Bill White is part deal maker and dream maker — that is helping people with their entrepreneurial dreams.
White helps people buy and sell businesses — from the small dental practice to large manufacturing firms. Annual revenues of the companies he deals with range from $100,000 to $10 million or more.
“I truly enjoy helping people through transitional periods in their life,” he said.
White, 66, is the owner of the Ohio region of Murphy Business & Financial Corp., an international company headquartered in Clearwater, Fla.
White, whose offices are in Hudson, has been named a Top Producer for 2013 among Murphy brokers nationwide. The award is based on the sale prices of businesses sold or bought in the year.
White is only about three years into owning the Murphy Ohio region, but he’s been in the business of buying and selling companies for the better part of two decades. Before buying the Murphy region, he ran his own brokerage operation.
Baby boomers, reaching an age where they want to sell their businesses, reaping retirement money, are generating a lot of the sales these days.
“That baby boom generation is driving the business brokerage business as they have everything else,” he said.
He said sales and purchases of companies are up as the economy continues to improve. “The lending environment is much better than it was, which helps to get deals done.”
His experience also includes owning other businesses, including one 50-employee company that focused on collecting commercial debts.
“The scars from owing your own business really help you in business brokerage, ” he said.
White decided to buy into the Murphy Business & Financial system as a way to create his own retirement “exit strategy.” Becoming part of the Murphy group was a way to grow his business, creating opportunities for younger generations, he explained.
“Murphy had the best training,” he said. “It had the best Internet site with the best library of information,” including research papers on thousands of businesses.
Since White decided to merge his business with Murphy three years ago, he has in turn sold Murphy franchises in the Akron, Youngstown and Columbus areas.
White grew up in New Jersey and landed in Northeast Ohio as a student at Kent State University, where he majored in marketing and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business. At Kent State, he met a Northeast Ohio woman, Yvonne Mehle. He’s been married to Yvonne for 40 years. The couple raised six children, including Bill White Jr., who joined the Hudson office last year.
White’s first “real job” out of school, he said, was selling the services of a consumer debt collections company. “I learned in fact I could sell,” he said.
“Forty years later,” White said, “I can say it’s not about selling, but its about helping the client [business buyer or seller] move from where they are to where they want to be.”
Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.