10 Sep Three Pieces of Advice from Industry Expert Scott Mashuda
In this month’s “Outstanding Veteran Spotlight” interview, John Howe, Director and Co-Owner of N.H. Business Sales, Inc., talked to Scott Mashuda. Over the last 20 years as Co-Founder and Managing Director of Rivers Edge Alliance Group, LLC, Mashuda has acquired a great deal of experience in mergers and acquisitions. In 2017, he was named to the Board of Directors of the M&A Source, and he has served as the Chair of the Marketing Committee since 2015. Additionally, he has served as an adjunct professor of entrepreneurial finance at Duquesne University’s Palumbo Donahue School of Business. Let’s review some of the key points Mashuda raises while reflecting on what he has learned throughout his career.
1. Always Play to Your Strengths
One of the key pieces of advice Mashuda has for business brokers and M&A Advisors is that it is important to play to your strengths. The simple fact is that no one excels at everything. Mashuda’s view is that it is critical for business brokers, as well as business owners and entrepreneurs, to play to their strengths as much as possible. Let other people handle tasks in the areas where you are weak.
2. Select Clients Carefully
A second key piece of advice is that business brokers need to be careful when selecting clients. In particular, it is important to find clients that will listen to advice. As Mashuda states, “I’m never going to go to a business owner and tell them I know more about their business than they do. I’m going to listen, but I do require that my clients listen to me about what I’ve been doing for a long time.” In short, clients must understand that you have wisdom to impart about buying and selling businesses. After all, you are the expert. If they want optimal results, they need to listen to your professional advice.
3. Some Things Are More Trouble Than They Are Worth
In a third piece of advice, Mashuda discusses a great piece of advice he himself once received. He was working with an employee who was a great producer but was also difficult to have around for a variety of reasons. During this time, a private equity friend noted that life is filled with things that you can’t control and those things will often generate problems. However, he pointed out that it was within Mashuda’s control to fire the difficult employee. As Mashuda noted, “It’s great to have money coming in…but there is such a thing as being more trouble than it’s worth.”
In the end, Mashuda provided an impressive array of advice to business brokers. The three key pieces of advice he’s learned over the course of his career can be applied to not just business brokers and M&A Advisors, but also to almost any business or any profession. Following these tips will serve to assist you to build your business and achieve greater consistent results.
