John Doe is thirty-eight years old and an employee of a manufacturing firm, RM Corporation, where he has been employed for nearly twenty-years. Following the announcement of significant redundancies (including John) at RM Corporation, John Doe decided to put his entrepreneurial spirit to the test by buying a small business that would provide him and his wife with a comfortable lifestyle.
His first step was to search the internet for business brokers or real estate agents with listings of small businesses in his town. After examining the qualifications of each of the brokers and their listings and discussing his intentions with several of his former co-workers (still employed at RM Corporation), he decided, at the recommendation of one of his closest friends, to approach Jay Smith at Hometown Business Brokers.