Ray Dye: A Business Broker’s Journey of Trust, Relationships and Realism
Ray Dye: A Business Broker’s Journey of Trust, Relationships and Realism
With a career spanning three continents and three unique business environments, Ray Dye brings diverse experiences to his role as a business broker at Ozpax Business Sales.
Ray’s family emigrated to Australia from Tanganyika when Ray was relatively young. Pivotal changes in his situation led him to return to South Africa, where he completed his tertiary education.
“Although I was naturalised, I wasn’t part of the mainstream, and being non-racial meant that I had to be very careful of what I said. I always treated people with respect despite their skin colour. I wasn’t a particularly popular person!” Ray recalled.
After completing his teaching qualifications, Ray completed two years of compulsory military service before becoming a lecturer at a teacher training college.
Fortunately for Ray, when his prospects for promotion in the education department looked dim, he was offered a position as a business broker. “I did very well at that because of my ability to relate to people, but then I made the cardinal error. I bought a business,”
The business thrived, relying on Ray’s desire to succeed and his willingness to adapt to the political climate and the needs of the business (“I had to learn to weld!”).
Time to move again.
However, that changing political climate eventually led him and his wife to leave South Africa. Ray wanted to return to Australia, but his wife had her heart set on Canada. (Ray believes that had something to do with the Mounties in their uniforms, but she strongly denies that!)
Canada was a disappointment, and although Ray and his wife each established separate successful businesses, they could see that the Canadian system was not suitable for them in the long term.
And again!
This time, Ray’s wife was on board with moving to Australia and, within three days, she and their children were on a plane headed to Australia, leaving Ray to tidy up in Canada. “She still doesn’t see what was wrong with that,” said Ray “jokingly”.
Eventually, he caught up with his family and they decided to move to Brisbane where it is warmer and sunnier.
With the challenges of assimilating his family into the Queensland lifestyle, he was not keen to go into business again. “I had a role selling water tanks door-to-door, which was great sales training and I semi-volunteered at an unemployment group where I delivered training for their clients,” Ray explained.
However, these were not scratching his business itch. Ray happened to see a Gumtree ad for a business broker and, within a few hours, he restarted his business broking career.
“Now I know why they were so quick to appoint me but, at the time, I was quite impressed. Although I was there for about ten years, my methodology was different. I wasn’t unhappy, but they were going in a direction I didn’t like,” said Ray.
Just before COVID hit, Ray started Ozpax Business Sales.
Ray’s methodology
Ray is the first to admit that his approach is somewhat contrarian, but it gets results.
Ray explained, “I believe in working for both the seller and the buyer, even though it is the seller who pays the commission. Once the transaction is completed, the seller is off to Honolulu or halfway across the Nullabor, but you will deal with the buyer for much longer.”
“Also, I don’t specialise in any industry. I have a very broad background in business, so I can handle a variety of industries. But, I suppose you could say I specialise in Queensland businesses. There’s plenty of those to keep me busy,“ continued Ray.
Ray capitalises on his people skills too, emphasising the value of relationships over pushy sales techniques. “I’ve done enough sales courses to know all the tricks, but these are short-term techniques to get a sale. I always say that a sale is a consequence, not a goal.”
He continued, “I’d rather people interact with me to feel comfortable dealing with me at a business level.”
This methodology has resulted in Ray receiving the AIBB Queensland State Chapter Service Award and the Queensland State Chapter Chair Award.
Success leaves clues
Accepting that a sale will take time is part of Ray’s success story. This takes the pressure off the transaction and allows the relationships he nurtures to lead to the results. “I know it sounds corny, but people need to understand that I am here to help, not judge,” confessed Ray.
“Once they get that, I can tell them, ‘Mate, you have a major issue here. This is how I suggest we deal with the challenge. Are you on board with that?’ ” he continued. “Some business owners need a lot of help, so I’ll participate in their business vicariously until they are ready to sell.”
Not judging extends to the businesses Ray lists. “I’ll take on any business, providing they’re happy to work with me. I know some brokers will only take on the ‘good’ businesses, so it is easier to make a sale. I have found that there is a buyer for most businesses. I just need to create realistic expectations for the buyer and the seller,” he explained.
Ray sees selling the dream as an important part of his role but insists that it must be done with integrity.
“A buyer must see the potential to be interested in owning the business. But sometimes, I need to give the buyer a dose of reality to avoid unrealistic expectations. Yes, there is potential, but why hasn’t the current owner taken advantage of that potential already? Was it a lack of time or capital, or are the required changes uneconomic (or unrealistic)?” commented Ray.
The answers to these questions allow the potential buyer to make a more informed decision.
The business environment
Ray is passionate about small businesses and sees first-hand the struggles small business owners face. He sees two significant constraints to the growth of small businesses in Australia.
The first is the rapid growth of government regulation. “Small businesses are carrying the burden of increasing regulation and changes in the law. I don’t believe the government is anti-business, but they certainly don’t support a thriving small business environment,” he observed.
“These regulations make it hard to employ and even harder to make a living while the growing number of bureaucrats administering the regulations do very well!.”
The second is fair access to finance. Ray has seen many cases where debt has been a factor in business stress, but usually because other factors have not gone as planned. He urges all borrowers to be fully aware of the terms of any finance they are agreeing to and to pay it off as soon as possible.
And, to wrap it all up
Ray's diverse experiences have shaped his unique approach to business broking. He clearly prioritises long-term relationships over quick sales, an approach that aligns with his belief that a sale is a consequence rather than a goal.
His dedication to the small business environment complements his success as a business broker and his willingness to help potential clients improve operationally and profitably is a competitive advantage.
And it’s only fitting that Ray should have the final word:
“I’m very grateful to have had this background and experience. It’s helped me not be frightened of anything, or as we say in Africaans, gluk vanuks.”
Tags: business brokers news feature article
About the author
