A business broker who helps people buy and sell small-and-mid-sized businesses, you value businesses, find qualified buyers, negotiate deals, and shepherd transactions from initial listing through closing.
The work runs across business listings, buyer outreach, valuation analysis, and the multi-month deal arc that takes a small business through transaction. You're often carrying 10-30 active listings at various stages — initial pricing, marketing, qualified-buyer conversations, due diligence, negotiation, closing. Listing fees and transaction commissions drive the income.
What surprises people new to business brokerage is how many deals don't close — small businesses are often hard to price, financing falls through, owners get cold feet, buyers walk during diligence. Variance across employers is wide: at major brokerage firms (Sunbelt, Murphy, VR) you have brand recognition and structured tools; at independent practices you carry more individual rainmaking responsibility.
Brokers who thrive tend to carry sales instincts, financial-analysis comfort, and patience for deal arcs that span months. IBBA certifications and state-specific real-estate or business-broker licensing anchor advancement. The trade-off is the commission-only income volatility — most income arrives at closings, with quiet stretches between deals that don't always reach the table.
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Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Admin & Office roles →A business broker who helps people buy and sell small-and-mid-sized businesses, you value businesses, find qualified buyers, negotiate deals, and shepherd transactions from initial listing through closing.
Median pay for a Business Broker is about $63K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $48K to $92K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Time Management, and Critical Thinking.
Most people in this role hold a bachelor's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to decline about 9.5% through 2034, with roughly 40,090 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Business Banker, Broker, and Bond Broker.
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