At parties or business functions, people often ask Tim Dalton what he does for a living.

His response, "I'm a business broker," is usually met with puzzled expressions. So he has to explain further: He buys and sells private businesses for a living as the president and franchise owner of Sunbelt Business Brokers in Martinez and Savannah, Ga.

When business owners are interested in selling, they can call on Mr. Dalton to handle the details of the sale.

He has sold businesses ranging from restaurants, dental practices, X-ray equipment service businesses and Internet-based companies.

"We've had some difficult assignments that we've been successful with," he said.

Often, the public isn't aware that businesses have been sold because it's not publicized. Sunbelt Business Brokers has resold some businesses three or four times, which is typical for healthy businesses.

"It's not public record when a business changes hands, unlike real estate. We sell businesses all the time and people don't realize the business has been sold," Mr. Dalton said.

In most cases, a successful business owner doesn't want to upset customers by announcing the business is under new ownership. New owners will simply come on board and keep things operating as usual.

As a result, Mr. Dalton can't advertise his successes. That's why many people, even some business owners, don't realize that his services are available, he explained.

"There's a lot more value in selling the business to a buyer than simply closing the doors," he said.

In 1998, Mr. Dalton opened the Sunbelt Business Brokers franchise in the Augusta-Aiken area. He purchased the Savannah territory in 2000. The Charleston, S.C.-based company has more than 300 offices in the United States and 25 other countries.

"There are 1,400 brokers in the Sunbelt Network," Mr. Dalton said.

He oversees a total of eight brokers at his Martinez and Savannah offices.

"They operate independently, but they're all under my ownership," he said.

Phil Gagnon, the owner of Interstate Marketing Services, said Sunbelt plays a vital role in the community.

"In the old days, without the business brokerage industry, it was a lot harder for an individual to successfully market a business than it is now," Mr. Gagnon said. "It's a business that's extremely valuable to our economy in Augusta. He's really created wealth for the business community. With a good business broker, a business owner is able to walk away with a profit."

Brad Usry, the former owner of Fat Man's Forest, hired Mr. Dalton last spring to sell two parts of his business: Fatsville Trees and Christmas Decor.

"Tim is really calm and collected. He does his homework, and he's very thorough and professional," Mr. Usry said. "I felt comfortable with Tim. He has an air about him that makes you comfortable with him and what he's doing."

The three R's

Mr. Dalton grew up in Syracuse, N.Y., with his three sisters, Beth, Amy and Meggin.

His father, Bill, worked as a mechanical engineer in the heating and air conditioning industry and his mother, Meg, was a stay-at-home mom.

"In my younger years, we spent entire summers on the lake. That's probably the best childhood memories we have," Mr. Dalton said.

His father was still working, but he would commute to Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains to spend time with his family.

Mr. Dalton said that his summer months spent in the family rowboat later inspired two hobbies: kayaking and boating.

When he was 13, Mr. Dalton's family moved to Franklin, Tenn., a suburb near Nashville, because his father got a job working for Whirlpool Corp.

In school, Mr. Dalton always excelled in math and science. When he entered the University of Tennessee, he decided to follow in his father's footsteps and became an engineering major.

"It seemed natural, but as time went on, I didn't find it as interesting as I thought it might be," Mr. Dalton said. "By my junior year, I figured I probably wasn't crazy about chemical engineering, but I was so far into it and I wasn't going to change. I knew it wasn't my lifelong interest to be a chemical engineer."

Other students were dropping out of the demanding curriculum, but Mr. Dalton wanted to finish what he had started.

After college, he landed a job at Liquid Air Corp. in Nashville as a technical sales engineer, in which he sold products from the pulp and paper field and food industry.

During his four years with Liquid Air, Mr. Dalton was transferred to Atlanta. Simultaneously, Tom Sanders, one of his college roommates, decided to take a job as a bookkeeper at Southern Roof and Woodcare in Hilton Head Island, S.C.

After some time, Mr. Sanders suggested to Mr. Dalton that they should buy the commercial roofing company. At 26, Mr. Dalton quit his job and took his friend up on the offer.

"The two of us ended up buying it and we operated it for 10 years. We were young and dumb and didn't know any better," Mr. Dalton said jokingly.

"We didn't know that we couldn't be successful and that probably worked to our advantage. I'm proud of what we were able to do," he added.

Mr. Sanders said that his friend's background in sales benefited the business.

"We doubled sales and grew the business quite successfully," Mr. Sanders said. "We were good friends, and I thought he would make an excellent business partner. He turned out to be."

Sam Curtis, Mr. Dalton's insurance agent and a college roommate of the business owners, recalls how hard his friends worked.

"Even though (Tim) was an owner of Southern Roof, he and Tom were on the roof. They did everything they asked the workers to do," Mr. Curtis said. "They worked 10 hours a day with them to the point that we couldn't get together because they just wouldn't stop working."

The three roommates remained close friends after college and still get together on a regular basis, though they live in different states.

Mr. Curtis considers Mr. Dalton his best friend. They were best men in each other's weddings, he said.

"We try to get together for New Year's or a UT football game," Mr. Curtis said.

Mr. Sanders said he admires Mr. Dalton's relationship with his children.

"He's a good father, and he's got great kids," he said.

Years later, the businessmen wanted a career change, and they were able to sell the company for a profit in 1997.

Mr. Dalton worked briefly in chemical sales for a company in Charleston, S.C. During this time, the company was sold, and Mr. Dalton wasn't thrilled about the new changes in management.

"I was looking for a change, so I went to the local Sunbelt office in Charleston," he said.

He was interested in purchasing a business and becoming his own boss again. By chance, he started talking to the owner of the company, who asked whether he wanted to buy and sell businesses for a living.

The owner wanted to open an office in Augusta and invited Mr. Dalton to visit the town.

Mr. Dalton was up for the challenge. He bought the Sunbelt franchise and his family moved to Augusta in 1998.

Back in business

Business didn't simply come to him after he opened his office.

"We started from scratch, which had its own set of challenges. People don't know who you are," Mr. Dalton said. "It's tough in a new industry, and it was something that I hadn't done before, either."

He gained clients by knocking on doors and making cold calls. There were only two other business brokers in town.

"We would introduce ourselves and see if they had an interest in selling their business," Mr. Dalton said.

One year later, the industry's requirements changed, and Mr. Dalton had to earn his real estate licence. Previously, business brokerage was not regulated by the Real Estate Commission. The change created extra hurdles for bringing in new staff members.

Owners decide to sell their business for personal reasons, which often include retirement, illness or burnout. Twenty percent of Mr. Dalton's business comes from retirement.

"Illness is a lot more common than you would think in a business owners' life," he said.

In many instances, the owner either becomes too ill to operate the business or a spouse becomes sick.

"The biggest category, though, is burnout," he said. "The business owner might have operated the business for eight to 10 years and wants to do something different."

Businesses are classified in five categories: manufacturing, wholesale or distribution, service companies, retail and food service, he explained.

Because of the Internet, he's had inquiries from across the globe, including the United Kingdom, India and Turkey. He noticed the shift in business in 2002.

"Before the Internet came around, you had a local business, with a local broker trying to find a local buyer," Mr. Dalton said.

On average, it can take six months to eight months to sell a business, depending on the owners' motivation. Through the years, he has served about 250 clients.

He calls it a "niche industry" because business brokerage is not a high-volume industry. It doesn't have the large number of closings the real estate industry experiences.

The industry is so specialized that real estate agents often transfer commercial properties to his company. There are only a few business brokers in the community, he explained.

"We're the ones with the longest track record. We have the highest success rate, and we've sold more businesses in town than anyone else has ever sold," Mr. Dalton said.

Sonny Lee Madaus, a business broker at Sunbelt, has worked at the company for two years. Previously, she worked at Meybohm Realtors, handling commercial properties.

Ms. Madaus specializes in convenience store and liquor store sales and occasionally sells retail stores.

"Usually, people stay a maximum of five or eight years, and they want to move on. They want to go to a bigger business," she said.

A native of South Korea, Ms. Madaus also helps Sunbelt land Korean buyers and sellers. She advertises in Korean newspapers and writes and speaks the language fluently.

Korean clients often start out with a dry cleaning business and then move on to convenience stores, liquor stores and hotels. Many clients prefer Augusta because the city has a relatively low cost of living, she explained.

Ms. Madaus said that she enjoys working for Mr. Dalton because he respects his employees, and he is "even-tempered and calm."

Mr. Curtis said that Mr. Dalton is successful because of his strong work ethic.

"He's very personable and hardworking. He's not just going to oversee a sale; he's going to find it, sell it and do the whole thing himself," Mr. Curtis said.

Mr. Dalton's former business partner, Mr. Sanders, also isn't surprised at his friend's accomplishments.

"I understand his business is doing very well. In this economy, that's saying something," Mr. Sanders said.

Natural businessman

Mr. Dalton said that he loves his job because he "enjoys dealing with successful people."

"With all the business owners, everybody comes from different walks of life and has different expertise, but they've all been successful," Mr. Dalton said. "It's neat to hear people's stories, how they started out and how they got to where they are."

There are stressful moments when selling a business, but most of the time, Mr. Dalton is able to help his clients. On average, his office receives about 150 inquiries a month from people interested in buying a business.

At the end of closing, he said, "everyone has a smile on their face."

Through his years in business, Mr. Dalton has experienced many interesting scenarios.

"We've had people arguing over the value of a coffee pot that was in the business," he said.

The seller wanted $65, but the buyer thought the price was too high.

"It's managing egos and personalities a lot of times. It's truly a negotiated process. It's not like going into a store and you see the price is $5 and you decide to buy it," Mr. Dalton said.

During the sale of a business, there is also a training and transition period.

"The buyer doesn't just want to get the keys and a handshake. They want to make sure the owner is going to be there for a smooth transition," Mr. Dalton added.

A business doesn't shut down when it changes ownership. Ongoing projects and accounts and receivables transactions must still be handled.

Also, the seller must sign a "noncompete agreement," in which they promise not to open a similar business nearby.

At the end of a sale, Mr. Dalton's company is paid a "success fee," or a percentage of the purchase price. If the sale isn't completed, he doesn't get paid.

Mr. Dalton has also experienced other challenges, such as language barriers.

"We work through it just fine; it just takes a little bit more time and asking some more questions. It goes in both directions," Mr. Dalton said. "You learn about different cultures and things they won't accept in a business."

For the foreseeable the future, Mr. Dalton's hands are full with his two franchise locations.

He said he is fortunate because Richmond, Columbia and Aiken counties have businesses that continually open and close.

"There's growth. People are still coming to the area," he said.

James Burroughs, the owner of the office building on Columbia Road, said that Sunbelt helps to "continue the employment of employees."

"I think it's a very necessary business. A lot of businesses would not exist if they couldn't locate a purchaser," Mr. Burroughs said. "It helps the economy locally, and it keeps the people employed who have been there for some period of time."

On the water

Mr. Dalton's schedule keeps him busy, but he makes time for recreation.

Among his favorite pastimes, he enjoys kayaking down the canal or the river.

"It's just relaxing, and I still get a bit of a workout," Mr. Dalton said.

He also loves boating on the lake, especially with high-performance boats. He gets a thrill out of driving at 70-plus miles per hour.

"I'm also a huge (University of) Tennessee fan," Mr. Dalton said.

In his office, there are posters paying homage to the football program at his alma mater.

Mr. Dalton also tries to play golf at least once a month.

Mr. Sanders said that his longtime friend is "fun, energetic and likes to have a good time."

"He's really a super guy, and anybody who's dealt with him or been around him feels the same way I do," Mr. Sanders said.

Reach LaTina Emerson at (706) 823-3227 or latina.emerson@augustachronicle.com.