A buyer's offer comes from a spreadsheet, and that spreadsheet runs on a short list of financial metrics that set the multiple applied to earnings. Most of those metrics are within an owner's control given enough lead time. For owners 12 to 24 months from a sale, that lead time is the window to r
READ MORE »Buying a business is exciting. A strong pitch, a good-looking spreadsheet, and a seller who clearly loves what they built can make it easy to want to sign fast. However, that's exactly when problems tend to slip through. Most red flags aren't dramatic or super-obvious from a mile away. Instead, t
READ MORE »Florida's Emerald Coast has been drawing new residents and new money for years, and that growth has made the region an active market for business acquisitions. But buying a business here isn't the same as buying one in a landlocked market with steady, predictable traffic year-round. Tourism shapes t
READ MORE »Most owners hire a business broker the same way they'd pick a contractor off a flyer: whoever's cheapest, or whoever a neighbor happened to use. Neither has much to do with whether that broker can actually sell the business. A commission rate says nothing about a broker's buyer network. A friend's g
READ MORE »Many business owners think they only have one exit option: close the doors and sell off whatever's left. That default often costs them money they didn't have to leave on the table. A brokered sale is usually worth exploring first, but it isn't always the better financial or practical choice. Und
READ MORE »Signing a listing agreement means committing to one broker's process, one broker's network, and one broker's judgment for months at a time. That's a lot of trust to hand over based on a single meeting. Before signing anything, it's worth running a broker through a real filter, not just a friendly co
READ MORE »