Business Brokers

Start with who needs help to buy and sell small businesses and why. Around owners and buyers drive demand in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the other emirates.

• List 10 offers or suppliers in the UAE with price per deal in AED and who buys.
• Interview 5 people from owners and buyers: what do they buy now, how often, what do they pay, what annoys them?
• Learn three terms: Mandate (a written authority to act for a seller); Valuation (an estimate of what a business is worth); Non-disclosure agreement (a promise to keep secrets).
• Write a one-page brief: user, need, hoped-for price, and the rule that matters most.

Activity. Complete the market table, five interview notes and the brief.

Standard to meet. Price ten offers, interview five users, and state one need in one sentence.

Know the rule before the work. Main hazards here: wrong valuation and breached secrecy. Hazard thinking means list each step, ask what could go wrong, and decide the control.

• Ask your local authority or free zone which licence, permit or inspection applies. Write the answer and the date you asked.
• For each step (sign a mandate; value the business; find buyers; support the deal) write the hazard and the control.
• Use a hierarchy: remove the hazard, replace it, separate people from it, change the way of work, then protective equipment last.
• Keep a one-page incident rule: who you call, what you stop, what you record.

Activity. Draw the flow and mark hazard and control at each step.

Standard to meet. Name a hazard and a control for every step, and answer the licence question in writing.

The work is a short chain: sign a mandate, value the business, find buyers, support the deal. Learn each link, then link them with records.

• Write a checklist for each of the 4 steps: input, action, check, output.
• Time each step three times and note the slowest.
• Record a defect or delay each time it happens: what, where, cause, fix.
• Measure deals closed per listings; this is your main number.

Activity. Run the chain three times (simulated or real) and fill the log.

Standard to meet. Complete three logs, and give the slowest step a cause and a fix.

What you do not measure you cannot improve. Your main measure is deals closed per listings.

• Define deals closed per listings: what counts, what does not, and over what period.
• Draw a simple chart of the last 10 results and mark the average.
• Find the top two causes of loss with a tally sheet, then fix the biggest one first.
• Check measuring tools: are they accurate, clean and in date?

Activity. Collect a tally for one week and make a Pareto chart.

Standard to meet. Complete the tally, name the biggest cause, and plan one fix with a date.

Know the cost of one deal before you set the price. Include materials, labour, energy, transport, licence share, waste and a safety margin.

• Cost per deal = total cost divided by deals sold (not made).
• Margin = (price minus cost) divided by price.
• Break-even units = fixed costs divided by gain per unit.
• Test the price with two users and write down the answer.

Activity. Build the cost sheet with AED on every line and have your mentor check it.

Standard to meet. Check that no cost is missing, and calculate the margin twice by different routes.

Customers return when you keep promises. Promise only what your workflow can deliver.

• Write a one-page offer: what is included, what is not, price, time, how you fix mistakes.
• Write a short script for the first call or visit.
• Agree dates in writing; confirm each change.
• Handle a complaint in four steps: listen, apologise for the impact, fix, record what changed.

Activity. Present the offer to two users and note changes.

Standard to meet. Write an offer with scope, price, time and a fix rule, and collect comments from two users.

Small, real and recorded. Change one thing at a time and learn quickly.

• Keep a daily log: date, units, cost, delays, defects, safety notes.
• Hold a 15-minute review each week with your mentor.
• Write down every complaint and what you changed.
• Take photos only where allowed and never of people without consent.

Activity. Complete 30 days of the log and four weekly reviews.

Standard to meet. Log 30 days, give each defect a cause, and keep weekly notes.

A decision beats a feeling. Compare plan with result and choose to scale, change or stop.

• Make a before and after table: cost per unit, defects, delays, repeat users.
• Write three lessons.
• Decide scale, change or stop, with the numbers behind it.
• Give two peers one strength and one fix each.

Activity. Present to a review room and collect one written comment from a user.

Standard to meet. Justify the decision with numbers, and give two peer reviews.

A fair price needs a method.

• Use earnings multiples and asset checks.
• Adjust for owner pay and one-off items.
• Sign a mandate with scope and period.
• Keep seller identity secret until a buyer signs a non-disclosure agreement.

Activity. Value a sample firm three ways.

Standard to meet. Show the method and adjustments.

Deals fail on surprises.

• Prepare an information pack.
• Screen buyers for funds.
• Run due diligence checks.
• Close with advisers and licensed steps.

Activity. Create a due diligence checklist.

Standard to meet. Cover money, legal and people in the checklist.

A broker holds private facts about sellers and buyers. Trust depends on keeping secrets, being open about conflicts and never hiding a known problem.

• Sign a confidentiality agreement before sharing any business detail with a buyer.
• Tell both sides in writing if you could gain from one side more than the other.
• Disclose known problems such as debts, disputes or lapsed licences; do not hide them.
• Verify the buyer can pay before opening the books.

Activity. Role-play a seller who wants a fact hidden; write the disclosure note and your reply.

Standard to meet. Write a reply that refuses to hide the fact and gives reasons, and date and complete the disclosure note.

On the slide: L1 Basic · Mandate, valuation, secrecy

Notes: Name three terms: mandate, valuation and non-disclosure agreement, and say what each does. Notes: a mandate is written authority to act for a seller; work only under a licensed firm because a licence is needed to act as a broker.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Secrecy and wrong valuation

Notes: Describe why wrong valuation and breached secrecy are the main risks, with one control for each. Notes: keep the seller's identity secret until a buyer signs a non-disclosure agreement, and disclose known problems such as debts or disputes.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Value a sample business

Notes: Calculate a starting value for a sample firm from adjusted profit and a multiple. Notes: use the course case of AED 400,000 profit x 3 = AED 1.2 million as a starting range, show the owner-pay adjustment, and treat the answer as a range, not a promise.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Run a mock listing to close

Notes: Run a simulated deal under a licensed firm: mandate, valuation, buyer search and support to close, with full records. Notes: the standard is a signed mandate, a signed non-disclosure agreement before any detail is shared, and deals closed per listings tracked.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Compare valuation methods

Notes: Compare three valuation methods on one firm and choose a range with reasons. Notes: use earnings multiple, asset check and an adjusted-profit view; at AED 25,000 per deal and AED 9,000 cost the gain is AED 16,000, 64 per cent.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Coach on conflicts and secrecy

Notes: Coach junior staff on conflict disclosure and confidentiality using sampled files. Notes: sample five deal files each month for a signed agreement, written conflict notice and listed known problems; target five out of five.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Design the brokerage system

Notes: Design a brokerage process with mandate templates, valuation checks, secrecy controls and a 12-month plan under the licensing rules. Notes: at 6 deals a month the gross gain is AED 96,000 against AED 10,800 fixed costs; present one risk, one saving and a licence review date.