RLC Business Brokers principal Rebecca Chatham was recently featured in Voyage LA as part of their Inspiring Conversations series — a platform that highlights entrepreneurs and business owners doing meaningful work across Southern California.
The interview covered Rebecca's path from business owner to business broker, including the three businesses she built and sold before launching RLC Business Brokers in 2025. She talked about what she learned on the sell side — and why that experience changes how she represents sellers today.
What the interview covered
Rebecca shared the story behind RLC Business Brokers: eleven years advising Allstate agency owners on business performance, followed by her own exits from a document shredding company, a landscaping company, and a cleaning company. She described what it felt like to be on the other side of a business sale — the uncertainty, the emotional weight of letting go of something you built — and how that informs the way she works with sellers now.
She also talked about the gap she saw in the Orange County brokerage market: sellers who needed someone who would tell them the real number, not the number they wanted to hear, and who would run a process that protected their confidentiality and their business while it was still operating.
On the question of what makes a business sale go well, her answer was direct: preparation. The sellers who achieve the best outcomes are the ones who started the conversation 12 to 18 months before they were ready to list — not the ones who called when they were already burned out.
About Voyage LA
Voyage LA is a digital publication focused on the stories of entrepreneurs, creatives, and business owners building meaningful things in Southern California. Their Inspiring Conversations series features founders and operators from across the LA and Orange County business community.
Read the full Voyage LA interview →
The interview covers my path from building and selling three businesses of my own to founding RLC Business Brokers: why I became a broker, what I think most brokers get wrong, and what it actually means to advocate for a seller through one of the biggest financial events of their life.
"I became a broker because I knew I could do it better. More responsive. More honest. More of an advocate."
If you want to understand the philosophy behind how I work with sellers, the full interview is worth a read.