Many players in the electronic payments arena have, at some time, contemplated either starting an ISO/MSP operation or selling an existing one. However, establishing a business of any kind is, for lack of a better term, risky business: More than 50 percent of small businesses fail in the first year and 95 percent fail within the first five years, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Mergers and acquisitions don’t fare much better: By most estimates, 50 to 80 percent of companies formed as a result of such deals never generate any value. Even if a venture does beat these odds, completing the start-up or sales process is a learning experience from which other ISOs/ MSPs can benefit.

“Whether you’re just beginning or getting out of the business, there’s no such thing as a perfect sequence of events,” says Richard Brennes, president of The Brennes- Jones Group, a Dallas-based ISO. “There are always things that could—and probably should—have been done differently, as well as things that were handled exactly right.”

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