Rod Russell

Business Matters Magazine talks to Rod Russell from Savvy Business Sales.

Savvy Business Sales are a team of local business brokers who have won multiple local business awards. Savvy won its category in 2008 and 2009 at the Excellence in Business Awards and last month, at the same awards, Savvy Business Sales earned the prestigious title of 2011 Small Business of the Year award. Why does the company keep winning? We put the question to owner and principal Rod Russell.

“Well, we have a proven history of getting results for our clients and that’s the critical goal in our business. At the end of the day it’s not about having the biggest sales team, the most listings or the best premises – if we are not achieving our client’s objectives we would not survive, let alone win these awards. We have spent many years developing and fine tuning the systems required to ensure the process of selling a business is as smooth as possible. We have also aligned ourselves with some of the best professional advisors to keep us and our clients on the right track. We are general business brokers covering all price ranges and industries, specialising in medium to large business sales.  We do a significant amount of research and due diligence to ensure that the businesses we offer are presented in a professional way in order to achieve a good result for the seller and buyer.”

 “At Savvy Business Sales our clients are our number one priority. We have exceptional communication processes in place, as feedback over the years suggests that this is where agents generally let people down, whether it is in residential sales, business or commercial sales. We keep our clients up to date and they certainly appreciate this. We believe this has contributed to our high rate of repeat and referral business. It is a big commitment for anyone to buy a business. It doesn’t matter what size the business is, generally when someone commits to buying one they are making a significant financial commitment.”

Rod went on to say, “It has always been our goal to be the leaders in what we do. Our company motto is ‘Raising the standards in Business Sales’, which we have and will continue to do in the way we conduct our business, our unique marketing methods and our overall presentation.” 

With the achievement of Savvy Business Sales broker Michael Yared being named Australian Business Broker of the Year in 2011, they are definitely forging their name firmly on the coast as being the number one business broking team.

Rod himself was born in Western Australia and moved to the Sunshine Coast in 1994. At just 19 he travelled around Europe for two years. On his return, he had the opportunity to become a partner in a Nissan dealership at the tender age of 21. He stayed in that business for seven years and eventually sold his share to his partners. During this period he also owned a Thrifty car rental franchise. By the time he started selling businesses aged 28, he had a fair handle on what it takes to be a business owner.

In 1994, Rod had an opportunity to relocate to Queensland. After doing some research, he chose to base himself on the Sunshine Coast. It seems he made the right decision, as he is still here 18 years later, happily married to Jody; the couple are kept busy with an eight-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son.

I asked Rod why he chose business sales. “When I moved to the coast I was looking for something that would give me the rewards I wanted; that would give me my weekends off and the flexibility to be able to spend time with my family.

“Most of the clients we have that come to buy a business want the same thing, and that’s why we love selling good lifestyle businesses that can operate without them and can provide them with financial rewards as well as giving them time to enjoy the Sunshine Coast lifestyle.”

Who does Rod see as a role model?

“My biggest role model would have to be my father. Dad had just completed an apprenticeship as a TV technician when my parents moved from Sydney to Perth with my newborn brother and me. They were in their early twenties, basically broke, and they didn’t know a soul in WA prior to arriving. He started a television repair business with borrowed money and did the hard yards for several years, however, eventually the hard work paid off. He went on to operate some very successful businesses over 40 years. Dad’s exceptional customer service skills, his commitment to business and his unquestionable ethics taught me a lot. I feel I have inherited these qualities and that is something I hope to be able to teach my children. If you are going to do anything, you have to be totally committed to doing it, and if you do ... success will follow.”

Asked what advice he would give to business owners out there with regard to looking after their team, Rod says, “Most business owners we speak to complain about staff not performing or having problems keeping them. My experience is that the only way you can retain your staff is to look after them. As we spend so much time together we ensure we have a lot of fun and through that we have created a great culture – this is something that you have to constantly work on. We certainly let our hair down as we did at our Christmas party last year (the cocktail slushy machine may have been a mistake because there were a few sorry people on Sunday). Businesses won’t exist without committed staff, it’s essential to recognise everyone in the team regardless of their job description.”

Savvy currently employs a team of nine, with two people in administration and seven in sales, including Rod as principal. Savvy has just expanded Queensland-wide with a new company, Queensland Business Sales, and as such is looking to put new satellite representatives in Northern Queensland, Rockhampton and Maryborough in the very near future. “QBS has started with a bang; we have a full time rep in Brisbane and already have numerous listings throughout the state.”

Rod says, “You have to continue to invest time every day in improving yourself in all aspects of your life, whether it is professional or personal.” This year he was accredited as a Registered Business Valuer. It was quite a commitment to gain this accreditation, as the course was held at a university in Sydney and spread over a five month period. “I’m completing more education courses now than I have ever done before, but I’m learning so much and I find them very rewarding.”

We asked Rod to give our readers some advice before buying or selling a business. He said “Do your research and employ experienced advisors to guide you through the process. We are fortunate nowadays with the amount of information that is available through the internet. You can learn trends about industries, statistics on regions and most importantly you can research the people that you are considering dealing with. If you do your research properly it will be much easier to make a decision if and when the opportunity arises.”

 ROD’S TOP BUSINESS TIPS FOR SUCCESS

Believe in yourself, in your business and that you WILL be successful

Stand out from your competitors, have a strong point of difference

Review and improve systems, plan and budget carefully

Be passionate about your business and value your clients