Why Business brokers leave their profession

The field of business brokerage has many positive attribute that attracts many would be ‘business brokers' to the profession. The potential earnings are lucrative, the hours are flexible and the ability to meet many interesting people and companies can be quite stimulating.
The reality is the business brokerage has a very high failure rate. It is said that the majority of people who enter this profession will leave it within their first year. This article will examine some of the reasons why a business broker may leave the profession, to provide better insight to those thinking of embarking on this career.

Easy to get into business brokerage - difficult to succeed
In the province of Ontario, it is relatively easy to get started as a "business broker" (the proper terminology is actually salesperson though). One must be properly registered according to the requirements of the Real Estate & Business Brokers Act, 2002 in order to sell businesses. Although it is relatively easy to get into the industry, it is quite another to succeed in it. It is recommended that a person starting out should have at least 6-8 months of living expenses stockpiled in order to allow enough time to ramp up their deal flow. The most common reason why people quite the industry is that they aren't making money and run out of resources to finance the time it takes to stay in the business in order to give it a true chance. If you do plan on embarking on a career as a business broker then have the financial resources in place before you start.
Inexperience
Most business brokers are often of the baby boomer generation. Business brokerage is often a second career for most people and people in their 40s or 50s more typically have the money to start out in the career. That being said, although a person may be a baby boomer, they may be new to business brokerage and not know the first thing about the business. The nuances of selling a business, dealing with buyers, getting listings and properly pricing businesses for sale may not be a skill a new business broker has and they may make many costly mistakes. Selling businesses as a business broker is not something that most people are prepared for when they start out. Inexperience is a major reason why people exit the industry. If you are serious about becoming a business broker you may want to consider hooking up with a mentor before you start out.

Don't work hard enough
Business brokerage is a lot of hard work. Similar to selling real estate, you must be consistent and keep doing the right things it takes to be successful. Starting out in selling businesses takes a lot of hard work, long hours and patience.

Can't deal with people
Helping people to buy or sell businesses as the intermediary is a people-centric profession. If you don't like talking to new people on a daily basis then this is not the profession for you.

Too sensitive
Business brokerage requires a thick skin. If you are an overly sensitive person then this business is not for you. Selling small businesses can get emotional and as the intermediary you must be able to manage these types of situations.

Becoming a business broker is a wonderful career choice - for the right person. Please give serious thought before you join this profession. There is a significant investment required in time and money so do some serious personal assessment to see if it is the right move for you.