it it could be what your wealth is.
It could be the wealth of your friends. It could be how you’re contributing to society. All of those things. But if your net worth is significant I can assure you that it’s related to your network, meaning the connections, the people that you have in your life. And so that’s why they’re, you know, so intricately linked.
If you have a good quality network of high quality individuals that’s going to help you succeed. I mean, let’s face it in life. It’s not what you know. I mean, I was a two, six engineer at Notre Dame. I didn’t know very much. Okay. But as I progressed, it was more about who I knew and recognizing that if I didn’t know something about a particular subject matter, that I wouldn’t list the aid of someone who knew it better than was not proud to bring those people in.
So I learned that in the Navy. I learned that having relationships and a good network. On board a submarine is an integral part of your success. Certainly in a corporate environment, all of those listeners and viewers out there realize that when you’re a general manager in a large corporation or small corporation, that it isn’t you, you know, you’re the quarterback, but you can’t be an expert in every single discipline.
You can’t be, I mean, you know I like to think that in my profession, I deal with a lot of attorneys and CPAs, financial advisors. I like to think that I’m pretty knowledgeable in those areas, but I, I know my limitations, you know, as Clint said, he gots to know your limitations. And so what you do is you bring in the experts.
So it’s who you know, not what you know. So your net worth is certainly equal to your net worth. And I encourage everyone. To build a very strong network from the get go. I shared that with my two daughters that I think have embraced that. And I can see that they’re enjoying success as a result of building strong networks.
So that’s a little bit and you building your network and also like, other than you’re a golfer in your golf game, like how do you maintain, how do you foster those relationships? How do they, cause you’re, you’re exceptional at this. And I’m not just saying that. Cause I’ve, I’ve watched you, you know, over the last.
Couple years and I see things and like to, it’s one thing just build, but how do you maintain, how do you go deep other than obviously your golf game? Like, like, what’s your secret? Well, I think that you have to invest the time with your network and, and you have to you have to demonstrate that That you value that relationship?
I mean, it can be as simple as you know, noting a post that someone has on LinkedIn and Yeah. You know, not only liking it, but making a comment or going out of your way to repost and reinforce what that person is saying. That deepens the relationship. It really does. Mm-Hmm. And, it takes time. I think the personal touch, I’m an old school guy.
Okay. So I get a lot of handwritten notes up to people, you know, if I see something written in the Puget Sound business journal about someone, I’ll cut it out of the paper and I’ll pop it into a a note card with a personal note. So, I mean, It has to be deep, personal communication to people to deepen those relationships.
And, you know, like, I, I love the way you teed this up because, you know, I can, I can continue to add new people, but if you don’t take care of the ones that you have established relationships with and, you know, you’re both benefiting from them. You’re foolish, you know? Mm-Hmm. . It’s like you know, in business, you know, if you don’t take care of your base, doesn’t matter how many new customers you have, take care of your base first.
Take care of your network. Nurture that network. You know? Yeah. I’m, I’m a big fan of this concept, and it’s something I’ve been working on for, I’d say, maybe the last five years. And if I have one regret in business, it was that, like I just had a, I’ve had a lot of, and I’m not saying it’s too late, but I’ve had a lot of amazing people that I’ve led out of my life.
That, you know, still could have been in there. And still, I just feel like personally, even not even on just business, but just on the personal side, I’m like, Oh man, like, you know, what happened to that person wrapped into this? But now I feel like with, with technology and otherwise, it’s just so different.
Like what you just now said, liking a post, sharing something, share, sending a quick message to somebody, especially if somebody’s if somebody’s creating content, it’s interesting because like when we post this or anything else, like other people are going to comment, they’re going to They’re going to say, Hey, Kurt, they’re going to, you know what I mean?
Like things come up and it just gives those touch points so that I’m old school too. I prefer a note I prefer. I mean, I write a lot of notes. I do a lot of things like that still. And and I have my own cards and things like that, that I still do. But But I’ll tell you that even on the receiving and the giving end, the digital side of things has, I believe, made it more possible to have a larger network that can still be pretty deep.
And, and it’s created, like, for me, personally, another layer of that network, so to speak. Which is interesting because I think that creates more possibility too. You know, one of the things that I learned early on is that it’s better to, to give than to receive, right? I mean, you’ve got to establish any relationship in building a network by asking to give something.
You know, I, I, I believe in in this book here. Yeah. The Go Giver by Bob Berg. Oh yeah. I’m a fan of the Go Giver. Oh, for sure. It is a wonderful book. I recommend it to all of your viewers. And What goes around comes around. You know, if you’re thinking about approaching somebody because you need something, first thing you should ask them as you get to know them is you know, how can I help you?
Before you even ask for something, you know, you sign somebody up, you take the steps to know, like, and trust the person, and then you ask, how can I help you? I mean, before you even think about asking them for anything. So I learned that early on and it’s been a good way to operate. So Kurt I want to jump around a little bit here.
Let, let’s, let’s dive into the book a bit. So the reluctant entrepreneur, when I saw the topic, when I saw some of the content, I mean, there’s a, I mean, you obviously the different phases of your life, career, your, the successes you’ve had, there was a lot of things in a lot of different angles you could have taken and written about.
Like, like, why’d you go this route? So the reluctant entrepreneur, tell us more. Well, I think that most, most people are born, think that they’re born entrepreneurs, you know, Bill Gates is and Zuckerman, et cetera. I mean, these are, are people that are very young and they’re destined to be an entrepreneur.
I wasn’t destined to be an entrepreneur. I was destined to be a corporate guy, right? I served in the Navy, saluted. Executed, got things done. Joint heir products, executed, got things done. I never ever thought about being an entrepreneur. Okay. The way that it developed and I explained it in the book is that my wife and I, my wife also being a professional, You realize that having two daughters, that it required a lot of effort and time and parenting and for both of us to be traveling so much and consumed by our jobs, one of us had a, had a Kate, one of us had to one of us had to take the lead with the kids.
And one of us had to continue putting the food on the table, right. As a W2. So we came to the conclusion. Both of us didn’t need to be W 2s. I initially thought my wife might want to stay at home with with the, the, the kids for some period, but you know, she, she really enjoyed her job. So she had no intention of staying at home or, you know, getting away from her corporate job and perhaps being a CPA where she could enjoy the flexibility.
She basically flipped it, flipped the roles. You know, she said, you know, why don’t Why don’t you do what you like? Why don’t you take what you’ve learned and why don’t you, you know, find something that you want to do and do it your way. And, you know, I, I just thought that I was going to continue with our products till I was 65, retire and drop dead.
Cause that’s what men do. Right. And she flipped it and she said, you know, I’m giving you the freedom to consider doing something else. And so that’s why there was a reluctance. I mean, I didn’t want to jump in because I was I was fearful, quite frankly, to be honest with you. I mean, what if I failed?
Very successful in the corporation. Why would I want to try something and potentially fail? I mean, I wasn’t sure if it was my ability that made me successful or all the great people around me. True. The system. So when you become an entrepreneur, believe me, you’re on an island, you know? Yeah. And so that’s where the reluctance came from.
It was reluctant to give up a really great position and you know, take that leap of faith and and go off on my own. What do you, what do you hope the readers that get out of this? Like after that, you know, they get through it, that they’re reading it. And like, what, what do you hope that some of the takeaways are?
Well, I think when they read it it’s going to confirm is in their gut, which is the same thing that’s in my gut. And that, that is why am I waiting? Why am I working for the man so long? What can I do to. Take control of my life and be a small business owner. And in the book, you know, I, I clearly say state that there are three options.
One, you can start something up on your own, a 90 percent chance of failure. Yeah. Two, you can buy an existing business and three, you can buy a franchise. And so I would encourage the viewers to reach out to me and say, Hey, how can you help me become a small business owner? I mean, tell me the pros and cons of buying an existing business or a franchise and that kind of transitions to where I am now with IBA, because that’s exactly what I do.
I work with people who have a desire to control their life. And I share with them the opportunities, both existing businesses and new franchises that can get them there. And I’m telling you, it takes maybe a year or two years at most to really feel comfortable as a small business owner and you know, enjoy the benefits, replace your corporate income, have the flexibility to do what you want to do in life and Never look back.
So I hope that I inspire them to kick the W2 job behind them and get on with life. How do you get to the top of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and become self actualized if you continue working for the man forever? Yeah. I mean, having said that I have a lot of friends that enjoy great careers. Executives and corporations and they find enjoyment out of life in other ways.
They contribute to nonprofits. They, they lend their talents to other entities, their church political affiliations, et cetera. So I’m not, I’m not saying that everybody in the corporation is a loser by any means. Okay. You have that desire to step out on your own, do it. Don’t wait. Don’t wait 20 years like I did.
Okay. Move ahead smartly and enlist the assistance of people who’ve been there and done that. Again, you know, reach out to you know, who, you know, because you don’t know much about small business ownership until you approach somebody that’s been through that. What, what do you like about about your, your niche with IBA and helping others with, with businesses, like what, what, what, what brings you enjoyment there?
Well as we let off, you know, the, the mission at IBA, we’re a sell side firm, so our mission is to work with the owners of privately held and family owned businesses in the lower middle market. That would be businesses with transit with enterprise values between a million and 25 million transition via exit via sale.
So ensuring that that is done really, really well. So that’s the primary mission. However, you know, it takes a buyer to do a deal. So we work with buyers and many of these buyers are first time buyers, you know here in Seattle, it would be folks that are working at Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon, that are tired of working for the man and want to do their own thing.
And so. You know, guiding them into the right fit is critical. You know, understanding what their skill sets are, understanding what they can bring to a business. And then, you know, matching up the criteria that they’re looking for. What kind of income do they need? What kind of growth do they expect?
Do they want to build it and hold it? And make it a generational business, pass along the children. Do they want to grow it and flip it because they’re more builders, you know, than harvesters. So, you know, working with people to find that right fit is very fulfilling. Are you, how, how does somebody know, like you’ve talked to, so there’ll be some people that watch this, like, for example, like that work at, you know, Microsoft and Amazons and all these, these upper management and these corporate individuals that maybe they’ve always kind of had that itch or that thing.
like, how have you found that, like, somebody knows, like, it’s like, okay, yeah, this is something I should really explore. Well, there’s there’s no substitute for doing due diligence. So let’s take the case of Somebody that’s, that’s looking at an existing business. What we first do is we give them an overview, basically a teaser of the business.
You know, what is this business all about? What industry is it in and what will you as the owner, what will your day to day look like? You know, are you going to be working with them? People are going to be working more on the operational and sales and marketing and that kind of thing. So, you know, really giving them a feel for what they’re going to be doing and then encouraging them to have a meeting with the owner to ask the owner, you know, if you were me taking this business over now.
From the current condition, what would you do differently or what additional things would you do? Or, you know, what skill sets are you lacking that I might bring to this business to bring it to another level? So doing due diligence is is critical. On the franchise side there’s a wonderful opportunity to do validation by talking to other franchisees that have been in the system for a long period of time.
So I encourage them. to do the kind of due diligence by either physically visiting those locations or certainly having conversations with the franchisees. And the franchisees are very open to sharing all the details of the business. You know, what is their relationship with the franchise or, you know, how long did it take them to reach breakeven?
What kind of money are they making? What are their future plans? So it’s a lot of fun. Folks to look at opportunities, either existing businesses or franchises, and it will just fit a light bulb will go on something that they find out will get them excited. Like they probably can’t get the idea out of their head.
Right? Like that’s how I’m envisioning it. Like, it’s like, I can’t, they can’t let it go. It’s like, once you know something, you can’t unknow it. Exactly. Exactly. So what what’s the timeline look like? And I know that’s going to vary, obviously, but like, I mean, range, what is timeline? Have you seen somebody maybe making this the transition from corporate to either whether it’s owning franchises or buying a business?
Like, what does the timeline look like? Yeah, this is, this is good. My timeline the timeline kind of depends on your your personal situation. If, if you’re financially secure, if you’ve got a wife that’s providing some income or whatever, you can take the time to find the right fit and, you know, Some people, it takes years to find the right fit, quite frankly, over analyze things, et cetera.
I mean, I was on that route for a while. I was overanalyzing things. I was overly concerned, et cetera. But I would say typically if I’m thinking of somebody I’m working with right now, you know, they made the decision, you know, over the holidays, Hey, we’re going to change your life. I’m going to find something I’m going to.
I’m going to work with Kurt to do it. I would say that it’ll probably take about a month or so to find the opportunity that they want to, that they want to pursue, and then it’ll take about another month to negotiate a deal. And then it’ll take about two months to be able to close it and get in business.
So, you know, if you want to move into something, the timeframe can be rather quick. It can be one to four months. You know, if you want it to be especially if you’re working with skilled advisors like we have an IBA that, you know, are your advocate. I mean, when we work with a buyer, we’re looking for the right fit for them.
We’re, we’re putting our compensation aside. Okay. We’re, we’re looking at them like family members, like what would I suggest for my brother? For sure. And we’re presenting the existing business option, the pros and cons, and we’re showing them the new franchise. And we’re taking them through that every step of the way and whatever the right fit is for them.
It’s fantastic. So let’s, let’s kind of address that from maybe the, the sell side of it too. So let’s from the, the business owner side point of view. So somebody is, you know, they’re watching this, they’re thinking about it. They’re like, man, it’s been on my mind for a long time. I maybe we need to start this.
Planning thing of, of succession, whichever route it’s going to go, right? Whether but I feel like that conversation, especially right now, based on the age demographic of many business owners in the country preparing for whatever the succession plan is going to be is top of mind for many. Give me some, I won’t say timeline, but give me some scenarios because that’s a broad question.
Sure. Oh, this is this is right in our wheelhouse, my friend. So right now. Think, think about being an owner of a business that’s successful. So you’re enjoying the business. You’ve built it over a period of time. You’re making good money. Why the hell would you want to sell it? Yep. Okay. It’s finally working.
Right. You know, so, you know, quite frankly at IBA our biggest challenge is to have inventory for buyers to look at. Yeah, because you know, if you have a good business, it’s hard to get somebody to sell it. So the ones that are selling it typically, and you mentioned it, it’s the demographics, it’s older folks.
I mean, the typical scenario is, you know, a 70 year old owner, you know, is having his financial review with his financial advisor and the subject of retirement or moving on comes up and You know, the, the financial advisor will say, well, you know, what’s your plan? And you know, say, well, you know, I guess I’ll, I don’t have any family members in the business, so there’s no succession plan.
So I guess I’d I’d sell it. Right. Yeah. And so that’s where we come into play. So what we do is the first step is to. For any business owner, they should understand the value of their business. Okay. So let’s look at this 70 year old that owns an HVAC business, right? Any ventilation, air conditioning.
So let’s, let’s assume the business is worth about 5 million. He’s got, you know, 15, 20 employees. And the first step is for us to, to do the business evaluation, confirm that yeah, it’s worth 5 million. And the financial advisor says, Hey, you know, we can use that 5 million to Ensure a nice retirement for you, and he decides to engage us.
So first step is to do the evaluation that takes a couple of weeks after we get all the information we need, which would be tax returns and copies of leases and yeah. Employee agreements and such. And then and then if he decides to engage us, it would take about three to nine months to sell that business.
You know, we would first go to our database of all these buyers that are looking for businesses like that. And I can assure you, which is a tremendous advantage by the way, because you have that database in both sides. So that’s, that’s different. You already, I’m guessing here, but correct me if I’m wrong, you already have certain relationships and certain matchmaking that you’ve been, some of them working on for possibly years.
Am I off on anything that I said? You’re right on the mark. I mean, you know, it’s such a seller’s market. If you have a profitable business, there’s a tremendous demand. I mean, right now, sitting here right now, I’ve got 10 times as many buyers as I do opportunities and such. So, so at any rate, we we tell the, to the owner that you know, if you engage us within the next three to nine months, we’re going to sell and we’re going to achieve the the price that that you’re looking at and such, and we’re going to affect the smooth transition and by engaging us as the intermediary, we are going to control the process.
We’re going to ensure that the buyer keeps things confidential. We’re going to do the proper vetting of the buyer to make sure he has the ability to do the deal, that he’s got the financial wherewithal to do it, and that he’s motivated. That he’s not some tire kicker. That’s going to waste everyone’s time.
When our business model, which is a hundred percent performance compensated goes right along that arena, you know, we don’t want to waste our seller’s time, our time, everybody’s time. So at any rate what our job is, is to create that competitive marketplace for the owner so that we can obtain several offers for, for him to consider.
So he can choose. The right buyer that’s going to take care of his Employees, very important to him, his customers, suppliers, and his legacy. You know, we want this to be a win win and, you know, that sounds trite. Oh yeah. Win win. No, we really want the buyer to win. Even though we’re representing, we’re representing the seller, but we want that buyer to feel good.
And we want this deal to be fair. You know, if we tried to sell the buyer something that was you know, unrealistic for sure, we could sell ice to the Eskimos. I mean, we can get a buyer interested in any of our, our businesses, but if we can’t convince his team, the buyer’s team, meaning the lender, who’s going to stand behind the funding.
You know, his, his CPA that’s going to do due diligence, the attorney that’s going to draft the purchase and sale agreement that we’re wasting everyone’s time. So that’s where the IBA differentiation comes in. I mean, we have the knowledge, experience, and skill to get this done for both parties and come up with a win win.
And we’re only paid a success fee at closing. So we better do it well, or we’re going to starve. Well said Kurt and and I’ll tell you, first off, it’s been great having you back on the show. I’m excited to continue to promote this book with you to talk and just kind of build the relationship.
Speaking of network and speaking of building relationships, it’s been great to have you in our mission matters community. And I look forward to continuing to build. But that being said, I mean, what’s next? I mean, what’s next for you? What’s next for your plans? I mean, you know, I got to ask that question.
What’s next? I know you don’t stay still. God knows, you know, I retired a couple of times unsuccessfully when I, you know, when I left their products. And then when I sold my own business brokerage firm I don’t know, six and a half years ago. What’s next for me? Right now, what’s interesting is I’m considering an opportunity to be a technical advisor on a full length feature film in Hollywood on subreddit, but I knew you had something up your sleeve.
Yeah, there’s always something I’m doing. There’s also a company that the owner of IBM and I are kicking around I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag, but you know, the entrepreneurial juices are flowing there. It’s just me and you. It’s nobody else. We’re not recording and distributing this to a million people.
It’s fine. No, but when we’re ready to launch that, I’ll come back on your podcast with you know, Gregory. At any rate there’s always things irons in the fire. You know, once you leave the corporate environment and the entrepreneurial juices start flowing, you can’t stop them. And you know this because you’re the same, you’re cut out of the same cloth as I am.
So God knows, stay tuned and we’ll remain close. Amazing. Kurt, if people, if there’s some, you know, business owners out there that are, you know, thinking about selling or, or even individuals thinking about purchasing or otherwise, I mean, how do people connect? How do they learn more about IBA and you and your team?
Well, certainly I invite anyone to go to the IBA website, which is quite simply www. ibainc. com. It is a robust website. You have. All kinds of resources for buyers for sellers. There is a blog library that just is awesome articles to support small business owners to that appeals to buyers as well, you know, giving insights into examples of people that have left corporations and.
Become successful small business owners. So going to ibainc. com makes sense. Reaching out to me on LinkedIn would be fine. I mean, I’m more than willing to make room by maybe eliminating a few folks that you know, to make room. Unfortunately, LinkedIn. Limits me to 30, 000 connections. And so for the last 15 years, every time I try to add somebody, I’ve got to delete them, but the lesson there is LinkedIn is for business only.
So if you know, if I eliminate somebody, it’s not because I don’t like them, it’s because they don’t add as much business value as the next person up. Right. Oh, I love it. I love it. Well, well, Kurt. I’m so happy to have you back in the show. Excited to promote the book, the audience, everybody tuning in.
Hey, if you haven’t hit that subscribe button, Hey, just to let you know, this is a daily show each and every day on the podcast. We’re bringing on new business owners, entrepreneurs, executives, or create a bunch of people. Content and goodwill out there. We’d love for you to take part, hit that subscribe button and we’ll, we’ll put on IBAs information, Kurt, all that good stuff in the, in the show notes.
So you can just click on the links and head right on over. Kurt, thank you so much time and can’t wait till the next time we get to do this. Okay. Take care of Adam. Good talking to you.