The broker should be willing to meet with you to find out more about you. This initial meeting may take an hour or more and the result should be a customized yet generic profile of your ideal business. A broker should be able to ask you a series of questions about the characteristics of your ideal business.

It is vitally important that you answer these questions truthfully to the best of your ability. Your broker should be able to educate you in this process, letting you know if your criteria are reasonable or not. If not, the broker should give you reasonable alternatives. Please remember all brokers are not alike. Some will not give you the time of day; don't settle. With some research, you can find one you like and trust.

Business brokerage is changing and while the easiest thing for a broker to do is sell you one of his or his office's listings, some brokers will actually go out and search for a business that meets your criteria. That process can either be to search the existing businesses for sale by other brokers, or to find a business that is not for sale that would meet your criteria. If you want to expand your search for something not listed, do not be surprised if the broker asks you to pay a retainer. After all, the broker is contributing his time, resources and energy to find you the right business. Brokers are in business to make money; most are reluctant to search unlisted businesses to find the right one for you without compensation.

Make sure if you use a broker for a retained search he will credit the money you've paid him against his commission, if you buy something he finds for you. It gets interesting because retained searches are made more complex when the broker calls a potential seller and says, "I have a client looking for a business like yours" only to end up telling them that the client isn't willing to pay the commission on the deal.

Find a broker to help that you like and trust and who is committed to your goals. If you stick with them, you'll be more likely to find just the right thing to help you through this next phase of your life.