It’s quite a hop, skip and a jump to go from the heady world of college athletics to running a non-profit to deciding to go into business ownership. Especially when the business in question is completely out of your wheelhouse.
But that is exactly what Doug Kose did. Kose is now the area franchise holder and president of Transworld Business Advisors-Knoxville, a business brokerage firm that aids in the purchase and sale of businesses. Recently, Kose earned his designation as a Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) from the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA), the “gold standard” in the business brokerage industry.
Doug Kose
Pretty impressive considering he put out his shingle in 2018. Though it isn’t required in the state of Tennessee for business brokers to be certified or even licensed, Kose felt it was a valuable pursuit in terms of confidence for potential clients.
“I put in a lot of hours, it took over a year to get that,” Kose said of the work that involved 60 credit hours, learning codes and ethics guidelines, passing an exam and getting his real estate license on top of that.
“I felt like getting my real estate license was important because sometimes a business sale includes real property,” he said. “Being a business broker is similar to being a real estate agent, anyway.”
Kose said business owners should reconsider before simply shutting down a long established, successful business due to retirement or whatever reason. Even if they don’t own the premises, there’s still a value to that business’s established brand.
“I’ve seen a few places shut down over the past year or two, and I really wished they had come to me,” he said. “There’s enough buyers out there to continue these great businesses.
A native of Findlay, Ohio, Kose moved to Knoxville in 2005 with his wife, Elizabeth, and oldest daughter in tow to work at the University of Tennessee as an assistant athletic director in marketing and sales. They settled in Fountain City and live there still.
“I absolutely loved it, it was my dream job in a lot of ways,” Kose said. But with another daughter following a few years behind the first, he started to reevaluate his priorities. After seven years with UT, he left to become executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee.
“It was a lifestyle decision, absolutely,” he said of the move that allowed him considerably more time at home with his daughters. “With the AD job, I was traveling a lot, I was missing out on games and other activities. I had served on the board at Big Brothers Big Sisters, so it was a natural fit.”
Even though BB/BS is a non-profit, Kose said there were still budgets to make and meet, people to manage and goals to achieve, as with any business. After five years of running it, he decided he’d like to try having a business of his own. After doing some research on what that move would be, he landed on Transworld.
“For one thing, this area was available for a franchise,” he said. “For another, there really wasn’t a lot of competition here in this field. I had a lot to learn, but I also had a lot of relevant experience. There’s a lot of moving parts to bring a deal to fruition. That’s what we’re here for.”
In addition to the CBI certification for Kose, Transworld-Knoxville has been named the Best of the Best Business Brokerage Office for 2020 and 2021 by Knox Stars and CityView. Kose is also a member of the Rotary Club of Bearden.
“I am blessed beyond measure,” Kose said.
For more info on Transworld-Knoxville go here. Offices are located at 5816 Kingston Pike, 37919
Beth Kinnane is the community news editor for KnoxTNToday.com.