KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Presented by: Hans Florine, World’s Fastest Rock Climber
Hans is a world-renowned rock climber, having successfully ascended the 3,000-foot granite face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park 178 times. He is a frequent motivational speaker, author and thought leader in speed and efficiency, and has been featured in the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Men’s Journal and Ted Talks. Hans has held the speed record climbing the nose of El Capital on 8 occasions, most recently with Oscar-winning film star Alex Honnald of Free Solo.
In additions to his successes, Hans has failed to make it up to the face on a number of occasions and recently had a hard set back, falling and breaking both of his legs. He’s on the comeback and will share how performing at the highest level transcends climbing and can be applied to your brokerage practice.
You can learn more about Hans by visiting http://www.hansflorine.com/.
Are You Brokering Bias or Business?
Presented by: Matthew Cahill
Bias resides in the 99+% of how we unconsciously process information in any given moment. Most of the time, it serves us very well. Understanding when it doesn’t is key to improving our decisions, relationships and organizations. This interactive presentation creates an open, immersive environment for exploring decision-making, inclusivity and proactive measures for improving broker business.
By the end of the workshop, participants will:
- Understand Unconscious/Implicit Bias
- Analyze how UB affects interactions & relationships
- Define the 5 most common cognitive biases and mitigation strategies
- Identify mitigation strategies to improve your business
Speaker Biography
Matthew Cahill is a business consultant with deep expertise in cognitive, social and workplace biases. He works with businesses to help organizations make better products, generate more revenue and foster inclusion. From interpersonal workshops for executives and corporate boards to employee team building, HR process definitions and inclusive meeting protocols, top-performing companies understand for a teachable moment to be valuable, it must be both targeted and tailored. Matthew’s workshops, speaking engagements and consulting techniques lead to organizational transformation, empowering individuals to identify their biases, strengthen relationships and disrupt bias in the workplace.
CABB & IBBA: Partnering For Your Success
Presented by: Kylene Golubski
Join IBBA Executive Director, Kylene Golubski, and CABB/IBBA members for a town hall style update on the IBBA's education, credentialing, public awareness and member benefit programs. Learn about exciting initiatives to come and make sure you're reaping all the benefits of the CABB-IBBA partnership!
Speaker Biography
Kylene Golubski is the Executive Director of the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA). In conjunction with the IBBA Board, she is responsible for ensuring the IBBA achieves its mission to proliferate education, excellence and ethics in the business brokerage profession, and for driving continued public awareness of the valuable service a business broker provides.
 Thomas D. Georgianna |
 Romin P. Thomson |
 William F. Ziprick |
Stump the Attorneys Panel
Attorney Panelists: Thomas D. Georgianna, Esq. – Managing Litigating Attorney at Boyd Law (Orange County) Romin P. Thomson, Esq. – Shareholder at Sweeney, Mason, Wilson, Bosomworth (Bay Area)
Attorney Moderator: William F. Ziprick, Esq. – Business Law Firm of William F. Ziprick (Inland Empire)
Three experienced “deal friendly” legal counsel lead an interactive session covering a wide range of legal topics relating to California Business Brokers and their deals. Gain insights and perspectives, while also learning ways to avoid the ever-present potential land mines and challenges which often lie hidden in the transaction landscape. The attorneys will also discuss “war stories” to illustrate “do’s” and “don’ts” for a Broker as you work toward a successful closing. A major focus of the session will be the attorneys addressing your questions and concerns, so be sure to bring your tough questions for the chance to “stump” the attorneys!
Panelists Biography
Attorney Thomas D. Georgianna is the Managing Attorney of the Civil Litigation and Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Division of Boyd Law. He practices in the area of general business litigation and commercial arbitration. Attorney Georgianna is a graduate of the Brooklyn Law School (J.D. 2001)
Attorney Romin P. Thomson, Shareholder at Sweeney, Mason, Wilson, Bosomworth, has been representing businesses in the Silicon Valley since obtaining his law degree from the Santa Clara University School of Law in 1997. He regularly assists clients with capital transaction, mergers and acquisitions, securities law issues, intellectual property issues and general corporate matters.
Attorney William F. Ziprick’s practice focuses on representing clients in business sales and purchases, contract negotiations, real estate transactions and counseling both for-profit and non-profit business entities. Attorney Ziprick is a graduate of the UCLA School of Law (1980).
3 Key Strategies to Win More Business in 2019
Presented by: Joe Diliberto
Most business brokers we talk with tell us that it is becoming more difficult to find and close the right deals. The process is becoming more complex and competitive. There are several decision points within the process that either make or break the deal.
Join us for Joe’s presentation as we will be discussing 3 key strategies and a sales process to enhance the probability to win more of the right deals on a consistent basis. We will be discussing the following topics:
- Getting in front of enough new opportunities on a regular basis
- Gaining and maintaining control of the sales process
- Identifying and closing the small sales throughout the process
- Stop being an “unpaid consultant”
- Shortening the time to closing a deal or to get a decision
- Minimize chasing opportunities that have a small probability to win
- Adding value throughout the sales process
- Close more deals
Speaker Biography
Joe Diliberto is the President & Owner of Sandler Training in the Bay Area. For the past 14 years, he has been training, coaching and consulting a wide range of businesses across a variety of industries to maximize their sales, marketing and business development efforts. Prior to Sandler Training, Joe held executive-level positions in both Fortune 100 and start-up companies.
Thomas D. Georgianna |
 Scott Williams |
How To Preserve and Protect Your Commission
Presented by: Thomas D. Georgianna and Scott Williams
Closing a deal is half the battle. Getting paid is the other half. In this presentation, we will learn the tips, tricks and strategies for ensuring no dispute over your commission arises. We will also learn how to prepare for the worst in the event that a dispute does occur. Finally, we will learn how to monitor for a compensated transaction after the expiration of the listing. We will have lots of stories and questions from the audience are invited.
Speakers Biography:
Thomas D. Georgianna is the Managing Attorney of the Civil Litigation and Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Division of Boyd Law. He practices in the area of general business litigation and commercial arbitration. Attorney Georgianna is a graduate of the Brooklyn Law School (J.D. 2001)
Scott is the founder and principal attorney of The Small Business Law Firm, P.C. Their practice focuses on startups, acquisitions, and mergers for small businesses. Scott began as a young entrepreneur himself, having started his own business at the age of 16. He later sold that business upon entering active duty as an officer in the United States Air Force. Scott served as a Minuteman III Missile Combat Crew Commander and achieved the rank of Captain. Scott is a licensed commercial pilot with multi-engine and instrument ratings and has over 2,000 flight hours. He is the Vice President of the Cirrus Pilots and Owners Association. When he’s not flying, Scott’s probably hiking up a mountain or cycling down the California coast. He has twice ridden from San Francisco to Santa Monica for the Arthritis Foundation. Scott currently serves on our CABB forms committee.
Demystifying the E-2 Investor Visa Application Process
Presented by: Don L. Pangilinan
The E-2 visa is specifically designed to allow a foreign investor (who carries the nationality of a treaty country) to develop and direct the operations of an enterprise in which he or she has invested or of an enterprise in which he or she is actively in the process of investing, a substantial amount of capital. The process to apply for the E-2 visa, while in the process of investing in the business, can be somewhat puzzling, because what an immigration officer wishes to see may not necessarily follow business practices. This session will discuss some of the basics of the E-2 visa application process, what is generally needed and then to discuss some of the nuances.
Speaker Biography
Don L. Pangilinan has been a business immigration attorney at Philip Levin & Associates for the last 12 years. He works with businesses (start-up to well-established) to prepare and file nonimmigrant (temporary work visas) and immigrant (green card) petitions on behalf of an employer’s employees and manages their immigration processes. He also advises corporations with regard to laws governing the employment of foreign nationals in the U.S., including such issues as mergers and acquisitions, hiring, reductions in force and document compliance for Labor Condition Applications and Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification. He represents clients before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and United States Customs and Border Protection, as well as the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Labor. He has been a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) since 2001 and is a member of the AIDS Legal Referral Panel (ALRP) in San Francisco.
Adding Value with Exit Planning
Presented by: Tawnya L. Gilreath, JD, CM&AP, CExP, CFE, CBI
Business brokers often find themselves in a position where a business owner has contacted them to sell a business yet, after one or more conversations with the owner, it becomes apparent that (a) the business is not ready to be sold, or (b) the business owner is not ready to let go of the business. Rather than spending countless hours trying to sell the unsaleable, many successful business brokers are adding value to both their clients’ businesses and their own practices by incorporating the process of exit planning.
In this workshop, we’ll discuss (a) how to use basic exit planning to determine whether a business is ready to be sold and its owner is ready to let go, (b) how to use aspects of exit planning to add value in situations where putting the business on the market would be an exercise in futility, and (c) how comprehensive exit planning can increase brokers’ commissions by increasing a business’ value.
Speaker Biography
Tawnya Gilreath has been selling private, closely-held businesses since 2006. She is a Certified M&A Professional, Certified Business Intermediary, Certified Business Broker, Certified Exit Planner and Certified Fraud Examiner. Tawnya owns and operates LA Business Pros, an M&A advisory/business brokerage firm offering exit planning, business sale preparation and business intermediary services. Tawnya is also a licensed attorney with a separate law practice focused on business and estate planning.
Update on CABB Forms
Presented by: Edward L. Fixen, CBB & CBA
The CABB Forms committee is responsible for updating and developing CABB forms to meet the needs of the CABB membership. In 2018, the committee completed a major re-write and update of the Asset Purchase Agreement, including a tutorial. Mr. Fixen will be presenting and discussing the 2019 initiatives undertaken by the Committee and some of the exciting improvements that will be provided to CABB membership in the near future. Major initiative and projects currently underway include:
- New Lease Assignment Form
- New Letter of Intent Form
- Technical initiative to protect and limit the usage of CABB Forms to active members only
- Technical initiative to create an auto-populate process across multiple CABB forms to eliminate the need to duplicate information every time a different form is used on a deal
Speaker Biography
Edward Fixen is the President of BusinessQuest Brokers, Inc. which he founded in 2006. Ed’s expertise and area of practice includes both business valuation and business brokerage. Prior to founding BusinessQuest, Ed was the Western Region Vice-President for a national engineering firm. Ed has a diverse business background with over 30 years of experience as an executive manager for a Fortune 500 company, business owner of two successful companies and, most recently, as the owner and founder of BusinessQuest.
Ed is both a Certified Business Appraiser and Certified Business Broker, a unique distinction held by only a couple business brokers in all of California. Ed is on the Board of Directors of the California Association of Business Brokers (CABB) and a licensed real estate salesperson. Ed is Co-Chair of the CABB Forms Committee. Ed obtained his MBA from the USC Marshall School of Business and Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Maryland, where he graduated in the top of his class with academic honors. Ed has been a regular columnist for an Inland Empire Business Daily and has been a guest speaker on the Inland Empire Business Roundtable radio show several times.
Tax Reform: Ready, Set, Go!
Presented by: Monty Walker
Tax Reform is now in full force. The year 2018 income tax returns are being filed and taxpayers are now experiencing the actual outcome of this new legislation. The results for some taxpayers is a tax refund greater than in previous years while others are shocked by receiving a lower refund or in some cases, a tax bill. Many of these taxpayers did no form of planning or preparation. They simply developed an expectation based on what they heard in the news.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was a sweeping piece of legislation that left taxpayers with some answers, a lot of questions and numerous potential opportunities to explore. There is never a “one-size-fits-all” solution when it comes to tax planning. Now more than ever taxpayers need to critically analyze and challenge their tax situation and prepare for an expected outcome. This is especially true when it comes to the tax results associated with buying and selling a business.
Tax planning remains a critical element of the business transaction process. Tax reform’s impact on the choice of business entity to the tax paid on transaction gains results in planning needs for Buyers and Sellers alike.
This workshop will provide an update on current tax legislation and planning specific to business transactions.
Speaker Biography
Monty Walker is a Certified Public Accountant with a diversity of experience in the private closely-held business arena. Monty Supports Entrepreneurial Clients throughout the country. His practice focus is in the Business Transfer Industry providing support to Small Business Owners in the areas of Business Transactions, Business Structuring & Design, Business Tax Planning, and Business Exit Planning. He works with Business Sellers, Business Buyers and their various advisors, such as business intermediaries, accountants, and attorneys, to manage the unique financial, tax, planning and procedural matters associated with buying and selling a business. Due to his background in the area of business transfers and business transitions he is often referred to by his clients and colleagues as a – "Business Transition CPA". Additionally, Monty has also owned and operated several of his own businesses. Thus, his experience comes from being directly in the trenches.
Check back frequently for updates.