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Notes on building and selling businesses.
What I've learned from the deals, and from everything going on around them.
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What It Actually Takes to Sell Your Business Yourself
You don’t need a broker to sell your business. For smaller deals, doing it yourself can be the right call, as long as you’re honest about which parts you can carry. Here’s the whole thing laid out step by step, from cleaning up your numbers to getting an NDA signed before you share a thing.
Read more → December 17, 2025Why Do Brokers Say No to Selling Your Business?
When a broker turns your business down, it’s easy to assume the commission just wasn’t big enough to bother with. Sometimes that’s part of it. But mostly a broker is making a quieter calculation, and it has less to do with what your business is worth than with whether it can actually be sold. Here’s what we’re really weighing when we say yes or no.
Read more → November 24, 2025Why Smaller Deals Are Often Harder to Sell
Most people assume a smaller business should be easier to sell. Less money, fewer moving parts, fewer obstacles. In practice it’s usually the opposite: small deals carry all the same buyer fears as large ones, but without the structure that calms those fears down. Here’s why the scrutiny goes up as the price tag goes down.
Read more → November 7, 2025Value Isn’t the Same as Sellability
Most owners assume that if their business is profitable, it’s automatically valuable, and if it’s valuable, it must be easy to sell. But those two things aren’t the same. Value is about money. Sellability is about how easily that money transfers once you’re gone.
Read more → October 17, 2025The Five-Month Deal: What a Smooth Sale Actually Looks Like
Five months. Start to finish. That’s how long it took to close my most recent deal, and it wasn’t luck. When preparation, trust, and fair expectations line up, the whole process feels almost effortless. Here’s what a smooth business sale actually looks like.
Read more → September 19, 2025How Long It Really Takes to Sell a Business
Selling a business almost always takes longer than people expect. Even in the smoothest cases, it’s a months-long process filled with moving parts, emotions, and moments of waiting. Understanding that timeline early can save you a lot of frustration, and help you build toward a sale that actually feels right.
Read more → August 15, 2025The Real Currency of a Deal
When it comes to selling a business, most people assume the hardest part is getting the numbers right. But most deals don’t fall apart over valuation or financing, they fall apart over trust. Here’s what that really looks like, and why it matters more than you think.
Read more → July 22, 2025Everyone Wants to Buy a Daycare. Few Are Ready to Run One.
Daycares look like the perfect small business. Stable, essential, in demand. But behind the scenes, they’re among the toughest to run. Here’s what most buyers don’t realize until it’s too late.
Read more → July 15, 2025Why Buying a Business Isn’t Like Buying a House
Buying a house is a transaction. Buying a business is a relationship. Here’s why business sales are more complex, and why a strong LOI can make or break the deal.
Read more → July 7, 2025The Hidden Emotional Side of Selling a Business
Selling a business isn’t just financial, it’s emotional. Behind every deal are the fears, doubts, and attachments that can quietly derail even the best offers.
Read more → June 17, 2025Build to Sell: What It Really Means and How to Start Today
“Build to sell” isn’t about planning your exit. It’s about building a company that runs smoothly, attracts real buyers, and holds its value when you’re ready to move on.
Read more → June 11, 2025From Beer Kegs to Business Deals: My Winding Road Through Entrepreneurship
What started with tracking beer kegs turned into a career helping entrepreneurs buy and sell companies. Here’s how a winding path through startups led me to business brokerage.
Read more → June 11, 2025Profit Isn’t Just One Number: What Buyers Actually Look At
Profit isn’t just one number, and when it comes time to sell, knowing the difference between net income, SDE, and EBITDA can make or break your valuation.
Read more → May 28, 2025How Personal Expenses Impact The Sale of Your Business
Running personal expenses through your business might save you on taxes, but it can cost you big when it’s time to sell. Here’s how to play it smart without hurting your valuation.
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