History of TABB

The business of brokering businesses has its roots in England where for the past 250 years Business Transfer Agents have been handling the sale of existing businesses. Newspaper ads and phone directories date business brokers in the U.S. back to the early 1920's. It wasn't until the mid 1940's that major Texas newspapers established a "Business Opportunities" section in the classifieds. In the 1960's this section was separated into "Business Opportunities" and Businesses for Sale." By 1970 there were less than 600 business brokerage firms in the U.S. and less than 10 such firms in Texas. Up and through the 1970's business brokerage in Texas, as well as the United States, was for the most part unorganized with no sources of education, no common standards of operation and minimal communication between brokerage firms. Most business brokers came into the business from the real estate field or accounting field and functioned as lone wolves operating in a vacuum from the rest of those in the business. There were no standards for adjusting and presenting business financial information and few if any, common methods for valuing businesses. As a result, the industry suffered a low success rate and a high turnover of agents.

As the number of business grew in the U.S. and Texas, so did the need for people to sell businesses as their owners reached retirement, suffered from ill health or became tired of their business and desired alternative investments. Some of our older brethren tell us that there were attempts to establish business brokerage associations in several states; however, none survived more than a few months. Many of the business brokers felt that they had all the answers and did not want to share their knowledge, or lack thereof, with others they deemed to be incompetent.

In 1981,with the initiative of a few brokers in Houston, Texas changed the profession forever by first agreeing to meet and discuss common problems. From these meetings evolved the Texas Association of Business Brokers, which in turn has helped spawn the International Business Brokers Association as well as many regional and State business brokerage associations.

People were now coming into the business brokerage profession from all walks of life and through TABB they were able to draw upon the experience of other members and partake in TABB's expanding educational programs. In 1983, TABB conducted its first State Conference which was held in Houston and offered two days of educational programs. The format established at this first conference has since been followed by the International Business Brokers Association as well as the other regional and State business brokerage associations,

TABB was formed as a trade association to represent the business brokerage profession in Texas and provide educational programs for its members. Beginning in 1985, the educational program was expanded and a professional designation was established, known as the Board Certified Broker (BCB) Program, for those who completed a series of courses, passed a test and met other professional standards. This was the first such designation available to business brokers in the entire U.S. Since then, educational courses have been taught in several major universities in Dallas and Houston as well at the State Conference on an annual basis.

In 1986, the Dallas Chapter spearheaded an effort to develop standard forms for Texas business brokers. After considerable time and effort in gathering almost every form being used by the membership, a local Dallas attorney was retained to begin the process of writing and publishing standard forms. Today, TABB offers over 10 standard forms for use of its members in the course of handling the sale of businesses.

In 1988, TABB offered its educational program to the IBBA which calls its educational program Certified Business Intermediary (CBI). Today, both educational programs are in full force with most of the course being recognized for credit towards the respective designation.

During the 90's and into the new millenium, TABB's membership has mirrored the economy in its growth. Our current membership is over 225 brokers and many of the founding brokers are still active in the business and in TABB. They all say that TABB has had a positive influence on the way they do business and our organization is a key reason why they have been successful in business brokerage. Other business brokerage associations owe their existence to TABB and still look for guidance from the ongoing initiatives produced by TABB and its membership.