What happens when disaster destroys a successful business? For Sherrye Coggiola, Hurricane Helene's devastation of her 15-year restaurant venture became an unexpected doorway to a new entrepreneurial chapter as a business broker with Transworld of Western North Carolina.
Sherrye unveils the true mechanics of business valuation, explaining why most businesses sell for 1.5 to 3.5 times earnings and how owners can dramatically increase their exit value with proper planning.
The episode delivers practical knowledge about SBA financing for business acquisitions, showing how accessible business ownership can be with the right approach. Sherry's explanation of financial recasting demonstrates why tax returns don't tell the full story of a business's worth. Her real-world example of an electrician who planned to simply walk away from his business but instead received over $500,000 illustrates the life-changing impact of proper exit planning.
Whether you're a current business owner thinking about your eventual exit, someone contemplating entrepreneurship through acquisition, or simply fascinated by how businesses change hands, this episode delivers valuable insights from someone who bridges both worlds. Listen now to discover how proper business transition planning can transform endings into powerful new beginnings.
ABOUT SHERRYE
Sherrye Coggiola resides in the Mountains of the Carolinas with her Husband, Anthony. As a 3rd generation Native of Asheville, Sherrye is looking forward to being a part of the rebuild of the region along with her Husband, who has worked in disaster areas across the world, specifically focused on rebuilding agriculture after tragedy. He is now working with the Episcopal Diocese to assist with the Communities Active in Disaster (COAD) to provide sustainable long-term recovery plans.
Because of her background and connections in the area she would be honored to serve as a board member for Homeward Bound and believes she can assist in bridging the gap in public and private coordination to maximize the good works being done in this area.
Thanks for Listening. You may contact me or our team at https://billgilliland.biz/
All the best!
Bill
Thanks for listening. Please hit the subscribe button, leave us a 5 star review, and share this podcast. You can reach me at williamgilliland@actioncoach.com or at https://billgilliland.biz/
All the best!
Bill
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey there, welcome to this week's episode of Epic
Entrepreneurs.
I am super excited.
This week We've got SherryCaggiolla of Transworld of
Western North Carolina.
Welcome to the podcast, Sherry.
Thanks for having me.
Bill, hey, what the heck isTransworld of Western North
Carolina anyway?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you for asking.
We are a business brokerage sowe actually help small
businesses we call them mainstreet businesses to exit,
expand or grow.
Our parent company is UnitedFranchise Services out of West
Palm Beach.
They actually partnered with avery large business brokerage
(00:42):
about 15 years ago.
In Florida and many otherborder areas you were able to
buy a business and obtain a visa, so there were lots of
businesses changing hands inWest Palm Beach and there was
this large United FranchiseServices that had started with
Sinorama and Minuteman and sincehas hundreds of franchises
(01:03):
under their belt and they sawtheir franchisees starting to
think about transitioning andthey said, well, we should get
in on that and they partneredwith this large business
brokerage there and here we areall over the world now, tens of
thousands of offices and agentsand just a great network of
really, really solid folks.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
So, Sherry, how did you get into this?
I know that this is not yourfirst gig.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Well, it's new to me.
Bill Um actually started inDecember.
Um, we uh, like many of us inthis area, we're watching
Wednesday, thursday and thenFriday prior to Helene.
Um, my husband and I own theBiltmore uh, the cantina in
Biltmore Village, and we werenot.
We were, we were used to someflooding and had some, some
(01:53):
operational stuff in place.
My husband's actually adisaster expert all over the
world, so he was out there beingprepared those days before and
Friday came and we realized itwas all gone.
So there was a lot of fetchingwater and cranking the radio to
listen to our wonderful localClear Channel station and
figuring out.
(02:13):
What am I going to do now?
Luckily, all our staff was safeand we had had 15 years.
It was a great run in therestaurant business.
We actually got into it in thedisaster of the recession as the
previous tenant couldn't paythe rent to my mom that owns the
building.
So we worked with the localstaff there and cleaned it up
(02:34):
and worked with our amazingguests and had a wonderful
business.
But it's gone and we spent $80thousand dollars of our money to
clear it out and realize thatit didn't make financial sense
for us to rebuild.
So what am I going to do?
I thought about consulting withother restaurant owners because
I was really good at it and wasable to make a 25 profit and sit
(02:59):
down restaurants, which ispretty much unheard of.
And then that involved a lot oftravel, which I didn't want to
do.
So then I thought, well, Icould sell restaurants.
I have a background incommercial real estate and
marketing and that kind of ledme to Transworld.
My husband and I had beenlooking for another opportunity,
another type business with realestate not necessarily
(03:20):
restaurant For a number of years.
We did not end up consummatingthat deal with Transworld, but
in the time I got to know sorry,that's my dog I got to know JT,
who is essentially my broker,and went to him and said I think
I want to do this.
So here I am.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Got it, Got it so.
So what's the big why here?
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Hang on one second.
That is a Rottweiler trained toring a bell to go out and she
would not have stopped.
So the big why?
The big why?
Is that small businesses areimportant and running them is
(04:09):
difficult.
Most people don't know how tosell them and they need a local,
trusted advisor to do so.
So that's my role and I'mabsolutely loving it.
I'm new to it.
I have my first closing thisweek.
An electrician that essentiallywas ready to retire and walk
away this summer and we got himover half a million dollars and
he's energized.
(04:30):
He's staying for three yearswith the new owner on something
called an earn out.
There's about 1,001 ways tosell a business and there's
probably 6,000 plus types ofbuyers to buy any type of small
business.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Yeah, a lot of people don't understand that.
They think, well, maybe I can'tbuy a business because let's
talk about that a minute becausethey don't have the money.
That what they don't realize isI mean, I've helped people buy
a lot of businesses with nomoney, so maybe let's talk about
that a little bit.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
So I've been so amazed at the benefits of the
SBA and, obviously, smallBusiness Association.
Right, that's what they'reabout.
They're about assisting smallbusinesses in many, many ways.
I worked as a mentor with SCOREas a division for there, with
counseling people and nowgetting to work with these SBA
(05:23):
lenders.
They are not financing thebuyer, they are financing the
business.
And, bill, as you know, thebusiness has a value based on
its last three years of taxreturns and many of us as small
business owners, we're running alot of personal expenses and
things through that business andwhat I get to do as their
analyst is I get to do what'scalled a recast.
(05:44):
So I will be taking their taxreturns and their P&Ls and
obviously their top line revenueand their cost of goods sold,
the things that can't be changed, their rents, utilities, et
cetera.
But ultimately there's someother what we call sellers
discretionary earnings in therethat might be their cell phones,
their gas bill, their vacation,their research, et cetera, and
(06:07):
the SBA and private financers aswell.
Allow me to add thatinformation back to get to a
bottom line figure Again, theseller's discretionary earnings,
and we do that as a multiple.
It's somewhere between 1.2 and3.5 for these smaller main
street businesses andtraditionally you can get not
(06:30):
only close to 100% financingfrom the SBA, but they'll also
loan you working capital.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Yeah, and there's plenty of other places to get
money as well.
The SBA is the obvious one formost of these.
That's what it's for.
It's for this, it's for smallbusiness.
A lot of people think, well,it's supposed to do all this
other consulting and everything.
It's really a lendingorganization.
That's really what it's about.
So well, let me ask you acouple other questions about
(06:58):
this can be about what we'redoing now and other things as
well.
If you had to start over inbusiness and maybe this is what
you've done what would you dodifferently?
Speaker 2 (07:09):
I would have more mentors around me.
I have always done that, but Iwould surround myself with
people that have done thingsright and I would ask for advice
and I would say what are thethings?
Just like you asked me whatwould you have done differently?
Right, and that's what I loveto share with, especially new
(07:29):
and aspiring folks that are,which I deal with, a lot of that
are trying to get out of W-2employment and figure out how.
To you know, become anentrepreneur is the new word,
right, we used to call itself-employed but the bottom
line is there are so many peopleout there that are so willing
to help explain the mistakesthey've made and just help you
(07:52):
not make those.
You're going to make your ownfor sure, right, but if you can
just not make all the ones thatI made, you're going to be in
good seed not make all the onesthat I made, you're going to be
in good seed.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Yeah, I think I know.
Early in my business career Igot advice.
It sort of just came withoutasking for it, but I could have
been more proactive in askingfor help.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Well, and Bill, look at the resources out there that
you and I didn't have.
You know that are available now.
I mean, I've been playing withthe Gemini and the AI and I was
in advertising for a long time,so I like adding ad copy, but I
like Gemini better foreverything.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
There's.
No, you don't have to build,you don't have to like build
software for your business.
It got, you know we were it's.
There's something out therealready that's ready to plug in
to what you I mean it's, it's.
It's pretty amazing.
Well, let's, I want to.
I think this is good because Ithink a lot of people might be.
It might be useful for peopleto know, like, what are some of
the common misconceptions thatpeople have about owning and
(09:02):
running a business.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
That the grass is greener.
Yeah, you know it is such afulfilling thing to own your own
business.
I mean it's like raising achild right.
And for a lot of these peopleI'm dealing with there's some
emotions there, but the bottomline, when you go to sell a
business or you go to buy abusiness, it's based on the last
three years of revenue period.
(09:30):
End of discussion.
We can talk about goodwill andthings of that nature.
There's no value for goodwill.
Goodwill is a way that ouraccountants utilize it so we can
avoid paying some taxes in theend, and how we allocate the
actual purchase agreement right,the actual final closing and
moving the numbers around.
But when you think about it,what we're talking about, you
(09:51):
can buy a business for one and ahalf to three times earnings.
That means that in one year youget all one and a half to three
years.
You get all the money back thatyou spent and everything beyond
that is profit to you.
It's profit to you and yourfamily for you to continue to
ideally build upon it and thebaseline that's been made there,
and it's significantly lessexpensive to buy an existing
(10:13):
business than to start one fromscratch.
You already have a lot of thosekinks worked out.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Yeah, 100 percent.
I mean it's really interestingA lot of the grants and the
government money and everythinggoes to people starting
businesses.
It's so interesting, I think, alot of that money this is just
a little bit of a rant that Ibelieve a lot of that money
could be better served andthat's why I like the SBA piece
(10:41):
of the government putting ittowards helping people in
existing businesses or helpingthem buy existing businesses
that they could further expand.
So what do you along the way,I'm sure you've had this how
have you balanced your personallife with the business demands
that you've had?
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Technology personal life with the business demands
that you've had Technology andbeing really.
I mean that you know, we allknow our only limited resource
is time, ultimately, and timemanagement.
I mean I do not leave thingsright.
I do not leave unansweredemails.
I don't let my email box getfull, I don't let my voicemail
(11:21):
get full.
Just staying on top of thosethings allows me to sleep at
night, right, and I don't knowif you can't learn to manage
your time effectively.
It's very, very difficult inthis day and age to not go crazy
.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think you hit the nail on the
head there.
I think that's the.
I think you have to block itout in ways that make sense to
how you want to live your life.
And, and a lot of people let apiece of their life take over,
and so it, yeah, the businesstakes over the personal as a
rather than the personal leadingthe business.
(11:59):
It's, it's really, it's reallyinteresting.
I mean, we, yeah, in ourbusiness, we, we've been
fortunate.
That's.
One of the things we get to dois help people get that balanced
a little bit better.
Um, yeah, it's, it's, it'spretty cool.
Let's talk a little bit aboutsome misconceptions about
business.
I mean, I think you've hit onit already, but I don't know
about you.
But I run into a lot ofbusiness owners say, yeah, I
(12:21):
want to sell my business, andwhen I sit down and just do some
back of the napkin stuff, I'mlike it's worth about half of
what they think it is.
So what are some misconceptionsabout and what can some people
do to increase the value oftheir business?
I mean, when should they startplanning that?
Speaker 2 (12:39):
My preference is we talked about that three years.
My preference is to get someoneabout three years prior to exit
.
On average it takes about ayear to sell a business.
I hope it doesn't take thatlong and it hasn't so far with
my folks and I don't intend forit to take that long.
But getting somebody aboutthree years before they plan to
exit two years works justsitting down with them going
(13:03):
through their P&Ls.
Most of us as small businessowners, we love what we do as a
small business.
We do not like the numbers, wedo not like the finance stuff.
We do not like the P&Ls I do.
I happen to love the numbers.
I always have and so one of theassets that I can bring as a
trusted local advisor is reallysitting down, showing them
(13:24):
really where they are, like yousaid, bill, where their value
sits right now.
The things that we can do toincrease that value increase the
attractiveness to a new buyer.
Most buyers, frankly, arelooking for a business they
don't have to work that hard in.
You know they think that I'mgoing to buy a business and I'm
going to grow it and add somemarketing and add some
(13:44):
operations and it's going toprovide for my family.
Well, that's absolutely thecase.
But setting some of these smallbusiness owners up so that they
are that much more attractiveto be hands-off type owners
versus hands-in type owners.
Because you know like-in typeowners Because, like an
electrician, he loves being anelectrician right, that's what
(14:06):
he wanted to do.
But to sell his business he hadto be replaced by an
electrician and there arelicensings and things like that
involved.
Well, there are ways in thatthree-year time for us to hire
people, to train people toreplace that owner, and that is
going to give it significantlymore value and more interest in
the open market to buyers.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Yeah, 100%.
Yeah, I mean that's what we do.
I mean that's our goal withbusiness owners when we work
with them is to create acommercial, profitable
enterprise that works withoutthem, so that it's actually
worth more.
It raises that multiple thatyou're talking about, absolutely
yeah, if the business owner'sgot to be there, I think you
were generous.
I think it's maybe worth onetimes earnings if the business
(14:47):
owner's got to be there.
I think you said one and a halfto three and that's right if
it's done right.
Yeah, it's pretty cool.
It's pretty cool.
So what should a prospective?
We kind of talked about thesellers, what they should do,
what should a prospective buyerbe looking for?
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Understanding how businesses are valued there are.
You know, we're trained atTransworld.
They want us to have, you know,15 listings at one time.
They want us to take everylisting that's out there and I
don't personally believe in that.
I think that you owe it to yourbuyers and your sellers to
(15:29):
properly price your listings andget all of the information and
the due diligence done up frontthat's dealing with is it
financeable?
To your point, if there's alandlord situation, is a
landlord willing to assign thatlease at what it's at or what
does that look like?
You know, I think I think froma buyer standpoint, I see a lot
(15:50):
of buyers saying that aregetting a lot of misinformation,
that they can lowball or throwa letter of intent out there
without any kind of depositmoney.
I don't accept that.
That's not in our seller's bestinterest.
It's a waste of everyone's time.
Like I said, when I put alisting on the market bill, I
(16:13):
get 50 buyers the first week.
I have to screen those buyers.
I have to find out how they'regoing to finance it, what is
their background, what are theirinterests.
You know, with this electricalcompany I got a number of just
wonderful young men that are W-2earners that think.
I just think it would be reallycool to work with my hands.
Well, it takes seven years toget an electrical license, so we
(16:35):
need to do a little researchbeforehand.
So a little bit of researchusing AI tools, using those
things when you're looking,really focusing.
I met with a woman the otherday and when she was seeking a
business, she ended up buying agreen cleaning business here in
Nashville.
But she was looking all overthe world.
She has a background,international, w2 type corporate
background, and when shefinally got serious she realized
(16:57):
I need to figure out where Iwant to be and then focus on
finding a business.
So I think keeping your searchtoo broad, especially in the
beginning, when you're trying tolearn what it's like and what
is potentially out there isprobably the biggest mistake I'm
seeing the buyers making thatdon't ever get anywhere in their
search.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Yeah, it's an interesting one, particularly if
they're a first-time buyer, ifthey've never bought a business
before, it's a yeah.
They really need somebody likeyou along to help them through
the process so that they can doit right.
I mean, it's just not.
It's just not, it's not, it'snot straightforward, and for
(17:39):
those.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
For those that are serious, I mean, we offer a
$15,000 retainer, we give somedeliverables on that, and they
get that back when they buy abusiness, you know so.
So we do do that.
It's again talking about timemanagement.
I don't do that without,without.
It's not worth the time.
Yeah, no, it's not, I wouldn't.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
I wouldn't do that without.
Without, it's not worth thetime.
Yeah, no, it's not, I wouldn't.
I wouldn't expect that.
That's the way most mostbusiness brokers I've run into
over the years work If you want,you know, if you put them on
retainer.
In fact, I worked with a guywho was a marketing guy and he
was looking for businesses andyeah, that's what, that's what
we did.
I partnered, I was doing somecoaching and I was looking for
businesses.
And yeah, that's what we did.
I partnered, I was doing somecoaching and I was partnering.
I partnered with a guy inVirginia who was this was in
(18:22):
Virginia and they were that'sexactly what they were doing.
They were just looking forother businesses to so he could
grow through acquisition.
It was pretty cool, it was apretty cool model and I think
it's a great model.
Yeah, yeah, let me ask you somequick fire questions.
So EPIC is an acronym and youknow, or BEPIC is an acronym,
(18:44):
the B stands for bring theenergy, and I know I can tell
you, bring the energy.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
So but what are your thoughts about energy and energy
management?
Well, my husband and I realizedwe've been married 40 years and
we've been through a lot ofthings and we work best in
crisis.
So when, when our life, whenour life is just going easy and
everything's fine and there's nofamily drama, we just don't do
well, so I'm I.
I've kind of laughed posthurricane Helene that I think I
(19:14):
need to find a therapist to giveme whatever.
Post-hurricane Helene, that Ithink I need to find a therapist
to give me whatever label it isthat I have.
But for me personally, I reallythrive in that sort of chaos
model, which is why deals youknow these very complicated
business deals and getting themto the end game right is so
rewarding to me personally, yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
So I mean, you know some people call it flow, like I
think you.
I think we know that when we'rein the flow, that energy, that
we're more energetic.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
I mean, one of the things that gives me energy is
talking to people like you.
So I mean I, you know, I justget energized from doing it, so
you know.
And then, but you know, settingit all up and getting it all in
place is not energizing for me,right?
So that just means I need todelegate that piece, right, so
that I can do the things thatI'm best at.
And I think that's a greatthing about the synergy.
The E stands for education.
(20:08):
What are your thoughts oneducation?
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Again back to the assets that are on the Internet
that just get pushed to you onceyou start getting out there.
You know I've only been doingthis since December and now you
know I've never heard ofAlignable before, for example.
You know Alignable.
I mean I was just on a, youknow, a speed dating Alignable
networking thing where I met 16people that somebody pushed
(20:35):
towards me live like thisUnbelievable assets that are out
there.
So everything that I go throughmy update folder and I find
those things that are pushed andI sign up and I put them on my
calendar.
Now, a lot of times I don'tlisten to them live.
I'll go back and put them ontwo speed and listen to them on
the background, but theresources that are out there to
(20:57):
educate ourselves on whatever itis that we're interested in
right now, it it's unbelievable.
That being said, you know,talking about uh, talking to you
and and getting out there againafter 15 years and having to
network and seeing the thingsthat are available in Asheville
for networking opportunities,it's just beyond uh, and I've
(21:18):
had so much fun.
You know I laugh being out ofthe restaurant business.
I'm dealing with adults insteadof adult children.
Now, right.
I love that you know dealingwith entrepreneurs and people
that have come to this city bychoice, that have had to figure
out how to make a living andthrive and strive and give back
to this community.
I'm third generation and thisclose to lean, that is my other
(21:41):
passion right now.
It's just helping our cityrebuild, helping our elected
politicians.
We can't expect them to knowhow to do this, but we've got a
lot of assets in this town.
I'm really trying to promoteSIBO, the Council for
Independent Business Ownersright now and get some young
blood in there and get somefolks to join and explain to
(22:01):
them that they need to videotapetheir meetings so that we can
send those out as recruitingtools.
So back to that energy.
There's a lot of things that Ihave going on and that energizes
me, and the busier I am, themore I get done.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Yeah, that's awesome.
That's awesome.
There's a lot to be done here.
It's kind of interesting howit's going and balancing that
with.
There's a lot of things wecould be doing.
That and I think that was oneof the harder things about the
lane was like balancing making aliving with helping all the
people that needed everythingthat they needed it was.
It was an interesting balancefor us anyway.
(22:37):
P stands for planning.
What are your thoughts onplanning?
Speaker 2 (22:42):
I'm definitely working on that With the new
tools that I have to use and the16 places that my brokers and
people want things.
That's a little frustrating forme before, and I think the um,
the, the corporate sometimesgets in the way of of, you know,
allowing those of us that havethe energy to do things.
(23:08):
Um, so I'm still learning.
I'm still learning, uh, thebest way to plan and keep up
with all of the amazing contactslike y'all that I've met.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Yeah, cool, that's awesome.
I stands for inspiration.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Um, my inspiration is helping people, without a doubt
, and that's one of the things Irealized when I sat down and
said what do I want to do?
What have I enjoyed doing?
And I loved my time mentoringwith SCORE.
I did it for about six years,unfortunately had to stop
because it's a conflict ofinterest.
But to get to see, for example,this electrician that was going
to walk away be energized andget I mean literally
(23:41):
re-energized by his businessthat he was done with and
excited to stay for three years,there's nothing better than
that.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Yeah.
Yeah, that's an interesting one.
I think I saw that listing, Infact I want.
Somebody asked me about it andI told him I was like look, you
got to understand that you gotto get licensed.
It takes a little while to bean electrician, so you got to
work that one out.
Commitment C is commitment.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Well, that goes without saying.
I mean and I think it goes backto time management showing up
and under promising overdelivery.
Do what you do what you saidyou're going to do, or don't say
it.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
That's my commitment every day to my family, to my
home, to my clients, to peoplelike you.
Yeah, yeah, I like it.
A couple more questions.
What do you wish somebody hadtold you that you know now?
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Gosh.
Well, I have a 30-year-old andI'm trying to tell she and her
husband there's so much outthere.
There's a saying.
Let me see if I can tell youwhat it's called.
There's a Japanese saying.
It's ichigai ikigai, and it's aconcept that translates to a
(25:05):
reason for being or purpose inlife.
It's often visualized in theconvergence of four elements
what you love it's what bringsyou joy and passion.
What you're good at these areyour strengths and talents.
What the world needs.
This is how you can contributeto others and what you can be
paid for.
This is how you can sustainyourself while pursuing your
(25:26):
purpose.
And to me and that was justshared with me very recently, as
I was sharing my excitementabout this new opportunity that
I'm in and that's the key rightand and helping everybody to get
to that Um, it's what we're allstriving for as humans.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
Yeah, I know, I love that.
I love that.
Might have to go back andlisten to that and get it, get
it all straight in my head there, but that's that's.
That's cool, All right.
So how do people get in touchwith you?
Speaker 2 (26:01):
What's the best way for people to find Sherry?
Um, probably my email, which isthe easiest, which is s as in
sherry, t as in tony, my husbandc-o-g-g, instead of the whole
kajiola at t world, t as in tedworldcom s t kaj at t world,
yeah and you're all over theplace as far as search and
(26:24):
social media and Google.
I'm sure I am, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
No, it's out there.
No, it's super fun to bestarting something new.
I feel like you a little bit.
I always try to add somethinginto our business that's new or
get somebody doing somethingdifferent pretty regularly to
just get re-energized.
So that's cool.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
You guys do amazing work and I look forward to the
folks that do start with methree years ahead of time to
refer them to you, becausethat's a better use of my time
than to be doing it.
So I look forward to workingvery closely with you guys, yeah
.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Thank you, thanks for that and anything else that
you'd like to leave, or anythingfor the good of the world, as
always say.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Yeah, I love the Western North Carolina prayers
and best wishes and we're goingto come back better than ever.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Thanks for that, sherry.
It's been fun.
It's been a lot of fun, I'msure.
I think I'd like to have youback on in about six months and
see what's changed and seewhat's going on there.
It'd be super fun.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
That would be awesome , I'm sure we'll run into each
other a lot between now and then.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
Hey, for those of you out there, thanks to Sherry for
being on here, but let me justmake a note.
Just keep your eyes open.
You're going to want to see.
We've got the AshevilleBusiness Summit coming back.
This year at about it's goingto almost fall near the one-year
anniversary of Aleen, so it'sall about resurgence and
resilience, and Western NorthCarolina and us coming back is
(27:53):
stronger than ever.
So keep your eyes peeled,because you're not going to want
to miss it.
Hey, and until next time, allthe best.
Hey there, welcome to this week's episode of Epic
Entrepreneurs.
I am super excited.
This week We've got SherryCaggiolla of Transworld of
Western North Carolina.
Welcome to the podcast, Sherry.
Thanks for having me.
Bill, hey, what the heck isTransworld of Western North
Carolina anyway?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you for asking.
We are a business brokerage sowe actually help small
businesses we call them mainstreet businesses to exit,
expand or grow.
Our parent company is UnitedFranchise Services out of West
Palm Beach.
They actually partnered with avery large business brokerage
(00:42):
about 15 years ago.
In Florida and many otherborder areas you were able to
buy a business and obtain a visa, so there were lots of
businesses changing hands inWest Palm Beach and there was
this large United FranchiseServices that had started with
Sinorama and Minuteman and sincehas hundreds of franchises
(01:03):
under their belt and they sawtheir franchisees starting to
think about transitioning andthey said, well, we should get
in on that and they partneredwith this large business
brokerage there and here we areall over the world now, tens of
thousands of offices and agentsand just a great network of
really, really solid folks.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
So, Sherry, how did you get into this?
I know that this is not yourfirst gig.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Well, it's new to me.
Bill Um actually started inDecember.
Um, we uh, like many of us inthis area, we're watching
Wednesday, thursday and thenFriday prior to Helene.
Um, my husband and I own theBiltmore uh, the cantina in
Biltmore Village, and we werenot.
We were, we were used to someflooding and had some, some
(01:53):
operational stuff in place.
My husband's actually adisaster expert all over the
world, so he was out there beingprepared those days before and
Friday came and we realized itwas all gone.
So there was a lot of fetchingwater and cranking the radio to
listen to our wonderful localClear Channel station and
figuring out.
(02:13):
What am I going to do now?
Luckily, all our staff was safeand we had had 15 years.
It was a great run in therestaurant business.
We actually got into it in thedisaster of the recession as the
previous tenant couldn't paythe rent to my mom that owns the
building.
So we worked with the localstaff there and cleaned it up
(02:34):
and worked with our amazingguests and had a wonderful
business.
But it's gone and we spent $80thousand dollars of our money to
clear it out and realize thatit didn't make financial sense
for us to rebuild.
So what am I going to do?
I thought about consulting withother restaurant owners because
I was really good at it and wasable to make a 25 profit and sit
(02:59):
down restaurants, which ispretty much unheard of.
And then that involved a lot oftravel, which I didn't want to
do.
So then I thought, well, Icould sell restaurants.
I have a background incommercial real estate and
marketing and that kind of ledme to Transworld.
My husband and I had beenlooking for another opportunity,
another type business with realestate not necessarily
(03:20):
restaurant For a number of years.
We did not end up consummatingthat deal with Transworld, but
in the time I got to know sorry,that's my dog I got to know JT,
who is essentially my broker,and went to him and said I think
I want to do this.
So here I am.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Got it, Got it so.
So what's the big why here?
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Hang on one second.
That is a Rottweiler trained toring a bell to go out and she
would not have stopped.
So the big why?
The big why?
Is that small businesses areimportant and running them is
(04:09):
difficult.
Most people don't know how tosell them and they need a local,
trusted advisor to do so.
So that's my role and I'mabsolutely loving it.
I'm new to it.
I have my first closing thisweek.
An electrician that essentiallywas ready to retire and walk
away this summer and we got himover half a million dollars and
he's energized.
(04:30):
He's staying for three yearswith the new owner on something
called an earn out.
There's about 1,001 ways tosell a business and there's
probably 6,000 plus types ofbuyers to buy any type of small
business.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Yeah, a lot of people don't understand that.
They think, well, maybe I can'tbuy a business because let's
talk about that a minute becausethey don't have the money.
That what they don't realize isI mean, I've helped people buy
a lot of businesses with nomoney, so maybe let's talk about
that a little bit.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
So I've been so amazed at the benefits of the
SBA and, obviously, smallBusiness Association.
Right, that's what they'reabout.
They're about assisting smallbusinesses in many, many ways.
I worked as a mentor with SCOREas a division for there, with
counseling people and nowgetting to work with these SBA
(05:23):
lenders.
They are not financing thebuyer, they are financing the
business.
And, bill, as you know, thebusiness has a value based on
its last three years of taxreturns and many of us as small
business owners, we're running alot of personal expenses and
things through that business andwhat I get to do as their
analyst is I get to do what'scalled a recast.
(05:44):
So I will be taking their taxreturns and their P&Ls and
obviously their top line revenueand their cost of goods sold,
the things that can't be changed, their rents, utilities, et
cetera.
But ultimately there's someother what we call sellers
discretionary earnings in therethat might be their cell phones,
their gas bill, their vacation,their research, et cetera, and
(06:07):
the SBA and private financers aswell.
Allow me to add thatinformation back to get to a
bottom line figure Again, theseller's discretionary earnings,
and we do that as a multiple.
It's somewhere between 1.2 and3.5 for these smaller main
street businesses andtraditionally you can get not
(06:30):
only close to 100% financingfrom the SBA, but they'll also
loan you working capital.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Yeah, and there's plenty of other places to get
money as well.
The SBA is the obvious one formost of these.
That's what it's for.
It's for this, it's for smallbusiness.
A lot of people think, well,it's supposed to do all this
other consulting and everything.
It's really a lendingorganization.
That's really what it's about.
So well, let me ask you acouple other questions about
(06:58):
this can be about what we'redoing now and other things as
well.
If you had to start over inbusiness and maybe this is what
you've done what would you dodifferently?
Speaker 2 (07:09):
I would have more mentors around me.
I have always done that, but Iwould surround myself with
people that have done thingsright and I would ask for advice
and I would say what are thethings?
Just like you asked me whatwould you have done differently?
Right, and that's what I loveto share with, especially new
(07:29):
and aspiring folks that are,which I deal with, a lot of that
are trying to get out of W-2employment and figure out how.
To you know, become anentrepreneur is the new word,
right, we used to call itself-employed but the bottom
line is there are so many peopleout there that are so willing
to help explain the mistakesthey've made and just help you
(07:52):
not make those.
You're going to make your ownfor sure, right, but if you can
just not make all the ones thatI made, you're going to be in
good seed not make all the onesthat I made, you're going to be
in good seed.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Yeah, I think I know.
Early in my business career Igot advice.
It sort of just came withoutasking for it, but I could have
been more proactive in askingfor help.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Well, and Bill, look at the resources out there that
you and I didn't have.
You know that are available now.
I mean, I've been playing withthe Gemini and the AI and I was
in advertising for a long time,so I like adding ad copy, but I
like Gemini better foreverything.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
There's.
No, you don't have to build,you don't have to like build
software for your business.
It got, you know we were it's.
There's something out therealready that's ready to plug in
to what you I mean it's, it's.
It's pretty amazing.
Well, let's, I want to.
I think this is good because Ithink a lot of people might be.
It might be useful for peopleto know, like, what are some of
the common misconceptions thatpeople have about owning and
(09:02):
running a business.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
That the grass is greener.
Yeah, you know it is such afulfilling thing to own your own
business.
I mean it's like raising achild right.
And for a lot of these peopleI'm dealing with there's some
emotions there, but the bottomline, when you go to sell a
business or you go to buy abusiness, it's based on the last
three years of revenue period.
(09:30):
End of discussion.
We can talk about goodwill andthings of that nature.
There's no value for goodwill.
Goodwill is a way that ouraccountants utilize it so we can
avoid paying some taxes in theend, and how we allocate the
actual purchase agreement right,the actual final closing and
moving the numbers around.
But when you think about it,what we're talking about, you
(09:51):
can buy a business for one and ahalf to three times earnings.
That means that in one year youget all one and a half to three
years.
You get all the money back thatyou spent and everything beyond
that is profit to you.
It's profit to you and yourfamily for you to continue to
ideally build upon it and thebaseline that's been made there,
and it's significantly lessexpensive to buy an existing
(10:13):
business than to start one fromscratch.
You already have a lot of thosekinks worked out.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Yeah, 100 percent.
I mean it's really interestingA lot of the grants and the
government money and everythinggoes to people starting
businesses.
It's so interesting, I think, alot of that money this is just
a little bit of a rant that Ibelieve a lot of that money
could be better served andthat's why I like the SBA piece
(10:41):
of the government putting ittowards helping people in
existing businesses or helpingthem buy existing businesses
that they could further expand.
So what do you along the way,I'm sure you've had this how
have you balanced your personallife with the business demands
that you've had?
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Technology personal life with the business demands
that you've had Technology andbeing really.
I mean that you know, we allknow our only limited resource
is time, ultimately, and timemanagement.
I mean I do not leave thingsright.
I do not leave unansweredemails.
I don't let my email box getfull, I don't let my voicemail
(11:21):
get full.
Just staying on top of thosethings allows me to sleep at
night, right, and I don't knowif you can't learn to manage
your time effectively.
It's very, very difficult inthis day and age to not go crazy
.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think you hit the nail on the
head there.
I think that's the.
I think you have to block itout in ways that make sense to
how you want to live your life.
And, and a lot of people let apiece of their life take over,
and so it, yeah, the businesstakes over the personal as a
rather than the personal leadingthe business.
(11:59):
It's, it's really, it's reallyinteresting.
I mean, we, yeah, in ourbusiness, we, we've been
fortunate.
That's.
One of the things we get to dois help people get that balanced
a little bit better.
Um, yeah, it's, it's, it'spretty cool.
Let's talk a little bit aboutsome misconceptions about
business.
I mean, I think you've hit onit already, but I don't know
about you.
But I run into a lot ofbusiness owners say, yeah, I
(12:21):
want to sell my business, andwhen I sit down and just do some
back of the napkin stuff, I'mlike it's worth about half of
what they think it is.
So what are some misconceptionsabout and what can some people
do to increase the value oftheir business?
I mean, when should they startplanning that?
Speaker 2 (12:39):
My preference is we talked about that three years.
My preference is to get someoneabout three years prior to exit
.
On average it takes about ayear to sell a business.
I hope it doesn't take thatlong and it hasn't so far with
my folks and I don't intend forit to take that long.
But getting somebody aboutthree years before they plan to
exit two years works justsitting down with them going
(13:03):
through their P&Ls.
Most of us as small businessowners, we love what we do as a
small business.
We do not like the numbers, wedo not like the finance stuff.
We do not like the P&Ls I do.
I happen to love the numbers.
I always have and so one of theassets that I can bring as a
trusted local advisor is reallysitting down, showing them
(13:24):
really where they are, like yousaid, bill, where their value
sits right now.
The things that we can do toincrease that value increase the
attractiveness to a new buyer.
Most buyers, frankly, arelooking for a business they
don't have to work that hard in.
You know they think that I'mgoing to buy a business and I'm
going to grow it and add somemarketing and add some
(13:44):
operations and it's going toprovide for my family.
Well, that's absolutely thecase.
But setting some of these smallbusiness owners up so that they
are that much more attractiveto be hands-off type owners
versus hands-in type owners.
Because you know like-in typeowners Because, like an
electrician, he loves being anelectrician right, that's what
(14:06):
he wanted to do.
But to sell his business he hadto be replaced by an
electrician and there arelicensings and things like that
involved.
Well, there are ways in thatthree-year time for us to hire
people, to train people toreplace that owner, and that is
going to give it significantlymore value and more interest in
the open market to buyers.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Yeah, 100%.
Yeah, I mean that's what we do.
I mean that's our goal withbusiness owners when we work
with them is to create acommercial, profitable
enterprise that works withoutthem, so that it's actually
worth more.
It raises that multiple thatyou're talking about, absolutely
yeah, if the business owner'sgot to be there, I think you
were generous.
I think it's maybe worth onetimes earnings if the business
(14:47):
owner's got to be there.
I think you said one and a halfto three and that's right if
it's done right.
Yeah, it's pretty cool.
It's pretty cool.
So what should a prospective?
We kind of talked about thesellers, what they should do,
what should a prospective buyerbe looking for?
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Understanding how businesses are valued there are.
You know, we're trained atTransworld.
They want us to have, you know,15 listings at one time.
They want us to take everylisting that's out there and I
don't personally believe in that.
I think that you owe it to yourbuyers and your sellers to
(15:29):
properly price your listings andget all of the information and
the due diligence done up frontthat's dealing with is it
financeable?
To your point, if there's alandlord situation, is a
landlord willing to assign thatlease at what it's at or what
does that look like?
You know, I think I think froma buyer standpoint, I see a lot
(15:50):
of buyers saying that aregetting a lot of misinformation,
that they can lowball or throwa letter of intent out there
without any kind of depositmoney.
I don't accept that.
That's not in our seller's bestinterest.
It's a waste of everyone's time.
Like I said, when I put alisting on the market bill, I
(16:13):
get 50 buyers the first week.
I have to screen those buyers.
I have to find out how they'regoing to finance it, what is
their background, what are theirinterests.
You know, with this electricalcompany I got a number of just
wonderful young men that are W-2earners that think.
I just think it would be reallycool to work with my hands.
Well, it takes seven years toget an electrical license, so we
(16:35):
need to do a little researchbeforehand.
So a little bit of researchusing AI tools, using those
things when you're looking,really focusing.
I met with a woman the otherday and when she was seeking a
business, she ended up buying agreen cleaning business here in
Nashville.
But she was looking all overthe world.
She has a background,international, w2 type corporate
background, and when shefinally got serious she realized
(16:57):
I need to figure out where Iwant to be and then focus on
finding a business.
So I think keeping your searchtoo broad, especially in the
beginning, when you're trying tolearn what it's like and what
is potentially out there isprobably the biggest mistake I'm
seeing the buyers making thatdon't ever get anywhere in their
search.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Yeah, it's an interesting one, particularly if
they're a first-time buyer, ifthey've never bought a business
before, it's a yeah.
They really need somebody likeyou along to help them through
the process so that they can doit right.
I mean, it's just not.
It's just not, it's not, it'snot straightforward, and for
(17:39):
those.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
For those that are serious, I mean, we offer a
$15,000 retainer, we give somedeliverables on that, and they
get that back when they buy abusiness, you know so.
So we do do that.
It's again talking about timemanagement.
I don't do that without,without.
It's not worth the time.
Yeah, no, it's not, I wouldn't.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
I wouldn't do that without.
Without, it's not worth thetime.
Yeah, no, it's not, I wouldn't.
I wouldn't expect that.
That's the way most mostbusiness brokers I've run into
over the years work If you want,you know, if you put them on
retainer.
In fact, I worked with a guywho was a marketing guy and he
was looking for businesses andyeah, that's what, that's what
we did.
I partnered, I was doing somecoaching and I was looking for
businesses.
And yeah, that's what we did.
I partnered, I was doing somecoaching and I was partnering.
I partnered with a guy inVirginia who was this was in
(18:22):
Virginia and they were that'sexactly what they were doing.
They were just looking forother businesses to so he could
grow through acquisition.
It was pretty cool, it was apretty cool model and I think
it's a great model.
Yeah, yeah, let me ask you somequick fire questions.
So EPIC is an acronym and youknow, or BEPIC is an acronym,
(18:44):
the B stands for bring theenergy, and I know I can tell
you, bring the energy.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
So but what are your thoughts about energy and energy
management?
Well, my husband and I realizedwe've been married 40 years and
we've been through a lot ofthings and we work best in
crisis.
So when, when our life, whenour life is just going easy and
everything's fine and there's nofamily drama, we just don't do
well, so I'm I.
I've kind of laughed posthurricane Helene that I think I
(19:14):
need to find a therapist to giveme whatever.
Post-hurricane Helene, that Ithink I need to find a therapist
to give me whatever label it isthat I have.
But for me personally, I reallythrive in that sort of chaos
model, which is why deals youknow these very complicated
business deals and getting themto the end game right is so
rewarding to me personally, yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
So I mean, you know some people call it flow, like I
think you.
I think we know that when we'rein the flow, that energy, that
we're more energetic.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
I mean, one of the things that gives me energy is
talking to people like you.
So I mean I, you know, I justget energized from doing it, so
you know.
And then, but you know, settingit all up and getting it all in
place is not energizing for me,right?
So that just means I need todelegate that piece, right, so
that I can do the things thatI'm best at.
And I think that's a greatthing about the synergy.
The E stands for education.
(20:08):
What are your thoughts oneducation?
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Again back to the assets that are on the Internet
that just get pushed to you onceyou start getting out there.
You know I've only been doingthis since December and now you
know I've never heard ofAlignable before, for example.
You know Alignable.
I mean I was just on a, youknow, a speed dating Alignable
networking thing where I met 16people that somebody pushed
(20:35):
towards me live like thisUnbelievable assets that are out
there.
So everything that I go throughmy update folder and I find
those things that are pushed andI sign up and I put them on my
calendar.
Now, a lot of times I don'tlisten to them live.
I'll go back and put them ontwo speed and listen to them on
the background, but theresources that are out there to
(20:57):
educate ourselves on whatever itis that we're interested in
right now, it it's unbelievable.
That being said, you know,talking about uh, talking to you
and and getting out there againafter 15 years and having to
network and seeing the thingsthat are available in Asheville
for networking opportunities,it's just beyond uh, and I've
(21:18):
had so much fun.
You know I laugh being out ofthe restaurant business.
I'm dealing with adults insteadof adult children.
Now, right.
I love that you know dealingwith entrepreneurs and people
that have come to this city bychoice, that have had to figure
out how to make a living andthrive and strive and give back
to this community.
I'm third generation and thisclose to lean, that is my other
(21:41):
passion right now.
It's just helping our cityrebuild, helping our elected
politicians.
We can't expect them to knowhow to do this, but we've got a
lot of assets in this town.
I'm really trying to promoteSIBO, the Council for
Independent Business Ownersright now and get some young
blood in there and get somefolks to join and explain to
(22:01):
them that they need to videotapetheir meetings so that we can
send those out as recruitingtools.
So back to that energy.
There's a lot of things that Ihave going on and that energizes
me, and the busier I am, themore I get done.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Yeah, that's awesome.
That's awesome.
There's a lot to be done here.
It's kind of interesting howit's going and balancing that
with.
There's a lot of things wecould be doing.
That and I think that was oneof the harder things about the
lane was like balancing making aliving with helping all the
people that needed everythingthat they needed it was.
It was an interesting balancefor us anyway.
(22:37):
P stands for planning.
What are your thoughts onplanning?
Speaker 2 (22:42):
I'm definitely working on that With the new
tools that I have to use and the16 places that my brokers and
people want things.
That's a little frustrating forme before, and I think the um,
the, the corporate sometimesgets in the way of of, you know,
allowing those of us that havethe energy to do things.
(23:08):
Um, so I'm still learning.
I'm still learning, uh, thebest way to plan and keep up
with all of the amazing contactslike y'all that I've met.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Yeah, cool, that's awesome.
I stands for inspiration.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Um, my inspiration is helping people, without a doubt
, and that's one of the things Irealized when I sat down and
said what do I want to do?
What have I enjoyed doing?
And I loved my time mentoringwith SCORE.
I did it for about six years,unfortunately had to stop
because it's a conflict ofinterest.
But to get to see, for example,this electrician that was going
to walk away be energized andget I mean literally
(23:41):
re-energized by his businessthat he was done with and
excited to stay for three years,there's nothing better than
that.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Yeah.
Yeah, that's an interesting one.
I think I saw that listing, Infact I want.
Somebody asked me about it andI told him I was like look, you
got to understand that you gotto get licensed.
It takes a little while to bean electrician, so you got to
work that one out.
Commitment C is commitment.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Well, that goes without saying.
I mean and I think it goes backto time management showing up
and under promising overdelivery.
Do what you do what you saidyou're going to do, or don't say
it.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
That's my commitment every day to my family, to my
home, to my clients, to peoplelike you.
Yeah, yeah, I like it.
A couple more questions.
What do you wish somebody hadtold you that you know now?
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Gosh.
Well, I have a 30-year-old andI'm trying to tell she and her
husband there's so much outthere.
There's a saying.
Let me see if I can tell youwhat it's called.
There's a Japanese saying.
It's ichigai ikigai, and it's aconcept that translates to a
(25:05):
reason for being or purpose inlife.
It's often visualized in theconvergence of four elements
what you love it's what bringsyou joy and passion.
What you're good at these areyour strengths and talents.
What the world needs.
This is how you can contributeto others and what you can be
paid for.
This is how you can sustainyourself while pursuing your
(25:26):
purpose.
And to me and that was justshared with me very recently, as
I was sharing my excitementabout this new opportunity that
I'm in and that's the key rightand and helping everybody to get
to that Um, it's what we're allstriving for as humans.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
Yeah, I know, I love that.
I love that.
Might have to go back andlisten to that and get it, get
it all straight in my head there, but that's that's.
That's cool, All right.
So how do people get in touchwith you?
Speaker 2 (26:01):
What's the best way for people to find Sherry?
Um, probably my email, which isthe easiest, which is s as in
sherry, t as in tony, my husbandc-o-g-g, instead of the whole
kajiola at t world, t as in tedworldcom s t kaj at t world,
yeah and you're all over theplace as far as search and
(26:24):
social media and Google.
I'm sure I am, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
No, it's out there.
No, it's super fun to bestarting something new.
I feel like you a little bit.
I always try to add somethinginto our business that's new or
get somebody doing somethingdifferent pretty regularly to
just get re-energized.
So that's cool.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
You guys do amazing work and I look forward to the
folks that do start with methree years ahead of time to
refer them to you, becausethat's a better use of my time
than to be doing it.
So I look forward to workingvery closely with you guys, yeah
.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Thank you, thanks for that and anything else that
you'd like to leave, or anythingfor the good of the world, as
always say.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Yeah, I love the Western North Carolina prayers
and best wishes and we're goingto come back better than ever.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Thanks for that, sherry.
It's been fun.
It's been a lot of fun, I'msure.
I think I'd like to have youback on in about six months and
see what's changed and seewhat's going on there.
It'd be super fun.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
That would be awesome , I'm sure we'll run into each
other a lot between now and then.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
Hey, for those of you out there, thanks to Sherry for
being on here, but let me justmake a note.
Just keep your eyes open.
You're going to want to see.
We've got the AshevilleBusiness Summit coming back.
This year at about it's goingto almost fall near the one-year
anniversary of Aleen, so it'sall about resurgence and
resilience, and Western NorthCarolina and us coming back is
(27:53):
stronger than ever.
So keep your eyes peeled,because you're not going to want
to miss it.
Hey, and until next time, allthe best.
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