meet our team

Chris Taylor, MBA
Owner | Senior Business Intermediary
479.644.6143 mobile
chris@synergybiznwa.com

Chris Taylor founded Synergy Business Services in 2006 after a professional career that encompasses public and private companies, government municipalities and several entrepreneurial ventures. Before relocating to Northwest Arkansas with his family in 2003, Chris was in charge of business development for the wireless data division at Western Wireless Corporation (now part of the Verizon network).

Chris grew up in his family’s wood products business in Colorado, and has remained an entrepreneur at heart. He has successfully started, managed and sold companies in a variety of industries, including durable medical equipment, data storage, custom machining and retail gourmet foods. During his graduate studies, Chris gained invaluable experience as a consultant to the U.S. Small Business Administration, where he worked with a multitude of companies at various stages of growth.

Chris is an active member of the small business community in Northwest Arkansas, and is the President of the Benton County Business Builders chapter of BNI (Business Network International).

Chris received a bachelor’s degree in Business from the University of Northern Colorado, and an MBA in Entrepreneurship from Seattle Pacific University (one of only two such programs in the country at the time).

Barbara Taylor, MBA
Owner | Business Intermediary
479.644.6145 mobile
barbara@synergybiznwa.com

Prior to becoming an entrepreneur in 2003, Barbara spent over a decade in the wireless telecommunications industry where she held roles in product marketing, brand management and marketing communications. Barbara also helped launch two “dot com” start-up companies in the Pacific Northwest, and was the marketing manager at one of Seattle’s top five law firms.

After moving to Northwest Arkansas with her family, Barbara was a sales analyst on the Walmart account at Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex. She and Chris started the first drive-thru espresso business in the state of Arkansas in 2003, which they successfully sold three years later. Barbara and Chris launched Synergy Business Services in 2006, where Barbara continues to handle all marketing and accounting responsibilities at the firm, in addition to assisting clients on a daily basis in her role as a Business Intermediary.

Ms. Taylor is a regular contributor to the New York Times' online feature, "You're the Boss - The Art of Running a Small Business." Her blog, Transaction, addresses the mechanics of buying, selling and valuing privately owned companies.

Barbara is an active member of the small business community in Northwest Arkansas. She serves on the Small Business Development Committee at the Bentonville/Bella VIsta Chamber of Commerce, and is a founding board member of the Trike Theatre for Young Audiences in Bentonville.

Barbara received a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Seattle Pacific University with a minor in Journalism, and an MBA from Seattle University with an emphasis on Marketing and Business Law.

Tracey D. Jeffers, MBA, CBA, CMEA, SBA
Business Valuation Expert
479.442.8258 office
tjeffers@valupathadvisors.com

Tracey Jeffers is President of ValuPath Advisors, Inc. and holds the senior-level Certified Business Appraiser (CBA) designation conferred by The Institute of Business Appraisers, the Certified Machinery and Equipment Appraiser (CMEA) designation conferred by the NEBB Institute and the Senior Business Analyst (SBA) designation awarded by the Society of Business Analysts.  Jeffers has completed valuations in multiple states ranging from small businesses to multi-million dollar operating companies to holding companies with a variety of assets.  Additionally, she has served as an expert witness on business valuation litigation matters.

Tracey was elected to the Institute of Business Appraisers’ Professional Responsibility Board in 2009 and serves as its chair. She also serves on the Institute’s Qualifications Review Committee.  Tracey earned a Bachelor of Science from Louisiana Tech University and an MBA from the University of Arkansas, Sam M. Walton College of Business.  Jeffers is a member of the Institute of Business Appraisers, NEBB Institute and Society of Business Analysts.  She is a board member of the American Business Appraisers® National Network and co-chair of its marketing committee. 

Tracey’s prior professional experience includes eight years as Center Director for the US Small Business Administration’s Small Business Development Center program in Louisiana and Arkansas, business ownership in the publishing industry and non-profit organization management.

James Gosserand, MBA
Associate Business Intermediary
479.553.9811 mobile
james@synergybiznwa.com

James Gosserand has almost a decade of experience in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry, holding category and account management and business development roles with Fortune 500 companies like Procter & Gamble, General Mills and Mars. In these roles, James worked with clients in the mass, wholesale, convenience, supermarket and home improvement channels.

In the past eight years, James has also started several entrepreneurial ventures of his own, including two successful child care facilities, a limited-service restaurant, an Ecommerce and web development firm, and an innovative consulting company focused on process improvement and technology based business solutions.

James' international experience includes two consulting engagements in East and Southern Africa, and ten years of combined active (101st Airborne Division) and reserve duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. James is an active member of the small business community in Northwest Arkansas, and currently serves on the City of Rogers Planning Commission

James has a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, and an MBA from the University of Michigan.