to Retirement for Calgary Business Owners

“We’re living in unprecedented times,” says Randy Koroluk, founder and president, at ABE. “Seventy-two per cent of all business owners in Canada have now surpassed retirement age. What that means is baby boomers are needing to sell their businesses, and ABE as a leader in lower-mid to midmarket transactions is there to help.”

That help is highly efficient. ABE boasts a near-perfect close rate achieved by employing Randy’s valuation model and system. This model, which he wrote a book about, explains business valuation to vendors who aren’t necessarily finance people, and this allows them to formulate a realistic asking price to facilitate a fair deal.

The team explains every step of the process to ensure clients understand what to expect, from the initial meeting through to signing on the dotted line. With complete transparency and honesty at every stage, ABE is able to broker great deals for clients while at the same time helping buyers realize their entrepreneurial dreams.

The ABE specialists do everything they can to earn clients’ trust so they can deliver a positive experience with a great deal. Once they commit to a client, they don’t punch a clock, remaining completely immersed in the deal and responsive 24/7 until it’s done. While many accounting firms and brokers work bankers’ hours and are pay-as-you-go, ABE gets paid when the deal closes.

“We don’t just talk the talk. We walk it. Ours is a successbased fee. That’s how confident we are in what we do,” says Hammad Razzaq, vice president at ABE.

And what they do has proven to be a winning formula. The company enjoys referrals from past clients and incredible success rates, with Randy closing his 160th deal at the end of March. The ABE team has become invaluable to both business owners looking to sell and entrepreneurs looking to buy.

“There are so many pitfalls and landmines along the way, so unless you’ve seen it before, you don’t know how to avoid it. That’s the value of having experienced transaction advisors,” Randy says.

Randy is as experienced as they come. He identified a niche in the market more than 20 years ago and has become a true expert. His hard work and expertise have earned ABE an impeccable reputation for delivering exceptional service and with the support of his team of legal, business, finance and creative specialists, he has significantly grown the business.

“It’s not one of these people that creates the success. It’s the culmination of all this experience that is largely responsible for the success at ABE,” Randy says.

Randy’s right-hand man, Hammad, joined ABE a few years ago as an associate to manage due diligence. However, Hammad’s background in finance, his strong work ethic, passion for deal making and the fact that he shared many of the same values as Randy led him to become a partner at ABE later that year.

As different banks have different appetites at different times, it’s critical to have a strategic partner like Steve Brown of TGC Capital. Steve knows what’s happening in the Calgary banking community and very often facilitates financing for ABE’s buyers. Peter Yates is ABE’s long-time lawyer who is responsive and committed to getting deals across the finish line. Peter is often on one side of the deal or the other to ensure a successful transaction.

Rennay Craats manages ABE’s buyer database, ensuring that the hundreds of registered buyers are active and ready for new deals. Randy and Hammad vet prospective buyers carefully to ensure they are serious and qualified before presenting them with any confidential seller information.

Rennay takes all of that seller information and prepares a comprehensive marketing package, which Krentz Creative then uses to create a beautifully designed information memorandum. These dossiers contain everything a prospective buyer could want to know about a business for sale, from history and competitive advantages to assets and balance sheets. It is a powerful tool for negotiations; at least half of ABE’s deals are struck by the first person that receives that package.

With a team of experts in place, the sky’s the limit for this firm that delivers big results.

“ABE is geared up and ready to help business owners get the retirement they deserve and move onto the next phase of their lives with peace of mind,” says Hammad, and Alberta Business Exchange looks forward to being a seller’s trusted partner for years to come.

4 Loss of expertise and knowledge about the business.

4 Leadership gaps and loss of continuity and naming an unprepared or unqualified successor who lacks personal drive, commitment, skills, training and education.

4 The owner taking a significant tax hit.

4 Damaged client and partnership relationships.

4 Uncertainty for staff and potential of low morale.

Some succession planning experts go as far as to warn that not having a plan is dangerous, risky and irresponsible. They point out that, especially in today’s business environment, succession planning IS risk management at its most urgent and important.

Of course, the most basic and obvious risk is that the business goes downhill, really fast. In many specific situations, the business has grown partly due to a leader’s experience, drive and ability. Without proper succession planning and strategy, the future success of the business deteriorates, when the leader’s experience, drive and ability are gone.

When the experienced leader goes, the business suffers and triggers lower productivity, lost work, a slump in business and low morale which causes lower quality of work. In many ways, succession planning is a matter of avoiding risks.

Experts suggest that a business’ financial risk increase exponentially without the buffer of a succession plan. The impact of a sudden departure or crisis for a key leadership role or mission-critical position is significant and could cause disruption to the business and financial damage. It is a notorious fact of business life that investors scare easily and often react to a change at the top, by assuming the worst. Some impact of business disruption includes issues such as suspended initiatives, disrupted third-party/partner relationships, poor financial performance, loss of revenue or shares, and more. There is a lot of uncertainty and turbulence posed by a sudden vacancy/departure of a key position within the organisation.

And no doubt about it. While business growth, revenues and cash flow are key factors, planned or unplanned succession does get personal.

EXPERTS SUGGEST THAT A BUSINESS’ FINANCIAL RISK INCREASE EXPONENTIALLY WITHOUT THE BUFFER OF A SUCCESSION PLAN. THE IMPACT OF A SUDDEN DEPARTURE OR CRISIS FOR A KEY LEADERSHIP ROLE OR MISSIONCRITICAL POSITION IS SIGNIFICANT AND COULD CAUSE DISRUPTION TO THE BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL DAMAGE. IT IS A NOTORIOUS FACT OF BUSINESS LIFE THAT INVESTORS SCARE EASILY AND OFTEN REACT TO A CHANGE AT THE TOP, BY ASSUMING THE WORST.

Stats show that most owners rely on the sale of the business as a source of retirement income, and not having a plan can reduce their chances of selling at the price they want. That means lower retirement funds. Obstacles encountered by the owner looking to sell the business may not only be problematic to the business itself, but the wellbeing of the owner and their family. Failing to plan also puts the employees’ livelihoods in jeopardy, as well as all the other risks.

Deferring or putting succession planning on the back burner is much too common and an easy to do, with the most familiar business excuse that “we’re all way too busy, and there are other pressing priorities.”

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), Canada’s champion of small business (SMBs) with over 97,000 members, is a dynamic advocate of succession planning. Regardless, its recent Business Succession Planning Survey acknowledged that some small business owners do procrastinate.

“Succession planning is a complicated process and, for one in four owners, it’s hard to know where to start,” explains