Business Buyer Sweatshirt Strategy

Sarah Moore shares how she creatively marketed herself while searching to buy a business, using her gender and unique approaches to stand out.

"People talk all the time about this industry and being a woman, and they think it's a disadvantage. Well, that's a matter of perspective. I deliberately wanted to leverage my gender.

Part of that was within the broker community - it's all men usually. I'm 5'9" and I would go to only free broker events, but I would go in 5-inch heels. So I'm walking around as this 6'2" amazon, and I'd always wear a ridiculous outfit too, like a loud color. When I'd call the brokers later, they'd say 'Who are you again?' I'd say 'I'm that extremely tall chick that introduced myself to you looking for a business.' There wasn't a single person that didn't remember.

I'd be going around Boston on these blue bikes, which are free of course, and I wore this sweatshirt that said 'I want to buy your business' and the back had my number. I wanted the world to know I am looking to buy a business.

I also faxed everybody - that was one of the interns' ideas to send out mass faxes. I put my picture on there and said 'We want to buy your business.' To this day, I have people that recognize me from those faxes. People in my mill, people on my street in downtown Boston will say 'You're that girl that was wearing that sweatshirt' or 'You're that girl that was faxing me all the time.' That's what I wanted. Unfortunately, a lot of those replies came back after I bought a business."