Maybe you know of Tiffany Swartz as the voice of local KVGI’s radio show “Life According to Tiff.” Or maybe you knew that she's the owner of Transworld Business Advisors of North DFW and is a passionate business broker and supporter of small business in Frisco.

But maybe you don’t even know exactly what a broker is. Or maybe you like the sound of buying a small business but don’t have the faintest idea where to start.  

Business brokers assist in the transfer process of buying or selling a privately held business. Swartz lately has found herself specializing primarily as a buyer-broker.

I’ve started to work a lot with buyers as a buyer-broker, where buyers are willing to pay to have a broker represent them – it’s a shift that's starting to be seen as a need in the industry.

But why use a broker at all during the business buying process? When I asked Swartz this question, she laughed and then began to passionately explain why she cares so much about what she does:

There are so many people who try to buy a business without using a broker. And yes, it may cost you a little in the short run to hire one. But if you find the right one, that cost can often be made up during price negotiations, due diligence, leads, etc. And I can tell you so many stories of situations where someone tried to buy a business and then came to me to see if I could unwind the damage of a poor deal – there’s only so much unwinding I can do after the fact.

Swartz repeatedly assures prospective business owners in the Frisco owners of the wisdom of hiring a business broker, both in her Lifestyle Frisco articles and on her radio show.

Swartz isn’t just passionate about the prospective buyers that she considers clients though. Swartz is excited about the potential of the small business landscape in Frisco and loves to offer help and advice about buying, selling, and starting small businesses to budding owners, entrepreneurs, and concerned citizens.

On her show, in interviews, on her Lifestyle Frisco podcast, and in person, she offers so much more than vague platitudes. Instead, she offers tangible, practical feedback, and direction. For instance, we asked her to talk about the current perils of starting a small business in Frisco. Here’s what she had to offer:

The leased space is the hardest part of starting a business in Frisco right now – making sure to  negotiate the proper lease, the proper build-out; if you don’t start out with the proper lease you’re shooting yourself in the foot and your foundation is not solid. Rent has greatly increased due to growth. There are so many ways to be successful in Frisco, but there so many ways to shoot yourself in the foot before you get in the door, especially when it comes to lease space in Frisco right now. If I were to get into a lease right now, I’d almost look more for a struggling business with a locked-in rate.

Tiffany shared a story about one business that her client was about to buy – suddenly, the landlord of the business space began asking for nearly triple rent and the entire deal fell through, while the original owner of the small business had to close their doors permanently.

Swartz is quick to caution, “I don’t want to be critical of landlords. I just feel that the lease rates due to our growth make it very difficult for a small business; eventually I feel like they have to come down.”

Swartz continues, “Having someone to partner with that can avoid some of those pitfalls is so important.”

This is just one aspect of why it’s so important to partner with a buyer broker like Swartz as one begins to consider buying a business. Swartz says,

Frisco is amazing and if you work your business right, it will be very successful, but just starting something because it's Frisco isn’t automatic. You still have to market yourself and do your business the right way.

A clear first step towards doing business the right way in Frisco is to enlist Tiffany at Transworld Business Advisors of North DFW, an expert on the local business landscape and a fiery advocate for her clients.

The post This is the First Step to Buying a Business in Frisco appeared first on lifestylefrisco.com.