When we decided to sell our school, we researched business brokers and lawyers. We were hoping we could find a buyer on our own and utilize a lawyer for the paperwork. We found out it’s a lot harder than that!

After meeting Joan Young at Sunbelt Bay Area, we felt very comfortable starting out with having Joan doing a ‘valuation’ of our company. After getting that number, we had a couple people we knew of who were interested is purchasing the business but could not pay the price we had set.

We returned to Sunbelt and hired Joan to help us. She was able to get the word out to so many potential buyers, we were turning people away. This gave us the opportunity to be selective about who would carry on the preschool. We ended up with 4 solid offers to choose from, 2 of which were over our asking price. We interviewed all the our prospects and came to a decision. Joan helped both sides in the negotiations, making it easy for all to work together. The new buyer was able to accommodate our employees and respect the current contracts through the end of the school year.

Joan was there every step,of the way ready to listen, explain, negotiate and do all the paperwork to make sure the sale was a success for all sides in a timely fashion. We listed the school in November 2014, and the sale was finalized in March of 2015. As helpful as Joan was, we feel that the value of her assistance was made clear when we saw the extent of the contacts she was able to make to advertise the sale our business. We never would have been able to generate that kind of interest on our own.

Margaret Nelson, Footsteps Preschool

I have had the great pleasure of working with Sunbelt Business Advisors as both a buyer and a seller and while it was Joan’s professional approach with a personal touch that ultimately led me to Sunbelt as a buyer, it was Joan’s core values that brought me back as a seller.

Joan and her team of professionals take the extra time needed to get to know their clients on a professional and personal level which I believe is necessary when working collaboratively towards a common goal.

When it was time to sell Joan and I discussed in detail our expectations and set out a plan to achieve our goal. Joan was completely upfront and honest and mentioned that while the economy was strong it could take several months to sell. I’m happy to say that several months turned into several weeks. With Sunbelt’s proven marketing strategy Joan produced 3 qualified buyers within the first few weeks of our listing.

Ultimately our business was sold in less than 3 months to a very capable buyer who is eager to continue to grow the business and provide a stable work environment for many of our long time employees. I would highly recommend the professionals at Sunbelt Business Advisors to anyone who is considering buying or selling a business for the first time or the tenth time. Joan and her team has you covered.

Robert Dette, Maid Brigade

I recently sold my business through Sunbelt Business Brokers. A business associate, Chris Enright, knew I was planning to retire in the next couple of years. Chris was making a career change to become a business broker and approached me to see if I would be interested in signing up with the brokerage he had chosen to work with. I’ve known Chris and his family for a number of years and knew that if he said Sunbelt and Joan Young were reliable people, then I could trust them. Chris has proven himself to be honest and reliable throughout the years I have known him.

The sale of my business was, I think, relatively complex and required extra communication and activity to see the process to completion. Chris and Sunbelt rose to the occasion at every step. They brought me multiple buyer offers, helped me through the buyer selection/vetting process, helped me prepare and move through the due diligence process and worked with me from beginning to the end. Communication was always prompt, discretion was respected throughout and help with some complex issues were there when needed.

I would definitely recommend Chris and Sunbelt. I actually have recommended them to three different friends and business associates already and would recommend them to anyone wanting the professional help a business sale requires. Sunbelt helped me find a qualified buyer, reach a price that was satisfactory, and complete an agreement that makes me confident as I transition from a business owner to a mentor and ultimately to retirement.

I might add that Joan also recommended an attorney, Brad Bosomworth, who she has had clients work with and he was an important factor in facilitating the process and making sure I am protected after the sale. During the sale, it was necessary to work with our county on some zoning issues and Chris went out of his way to help with this process. I am available should someone wish to speak to me about the selling process from my perspective.

Robin Stockwell, Succulent Gardens
This is to recommend Joan Young of Sunbelt Business Advisors. She recently handled the sale of my housecleaning franchise, and I am very pleased that it came to a successful conclusion. She is unusually professional and meticulous. I do not think another broker would have succeeded with my nervous first-time buyers. She took the extra time to understand my business and my financial situation in great detail, and was able to explain it in terms that my buyers could understand and feel comfortable with. All of my prospective buyers had confidence in her representation. She has the utmost integrity, and this gives everyone involved a greater feeling of security.

As a business buyer, I have worked with many brokers, I have made offers on several other businesses, and I have looked at the financial records of other businesses. There is no comparison between Joan and the other brokers that I have worked with. None of the other brokers have devoted such significant time to understand the business, and none of them have provided as much detailed financial information as Joan does. Most of the businesses for sale provide very sketchy details on their financial pictures and their records do not back up the initial representation. Selling a business with Joan is a lot of work! But Joan’s system results in a smoother transition with few surprises. I have told my buyers that they are extremely lucky to have Joan handling the transaction.

Linda Hendrickson, Maid Brigade
From the beginning until the end of the sale, I felt comfortable working with Joan and John.

They are real professionals who not only had their own buyers they were working with but found other good buyers. They brought me 3 strong offers and a Letter of Intent. We sold it in 7 months from start to finish. They stood up for me in negotiations and got me more than the asking price. Joan and John had excellent follow up and I always knew right where I stood. My buyers are doing 5% more than my projections so that makes me feel good about my decision to sell to them.

Dwayne White, Precision Door
Joan Young and her team at Sunbelt are the best. I had the worst broker experience before being referred to Joan Young who went above and beyond to understand and sell my business to exactly the right buyer I had been hoping to find. I highly recommend Joan to business owners working through the final step of entrepreneurship. She will take the time to understand your specific needs and help you obtain your desired goal. I’m so glad I finally found Joan!
Michele Wien, Main Street Technologies
I truly can not believe that we closed on the sale of my production company today – only three months after listing the business!! I had listed my business with a smaller broker for over a year and a half with no offers, and you were able to bring two to the table within weeks of listing. Simply amazing!! Your huge network of buyers really paid off. Not only were both offers well qualified, but they were great fits for the business. Perhaps my greatest compliment to you and your team was your tremendous support you provided during the process. Since I live out of state, my ability to respond to questions was limited, and you were able to work around my difficulties and get to a close with incredible efficiency. I was somewhat hesitant to work with a broker representing both parties, but you did a fantastic job supporting the best interests of both sides.

This has truly been one of the smoothest business transactions I have ever been a part of, and I attribute its success to your business knowledge and experience as well as your thorough communications and personal dedication to everyone involved. On a closing note, you have done a great job grooming your support staff in your shadow. Their knowledge, attention to detail, communication skills and overall friendliness made the process painless. I have already told three other possible business sellers about you in the past few weeks, and I am sure there will be more referrals coming your way. If you ever want to have a prospect give me a call to discuss my experience with Sunbelt, I would be happy to do so.

Carolyn R. Alexander, President of Infinity Video Productions
Joan Young, Broker, CBI®, CBB®, I wanted to write you a quick note to let you know how impressed I was with the way you handled the sale of my business last summer. Having been through this process a number of times, I know how complicated and involved executing this type of transaction can be. Throughout the process, you were always there. I never doubted you were working very hard behind the scenes to secure a buyer and get financing lined up for them, all the while keeping on top of all the countless small but important details that have to fall into place. It was great that you just took care of things, allowing me to continue to run the business without much interruption. The fact you had a well qualified buyer in place within 30 days was amazing.

I know you interviewed and talked to dozens, but you stayed very focused on viable, qualified buyers, helping us get full price in record time. You are a consummate professional, and it was a pleasure to work with you. When the time comes, I will not hesitate to call you to assist me in pursuing my next venture in the wonderful world business ownership.

Chuck Horn, San Jose, CA
After running our successful business for nine years we decided it was time to sell. This created an unusual situation because the industry is not that well known and a lot of the value was in the materials that we used to run the business. Joan got to work and studied the industry and the competition before putting together a solid marketing plan for us. We were able to find a buyer at full price and closed in three weeks from the offer date. Joan guided us through every phase of the transaction and was a great help to us through this important transition in our lives.
M.G. from Palo Alto California
Joan has helped me purchase two businesses and sell one over the last four years, and my experience has been very positive. Joan and her staff were great about helping me figure out the type of business that would fit best with my skills, goals, and interests, and I ended up buying a business that far surpassed my goals and expectations. She also helped me sell the same business 3 1/2 years later, and we ended up selling it to a small private equity group that was in contact with one of her agents at the agreed upon price point.

Joan and her staff are very detailed oriented, and their years of experience helped me through the somewhat complex and involved process of buying and selling a business.

Mike Weimar, Impact Displays
We interviewed three brokers before we made a final decision of whom to use. We were very glad that we choose Joan Young, Broker, CBI®, CBB®, of Sunbelt. She presented herself professionally and had a very clear and thorough presentation on the steps to take my business to market. Since we hadn’t sold a business before, she didn’t assume we knew anything and didn’t leave anything to chance.

Since Sunbelt had so many buyers in their database, we had a buyer and offer within two weeks of listing the business. That buyer ended up not getting to the closing table, but we did get two other offers presented, and we chose the best buyer and offer. We closed the sale in less than four months from when we signed up. We appreciate all the hard work Joan did and have referred her to others since our closing.

Joe and Terry Sweeney, Dream Dinners of Los Gatos

I started this business from scratch and am pretty proud of what I have done. Joan had been sending me letters and cards for over a year. The time finally was right to sell, and I knew whom to call. I liked the fact that Sunbelt is the largest Business Brokerage firm, and their web page was impressive, and I knew after I met Joan that we would work well together. She made the process as painless as it can be.
Joan assured me she could sell this business in a short period of time, and she did. Joan brought me two good offers, and I chose the guy that I knew would get the job done. Joan wasn’t kidding… we closed within three months from signing up with Sunbelt. I was able to get what I wanted for the business, and the buyer is doing very well growing the company beyond what I could ever do myself.

Thanks for your help. It is greatly appreciated.

John Carreras, Impact Displays
Sunbelt, Greater Bay Area preserved my confidentiality, managed the transaction professionally, and got my business sold in five months.

When I decided to sell my business, I was concerned that my key employees and customers would hear that it was for sale. I was impressed with Sunbelt’s system for protecting confidentiality of the sale. I also appreciated the accessibility and detailed work Joan Young, Broker, CBI®, CBB®, did for us.

Joe Rechenmacher, Allied Lock & Key
You guys at Sunbelt do the best offering package of any brokerage group that I have seen. It’s complete, well-written, and it gives buyers the full picture of my business. I think it helped to get the price we wanted and to close in such a short period of time.

Joan found the perfect buyer for my company. I couldn’t have asked for a better match.

Gary Root, BLR Sign Systems
I wanted to thank not only Joan for helping me find the best business but also her assistant. They work as a team, and when Joan’s tied up, her assistant always had answers for me. It’s like having two people working to help you find a business. We appreciate it! Thanks for not letting us get into the food business in Santa Cruz.
Russ and Pat Lee, Awards to the Wise
My wife and I wanted to personally thank you for your all your help in selling our company. When you work so hard to build up your business over the years, you want to be very careful in choosing the “right” person to assist in the sale of something so near and dear to your heart. From our initial interview, help with the appraisal process, putting together the marketing plan, your screening and qualifying the eventual buyer, having your years of experience during escrow provided us with steadfast assurance that the deal stayed on track and actually closed many months ahead of what was expected…you and your company delivered during these challenging times and were the absolute “right” fit to help with the sale. Reflecting back on the entire transaction, we are certain that without your insight and expertise, our business would not have sold! Again, Sunbelt Business Advisors was a blessing to us and we are truly grateful (and have even referred you to another friend and a perfect stranger who are looking to sell their businesses in the near future).
Dave and Tracey Wayda, Owners of Shaffer Paving, Lake Tahoe, CA.