Frequently Asked Questions

A good rule-of-thumb is that you will need to have at least 20 percent of the purchase price on hand as down payment. Beyond the money, have a few good professional advisors. When you purchase a business, you inherit suppliers and other service providers, but it is in your best interest to have your own personal accountants and business attorneys to help you navigate the purchase process.

Ideally, the best time to sell your business is when sales and profits are up and financing is available for buyers. However, determining the best time to sell a business is based on more than just profit potential. Many business owners decide to sell when they find other opportunities and commitments to invest their time and resources in. Others need to sell because of health or financial issues.

The only way you will know you’ve found the right one is if you’ve looked at multiple that weren’t. After exploring a few options, you will get a feel for how businesses are presented to the market and start to recognize the factors you like to see in prospective acquisitions. Your personal checklist builds with each business you look at and is what will help you know when you’ve found a business that is a perfect fit for you.

Business brokers ensure a fair sales price by conducting a thorough business valuation using methods like Comparable Market Analysis (CMA), income-based approaches like multiples of SDE/EBITDA, and asset-based assessments. They review the business’s financials, consider industry trends and market conditions, and balance the seller’s financial goals to set realistic pricing expectations.

Business brokerage focuses on smaller, simpler transactions involving businesses with revenues typically ranging from a few hundred thousand to several million dollars and often involving individual buyers or small investment groups. Brokers handle the entire process, including valuation, marketing, and negotiations. In contrast, M&A advisory deals with larger, more complex transactions involving middle-market or large businesses, often with revenues in the tens of millions. M&A advisors provide strategic consulting, assist with deal structuring, and work with institutional buyers like private equity firms. These negotiations are typically more complex. For more detailed information, visit our recent blog.

Business brokers are essentially matchmakers, bringing together the buyer and seller, streamlining the sales process, reducing risks, and acting as an intermediary to get the deal done. Their responsibilities include determining valuation and pricing, confidential marketing, screening potential buyers, facilitating the negotiation process, assisting with due diligence, coordinating the deal closing, maintaining confidentiality throughout the entire process, and through it all protecting the seller’s time so they can focus on keeping the business strong.