What’s this guy selling? ‘The American dream.’

There’s a lot of Wichita businesses that have sold over the last few years — perhaps most notably Watermark Books and Cafe — that have one thing in common:

Todd Bailey brokered the sale.

Bailey is president of Transworld Business Advisors of Wichita, a franchise he purchased for the Wichita area in late 2012.

Since starting the business in 2013, he’s closed more than 100 deals ranging from less than $50,000 to more than $6 million.

“It’s kind of fun to say I sell the American dream,” Bailey said.

After graduating from Wichita State University with an engineering degree and then getting a MBA, Bailey worked in manufacturing management until stumbling across the franchise.

Bailey said he liked the franchise’s business model and the idea of a business brokerage that helps people take steps toward retirement or a new phase of life.

“I thought that that seemed kind of interesting.”

And it has been, he said.

Typically, he represents sellers, whom he finds through lots of networking and some online work.

Though Bailey said it’s not like what he’s doing is national security-level top secret, he said it is important that word doesn’t get out to employees that a business may sell because that might cause some to leave.

Therefore, the owners of the company often have to hide who he is when he calls or visits.

“I’ve been called an attorney, an accountant, a banker, an insurance guy . . . .”

Bailey helps business owners put a value on their business, which could be done through multiples of cash flow or be based on assets among other things.

“There’s actually a lot of ways to do it.”

Often, Bailey said, people don’t even realize they can sell their businesses.

“They’re usually just so focused on their business.”

On the national level, economic trends can affect especially large deals. Like, if the technology sector is struggling, that could make it hard for a larger tech firm to sell.

However, Bailey said “that smaller businesses like those that we deal with are a little bit insulated, honestly, from national economic trends.”

Most of Bailey’s work is locally focused, but he’s done a few deals outside the Wichita area, including in Topeka and Oklahoma.

Bailey, who works on commission, said easy deals for him are ones that “I already have a buyer in mind that I know is looking for that type and that size of business.”

Then there are especially fun ones, like Watermark.

“That’s such a well-known institution in Wichita.”

He already knew former Watermark owner Sarah Bagby from Rotary.

“That’s one of those where I really felt honored to help her because it’s such a great business,” Bailey said. “That was a lot of fun.”

Bailey has closed more than $20 million in transactions in the last 24 months. He already has closed 10 deals this year, which puts him on track to have a better-than-average year.

He said he believes there’s a lot of optimism socially and economically right now, “which helps buyers take that leap of buying a business.”