HOUSTON BUSINESS REVIEW

RALPH FAIN Biography

Ralph Fain is a principal in the brokerage firm, R/Fain Group. Mr. Fain also has over 20 years of broad business experience with Fortune 500 companies. R/ Fain Group is a professional business brokerage firm which confidentially represents the interests of various sellers and buyers. Each week Mr. Fain will give tips on Business Brokering, and how to sell your business.

Ralph Fain is a principal in the R/ Fain Group and is the Houston Business Show Advisor on the subject of business brokerage (a topic discussed in more detail later in this article). Each week he will discuss various aspects of buying and selling a business – ranging from “how to prepare a business for sale” to “how to select the right business broker”.

The R/ Fain Group is a full service business brokerage firm specializing in businesses with revenues from $500,000 to $20,000,000. For “Main Street to Mid Market” companies, the firm provides professional and confidential intermediary services incorporating traditional brokerage services, business evaluations, business consulting (specializing in cost savings and achieving cost efficiencies), and the securing of business financing through various sources. The R/ Fain Group focuses on enhancing the value of businesses via well researched and formulated business and marketing strategies.

Ralph Fain, founder and principal of R/ Fain Group, has over 20 years of extensive business experience with Fortune 500 companies and with smaller mid-sized firms. His early career was spent in Accounting and Finance with Oil and Gas/O & G manufacturing businesses where he held a variety of positions ranging from Controller to Vice President – Finance and Administration.

Subsequent to his O & G career, he worked primarily in the outsourcing service industry where he gained additional experience in other disciplines, serving in varied capacities from Vice President – Sales and Marketing to President/CEO. He founded a service company which, with the assistance of a great corporate team, he was able to grow from inception to a revenue level of $50,000,000 within a few years. Following his sale of the company, he served as President/CEO of a $90,000,000 outsourcing division of a multi-state health care operation.

We recite his work summary simply to convey Ralph’s background and experience in P&L management, mergers and acquisitions, new business development, sales/marketing, strategic planning and a number of other areas and to convey his understanding of entrepreneurial companies. He has truly “been there, done that”.

Ralph, in addition to his regular monthly radio appearances on the Houston Business Show, will also be contributing weekly business brokerage articles for the Houston Business Review. Such future writings (in addition to those mentioned earlier) encompass topics such as “packaging and marketing a business”, “differing methodologies of business valuations”, “what to know about buying a business”, “how to qualify buyers”, “structuring the sale”, “financing”, and, equally, if not most importantly, “the selection of the right business broker”.

As a final note or caveat, it should be mentioned that the selling (and the buying) of a business is a complicated and time consuming endeavor which is fraught with potential problems. An innocent mistake can wind up costing a seller or buyer many thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of dollars. While the above future articles will give the reader an excellent frame work from which to work, they are no substitute for the services of a professional broker. A qualified broker is able to sell a business for the best price achievable and in as expeditious a time frame as possible due to the expertise and services the broker brings to the table. A competent broker understands the pitfalls of both buying and selling a business and is able to guide the client successfully through this maze. Most people wouldn’t consider building an expensive custom home without the assistance of an architect and/or builder and, likewise, most business owners should not consider selling their most valuable asset, their company, without the assistance of a competent, professional, full service business broker.

For further information, feel free to contact the R/ Fain Group at 832-646-0832 or via their web site.