Selling your business, done properly.

First, the honest part

Only about one in four small businesses that go to market ever sells. The rest sit, get pulled, or die in due diligence. The difference is almost never the business. It's preparation, pricing, and having someone who has done this before on your side.

We've been the seller. Our team has bought, built, and sold businesses of our own, so we know the stress of keeping a sale quiet from employees, the frustration of tire kickers, and the sick feeling when a buyer goes cold in week nine. Our job is to get you through all of that to a closed deal you're proud of.

What your business needs to be sellable

• Clean financials. Two to three years of tax returns and profit-and-loss statements that a buyer's lender can underwrite. We'll help you recast them to show true owner's profit.
• A business that runs without you for a week. If everything stops when you're gone, buyers discount the price. We'll talk about what to document before we list.
• A defensible price. Priced too high, it sits and gets stale. Priced right, you get multiple interested buyers and leverage.
• A reason a buyer wants it. Recurring customers, a trained team, contracts, a location, a brand. Every business has something. We'll lead with it.

How we price your business

Most Main Street businesses sell for a multiple of seller's discretionary earnings (SDE), which is your profit plus your salary, benefits, and one-time expenses added back. Across the businesses we've represented, the average cash-flow multiple is above 3x. Your multiple depends on your industry, growth, how dependent the business is on you, and how clean the books are.

The process, step by step

1. Free consultation

A 30-minute call. You tell us about the business, what you'd like to walk away with, and your timeline. We tell you honestly whether we can help.

2. Valuation

We review your financials, recast your earnings, compare recent sales in your industry, and give you a realistic range. If the number isn't what you need, we talk about what would move it before you list.

3. Listing agreement and prep

We agree on price, terms, and our commission (paid only at closing). We write a confidential summary and a full information memorandum that buyers see only after signing an NDA.

4. Confidential marketing

Your business goes to market blind: industry and region only, no name, no address. We market it to our buyer list, to targeted strategic buyers, and on the major national marketplaces.

5. Buyer screening

Every inquiry signs an NDA and shows they have the money before they learn who you are. We handle every question so you can keep running the business.

6. Meetings and site visits

Qualified buyers meet you and see the operation at times that don't disrupt your team.

7. Offers and negotiation

We bring you written offers, explain the trade-offs in price, terms, and structure, and negotiate on your behalf. Cash at close, seller financing, earn-outs, and transition periods all affect what you actually keep.

8. Due diligence

The buyer verifies everything. We keep the request list organized and the timeline tight, because time kills deals.

9. Closing

Attorneys draft the purchase agreement, the lender funds, documents get signed, and the wire hits your account. That's the handoff.

What it costs

Nothing up front. No retainer, no marketing fee, no hourly billing. We earn a commission at closing, and it's competitive: we don't charge more than our competitors, we just do a better job. If the business doesn't sell, you don't owe us a dollar.

How long it takes

We've had deals close as soon as 45 days after the listing agreement was signed, but we tell owners to expect six to twelve months depending on the size and complexity of the business. Clean books, clean operations, a desirable industry, and growth go faster than a business that's shrinking or in a less desirable industry.