Talk to me before you are ready
The useful conversation is the early one. Owners who ring me twelve months to three years out are the ones who get to fix the things that move price. There is no cost to the first conversation and no obligation at the end of it.
Get my free appraisal, in writingCall 0431 124 128
No obligation. Nothing is published. Nobody is contacted.
Check it yourself
Four ways
Reach me however suits you
All four come to me. There is no reception, no call centre and nobody else on the line. Save my details to your phone if you would rather not type them in later. This is who answers.
There is no shopfront either. Post comes to PO Box 4440, Gumdale, Queensland 4154, and I meet you at your business or somewhere private of your choosing. If you want the registered place of business in evidentiary form rather than on a website, it is on the Office of Fair Trading licence extract, which anyone can buy for $20.70.
When you can reach me
- Monday to Friday
- 7:00am – 6:00pm
- Saturday
- 8:00am – 2:00pm
- Sunday and public holidays
- By appointment
Outside those hours, text me and I will come back to you. If you are calling about something time-critical, say so and I will make room.
What happens when you make contact
- We talk. Fifteen minutes on the phone, or half an hour if you book it. You tell me what the business does and roughly what you are thinking. I tell you whether I am the right person.
- I look at the numbers. Three years of financials if you have them, or whatever you do have. No commitment either way.
- You get a written appraisal. A range, the reasoning behind it, and what would move it. Free, whether you list with me or not.
- You decide, in your own time. Nothing happens next unless you say so. If the answer is "not yet", that is a normal answer and I will tell you what to work on.
What I do with what you tell me
When you ring, email or book a time, I collect your name, your contact details and whatever you choose to tell me about the business. I use it to answer your question and to prepare an appraisal. I do not sell it, trade it or add you to a list, because there is no list.
Booking through Calendly means your name, email and chosen time are stored on servers in the United States. If you would rather that did not happen, ring me instead.
The privacy policy sets out the whole picture, including what happens to identity documents, how long records are kept and how to complain.
Where I work
All of Queensland. South East Queensland and the Darling Downs in person as a matter of course. Everywhere else an appraisal starts by phone and video, with a site visit where the business warrants it.
- All of Queensland, and how coverage actually works
- Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Moreton Bay, Redlands
- Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba
- Regional Queensland, from Bundaberg to Cairns and west to Mount Isa
Before you call, you might want to read
What I ask on the first call, and what you get back
In Tony's own words.
You get a conversation, not a pitch
I ask what the business does, roughly what it turns over, what the profit looks like once your own drawings and one off costs are added back, and what you are hoping to do next. That is usually enough for me to tell you whether the timing makes sense and what a buyer is likely to focus on first.
What the free appraisal actually is
If you want to go further, the next step is a free confidential market appraisal. That is my written opinion of the likely selling price, built from what comparable Queensland businesses have actually settled at, not a guess and not a number designed to win your listing.
If the appraisal tells you to wait twelve months and fix a couple of things first, that is what I will say. You can take the appraisal, put it in the drawer and call me back in two years. That is a completely normal outcome and it costs you nothing.
Confidentiality
Your enquiry is not discussed with anyone
Confidentiality is the part you will worry about, and it is the easiest thing to get wrong. Your staff finding out before you are ready, a competitor hearing you are on the market, a key customer getting nervous about supply. Those are the things that quietly cost you money.
If it does go to market, it goes out blind
Your business is advertised as a blind profile with no name, no address and no identifying detail, and every buyer signs a confidentiality agreement before they see anything that could identify you. Financial capacity is tested before figures go out, and the sensitive material goes last.
How confidentiality works in practice, in full.
Where I work, and the sectors I know best
Brisbane and all of Queensland. The bulk of my work sits across Greater Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Moreton Bay, Redlands, the Scenic Rim, the Lockyer Valley, Toowoomba and the Darling Downs, but distance is not the deciding factor. If your business is in regional Queensland and it is the right business, I will come to you.
The sectors I know best are earthmoving and civil, mining services, construction and building, transport and logistics, e-commerce and retail, and window furnishings and interiors, and that background is useful when a buyer starts asking hard questions.
Questions people ask before they call
What is the best number to call you on?
Either one. The office line 1300 173 183 and the mobile 0431 124 128 both ring the same phone, so use whichever suits you. If I miss the call I return it the same day.
Is the first conversation confidential?
Yes. Nothing is discussed with anyone else, no notes go on any public system, and nobody in your market, your staff or your suppliers finds out you made contact. If it goes no further, it simply goes no further.
Does it cost anything to talk to a business broker?
No. The first conversation and a confidential market appraisal of your business are both free and carry no obligation. You are not signing anything by picking up the phone.
How quickly will I get a reply?
Calls are returned the same business day and emails within one business day. If you would rather lock in a time, the booking calendar has slots from early morning through to the evening.
I am only thinking about it, is it too early to call?
It is almost never too early. You get the strongest result by starting the conversation twelve to twenty four months before you sell, because that is enough runway to fix the things that hold a price down.
I want to buy a business, not sell one. Same numbers?
Same numbers. Register what you are looking for and your budget and I will let you know when something fits, including businesses that never make it to a public advertisement.
Check it yourself10 primary sources
None of these organisations is affiliated with me and none of them endorses this site. Where anything here differs from an official source, the official source is right.
One broker, start to finish
You will deal with me from the first phone call to settlement. There is no team to be handed to, because there is no team.
Ask what it is worth
Free, in writing, and nobody finds out you asked. Tell me the trade and the suburb and I will do the rest.
Nobody finds out you are selling. This goes to me only, into my own database in Sydney. I will not contact your accountant, your landlord, your bank or your staff, ever, unless you ask me to.
If you would rather not put anything in writing yet, ring 0431 124 128. Prefer to pick a time yourself? Book a time in my diary.