Don't Forget to Renew Your Membership for 2013!
 
If you have not renewed your membership, it will expire in a little more than a week! You should have received an invoice in the mail last month, as well as an electronic invoice earlier this month. If there are any discrepancies in your records, don't hesitate to contact headquarters and let us correct it.

To renew your membership, you may visit www.ibba.org, mail in a check, or call (888) 686-4222. All checks should be mailed to: IBBA, 3525 Piedmont Rd NE, Building 5, Suite 300, Atlanta, GA 30305.

We appreciate your membership!

IBBA Headquarters

Be sure to mark your calendars for the 2013 IBBA and M&A Source Spring Conference being held in Anaheim, California June 10th through the 15th, at the Hilton Anaheim.  Your IBBA board members are committed to providing you with new educational courses, along with the courses you'll need to gain your certification, engaging workshops, networking opportunities and much more.

Please plan to join us in Anaheim to Get Knowledge, Gain Experience and Ride the Wave to Success!

I want to once again thank the leadership of the IBBA for entrusting Meeting Expectations with management of your fine association and Pino Bacinello specifically for his guidance and vision.  In my 20+ years of association management, I've learned that there must be trust between the leadership and members of an organization and those given the day-to-day responsibility of managing operations.  

It has only been six short months, but I think the trust in the relationship is building mutually.  We only really started working together the week of the combined IBBA and M&A Source conference in San Antonio in June, and it was clear that we on staff could help if we gained your trust.

 

First of all, I want to say that we were very fortunate to have Pino and Chet in charge of the IBBA and the M&A Source this past year.  It was quite a challenge, and not everyone could have worked harder making the transition from one association management company to another.  They deserve our sincere thanks for the many, many hours they spent on this task which allowed for a smooth transition.

I have been selling businesses for over thirty years now and have been a member of both organizations since 1995.  The conferences, the education, and the friendships I have made have been very valuable for me in this profession.  In good times and tough times my membership has helped me develop as an Intermediary.  I have been through a few recessions and this one is clearly one of the worst.  It is bad for us, but it is even more so for our clients.  The tools of the trade and education M&A Source and IBBA offer are especially necessary in this economy.

 

A lifetime of treasured memories has been lost to Cress Diglio Sr. and Cress Jr. with the loss of their beloved wife and mother, Germaine.  Please find time to send them a note to 1999 West Colonial Dr. Orlando, FL 32804-7045.  Cress Sr. served as our IBBA Chairman and Cress Jr. presently serves as the Education Chair.  Both serve as leaders in their community and with our association.  Germaine has been their support, encouragement, and great joy of times shared together.  She is also a reminder to each of us to celebrate every day and tell those closest we love them.

The Pratt's Stats® database can help answer those questions and more.  IBBA members, who are contributing intermediaries, record the "Asking Price" (also known as the listing price) and "MVIC Price"  (also known as the selling price) when submitting a deal for inclusion within the Pratt's Stats database.  From this private to private company information, we calculated the "Average Percentage Below Asking Price" (APBAP) in reference to year, industry and net sales.  There are currently more than 18,950 total transactions in Pratt's Stats, of which 5,295 transactions (approximately 28%) contain the information to calculate APBAP.

 

Over the years I have been an entertainer, financial analyst for Caesars Palace, Food and Beverage Controller for the MGM Grand, and have built up a large consulting practice with "Big 8" CPA for their Las Vegas Office and ran one of the biggest hotel-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip as Executive V.P. Along the way, I earned three college degrees, including my MBA. I also taught at UNLV for two and a half years to pay a debt of gratitude to the Dean who helped me in my career.

I got bored with Las Vegas, so I co-founded a small cruise company, built it up to seven ships, and took it public in 1989. Again, I got bored, so I co-founded a large gaming company, Casino Magic, and took it public in 1992. CMAG was the number one performing IPO of 1992.

2012 has been a better year for us (up 25% on previous year), but still feels fragile with continuing news from Europe and the US, while Australia and China are both slowing a bit. But that's the market. We cannot change the it, we can only control our attitude towards it.

Change continues at an ever-faster pace. The businesses we sell change: more service, less smokestacks; more internet-based, less shops; more franchises, hospitality, and importers. Our buyers change too: more immigrants, more sophistries, less truly entrepreneurial, more focused on financials and less excited about potential.

Change is good because it helps to keep us on our toes, and it helps to keep us young. We work in a wonderful industry, and it is as full of opportunity as ever.
Kia Ora from "down under"...

Clyth MacLeod, Lifetime CBI

The 20th Century Poet, Edith Lovejoy Pierce, referred to the start of the New Year by saying, "We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and the first chapter is New Year's Day."

Each of us is facing the first month of this New Year, and we will begin to write our new chapter called Opportunity.  It is time to begin, but first a look back . . .

During November, I sent a letter to the editor of my local paper: Two paths diverge to our future (seen below).  It is what our association faced a year ago.  We were blessed with the calm and positive leadership of Pino Bacinello and Chet Walden to detour the path we were taking and start talking positive and upbeat.