Who Are We?

The President of Small Business Exchange, Inc., Julie A. Barnes, is a serial entrepreneur who has started and managed businesses in such diverse industries as horse transportation (Louisville, Kentucky), software development (Austin, Texas), and magazine publishing (Austin, Texas).  She also served as a member of the first Peace Corps contingency to include only business professionals in Russia – where she consulted for four years to small businesses and taught “capitalism” to university students.  Her first love is horses, her second, helping small businesses to flourish.

After working as a senior business broker for an Austin based brokerage for a year – booking just over $1.6 million in listings (about 60% of the firm’s total), she decided to found her own brokerage - Small Business Exchange, Inc. (SBX) is the upshot. 
Ms. Barnes brings a wealth of experience and professionalism to the table, a graduate of the University of Texas in Marketing, and a veteran of many startups.  She understands both the pressures of making payroll and the exhilaration of a successful sale. 

Senior Business Broker and Advisor to the President of Small Business Exchange, Inc. is John F. Barnes, Brigadier General, USAF, (ret).   Yes, this is Ms. Barnes’ esteemed father.  A fighter pilot for 26 years, General Barnes’ last foray into combat was as a commander of an F-4 squadron at Cam Rahn Bay in Vietnam.  After 100 missions over North Vietnam, he returned to the U.S. to receive a Distinguished Flying Cross and become a Wing Commander in Tucson, Arizona.
Upon retiring from the Air Force, he founded a real estate brokerage, John F. Barnes and Associates, and enjoyed a great deal of success in the booming market of the 1980’s and 1990’s. He not only brings a great deal of gravitas and integrity to SBX, but is one of the sharpest and nicest guys you’d ever want to meet. 

R. Miller Hicks, a well known entrepreneur based in Austin, is also an Advisor to SBX.  Although he has negotiated for large companies, such as IBM and American Express, his favorite role is that of a mentor to countless small businesses and startups.  In fact, he was director of the Small Business Advisory Board for both President Reagan and Bush.  He has also owned radio stations (KRMH and KIXL), built several shopping centers in South Texas, a hotel in Cleburne, Texas, negotiated the contract to build the One American Center in downtown Austin,  and most recently, installed a beautiful bench on Red Bud Isle to honor his faithful companion, a bright eyed Black Labrador named Havas.  In spite of his extensive international business travels, Miller has never managed to leave his East Texas upbringing behind – he  still prefers a lot of Tabasco, an unlit cigar, and unpretentious folks from Presidents to small business owners.

*This firm is not a CPA firm.