A former doctor, Yiling Tang talks to WILLIAMS MEDIA about how she became an award-winning business broker.

You grew up in China, how did you get into business sales? 

I was a doctor in China, but I could not practice in Australia after I immigrated here. I bought a newsagency, and I had a lot of bad experiences during this period. I learned a hard and expensive lesson. 

After I sold my business, I decided I want to help people to do fair trading in the business world, using my hard-learned knowledge to help migrant people and business owners.

Your work in the industry has been recognised at a high level, what are some of your career highlights? 

I have been in this industry for 6 years. In 2018 I was granted the South Australian Business Broker of the Year Award by AIBB. 

I also received the REISA Awards for Excellence Business Broker Finalist 2018, The Most Difficult Sale Award 2018 (Benchmark Division), and AIBB SA State Chairman Award 2015. 

In 2018 I became a MAUS certified business advisor, and in 2019 I became an AIBB Registered Business Valuer.

What advice do you have for people who want to be a business broker? 

Ideally, a business broker should be a business owner first. It will give him or her better understanding on both sides of the wall. 

Secondly, resilience is a critical quality that business brokers need. This is really a demanding job. 

Thirdly, the ethic criteria is an escort to a business broker's career.

I expect young brokers with technological skills, innovative mindsets, and multicultural backgrounds will be more successful.

Has the industry changed in the time you have been involved with it? What do you think the biggest challenges are at the moment? 

More migrants have come to Australia. The small business is the most active business sale market, so business owners are more multicultural.

But population is the bottleneck to limiting business. No people, no turnover, no profit. For business brokers, the number of quality businesses is limited.

What do you think is the most important element for business owners to consider when selling their business? 

Price and marketing by a good agent with a willingness to help buyers.

What’s your outlook for the next year? 

Immigrant buyers, especially from China and India, will dominate the small business market.

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