Page 51 - My Memoirs - Max Kurz

for 40 years, but she stayed with him on weekends only, it worked. He was my tour guide; he drove a bus therefore he knew his way round. He mapped out my itinerary and I bused all around Israel.
The 1980s saw the transformation from Real Estate to Business Broking. Through the management of the “Bay Village” up in Shoal Bay, I was acquiring firsthand knowledge of operating various businesses, particularly in retail. As a landlord I could witness how business operators conducted their businesses. The Bay Village created an opportunity for business ownership. As a result, I leased one of the shops and transformed it into a lady’s sports and swimwear shop together with Vija as the operator. It was an instant success, which provided us with another excuse to spend more time in Port Stephens. Another business that I developed was a restaurant. This was a little more challenging because to succeed you needed a chef to operate, I finally recruited a candidate who I went into partnership with and developed the concept. It too was an instant success as far as market acceptance except for the management. I had to finally severe the partnership and sell the restaurant to Marco and his Italian family who proceeded to run the business successfully for over 20 years. All this served to educate me in the operation of small businesses. Therefore, I started to investigate business broking and by 1982 commenced my own business as Max Kurz Business Broker which required me to complete the licensing course for business broking. I found it far more challenging then Real Estate, harder, requiring much more knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of business ownership, business management, and what the drivers are that determine a successful business. It was a whole new experience, I felt like I was starting all over again, but I welcomed the opportunity. It was a new beginning.
By 1986 I had developed a network of brokers and became a member of the REI (Real Estate Institute) Chapter for Business Brokers. There were several of us who were dissatisfied with the level of training and education provided by the REI. The REI was an organisation dedicated to Real Estate; they were not interested in Business Broking. There were 4 of us who decided that we would form our own association exclusively representing business brokers. It was no easy task, the number was reduced to three of us, Garth Griffiths, Mike Smith, and myself; three years later the Australian Institute of Business Brokers was formed and incorporated. We had our first annual conference in Bondi. We had no idea what response we would receive; we had to pay all the costs out of our own pocket and
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