Valuation fundamentals

How to Value a Business: The Five Methods in Plain English

A plain-English guide to the five ways businesses get valued, why buyers favor one, and how to sanity check any number you are given.

SDE vs EBITDA: Which One Buyers Actually Use

SDE or EBITDA? Which profit number buyers use to price your business, how they relate, and why mixing them up costs owners real money.

What Is SDE? Seller's Discretionary Earnings Explained

SDE meaning, the formula, a worked example, and why buyers use it to price small, owner-run businesses.

The Business Valuation Formula (With Worked Examples)

The core business valuation formula, which earnings figure to use, typical multiples by industry, and three fully worked examples.

Business Valuation Multiples by Industry

Typical valuation multiple ranges by industry, from SDE and EBITDA multiples to revenue and AUM-based pricing, and how to sanity-check a quote.

Do You Need a Business Valuation 'Near Me'?

Why business valuations are usually done from financial documents, not site visits, and when a local appraiser genuinely matters.

How Much Does a Business Appraisal Cost?

What a certified business appraisal typically costs, what drives the fee, and when a free valuation range is the smarter starting point.

What a Business Broker Charges, and When It Is Worth It

A plain-English breakdown of broker commissions, retainers, and listing agreements, and how to know if hiring one makes sense for your sale.

The Process of Selling a Business, Step by Step

A clear, step-by-step walkthrough of how a small business sale actually goes, from deciding to sell through closing day and the transition.

How to Prepare Your Business for Sale

A 12-24 month plan to clean up financials, cut owner dependence, and raise your business value before you sell.

Should I Sell My Business? An Honest Self-Assessment

Good and bad reasons to sell, business vs personal readiness, signs it's not time yet, and the one number worth checking first.

How to Sell Your Business Fast (Without Giving It Away)

A realistic guide to speeding up a business sale without slashing your price, plus a 30-day prep plan and red flags to watch for.

What Is a Quality of Earnings Report?

What a quality of earnings report is, who pays for it, sell-side vs buy-side, and how it can change a deal's price before closing.

Rule of Thumb Business Valuation: How It Works and Where It Fails

How industry rules of thumb value a business, how they relate to SDE and EBITDA multiples, and why they are only ever a starting point.

How Long Does It Take to Sell a Business?

A realistic stage-by-stage timeline for selling a small business, from preparation through closing, and what speeds it up or slows it down.

What Goes Into a Business Purchase Agreement?

Asset vs stock purchase, key clauses, reps and warranties, indemnities, escrow, and non-competes in a business purchase agreement.

What Is an Earnout in a Business Sale?

How earnouts work in small business sales, typical structures, the risks sellers face, and how to negotiate protective terms before you sign.

What Is a Business Valuation Report?

What a formal business valuation report contains, the three levels of service, typical cost ranges, and when you actually need one versus a calculator estimate.

Exit Planning for Business Owners

What exit planning really means, the exit options available, knowing your number, and how to prepare a business to sell for more.

Asset Sale vs. Stock Sale: What's the Difference?

What asset sales and stock sales actually mean, who prefers which, what happens to liabilities and contracts, and why most small deals are asset sales.

Seller Financing in a Business Sale: How It Works

What a seller note is, why buyers ask for one, typical terms, standby with SBA loans, collateral, default risk, and when a seller should say no.

The NDA and Letter of Intent: What They Do and Don't Do

What a confidentiality agreement actually protects, when to share financials, what an LOI should contain, what's binding, and how to reduce the risk of a retrade.

Working Capital and Normalized Earnings: What Moves the Price

How add-backs create normalized earnings, how the working capital peg and true-up work in a cash-free debt-free deal, and where sellers quietly lose money.

Capital Gains Tax When Selling a Business

How capital gains and ordinary income treatment, purchase price allocation, entity type, and deal structure combine to shape what a business seller actually keeps after tax.

Business Goodwill Valuation: What It Is and How It Works

What goodwill really is, how it shows up in a business valuation, personal vs. enterprise goodwill, and how to build transferable goodwill before a sale.

Business Broker vs. Selling Your Business Yourself

What a broker does week to week, when doing it yourself genuinely works, the hidden costs of DIY, and a framework for deciding which path fits your sale.

Who Buys Small Businesses? A Guide to Your Real Options

The seven types of buyer for a small business, what each one pays for, how they finance a deal, how long they take, and how to tell a serious buyer from a tire-kicker.

Business Valuation Services and Appraisers, Explained

What people actually mean by 'business valuation services near me,' what appraiser credentials mean, and when you truly need a certified appraisal.

Small Business Valuation Calculator: How It Works and How to Use One

What a business valuation calculator can and cannot tell you, which inputs actually move the number, why the output is a range, and how it compares to a broker opinion or formal appraisal.

Business Valuation Methods: How to Calculate What a Business Is Worth

The three ways businesses get valued — earnings multiples, comparable sales, and asset value — and a step-by-step method owners can actually follow.

How to Calculate Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE)

A line-by-line walkthrough of calculating seller's discretionary earnings: the standard add-backs, the ones buyers reject, multiple-owner situations, and how to document it all for a lender.

EBITDA Multiples Explained: How to Work Out Which One Applies to Your Business

How to calculate an EBITDA multiple both ways, adjusted versus reported EBITDA, why multiples rise with size, and the risk factors that push a business up or down its industry band.

What Is a Business Appraisal?

What a business appraisal is, when a formal one is actually required, how it differs from a broker opinion or an online estimate, and what to expect from the process.

How to Sell My Business: The Complete Owner's Walkthrough

A practical, end-to-end walkthrough of selling a business: timing, valuation, cleanup, finding buyers, due diligence, deal structure, and life after closing.

How Much Can I Sell My Business For?

Why the honest answer is a range, not a number: the earnings measure buyers use, typical multiple bands, the gap between asking price and cash in your pocket, and how to test your number against real buyer interest.

Businesses That Buy Businesses: How to Get in Front of Them and What They'll Pay

How roll-ups, holding companies, strategic acquirers, search funds, family offices and MBO teams actually value and structure a deal, and how to approach each one without damaging confidentiality.

Finding a Business Broker Near You

How to search for a business broker in your area, what to check before hiring one, typical fee structures, and when a broker is not the right fit.

Businesses for Sale Near Me: A Buyer's Guide to Finding and Evaluating a Deal

Where local businesses for sale actually surface, why the best deals are often never listed, how to define your buy box, and how to value, finance, and diligence a purchase.

How to Buy a Small Business

A plain-English guide to buying a small business: where to look, how to value what you find, what diligence to run, how deals are structured and what to expect at closing.

Using an SBA Loan to Buy a Business

How SBA 7(a) acquisition loans work when buying a business — down payment, terms, what lenders require, business appraisals and why deals get declined.

The Best Businesses to Buy

What separates a good business to buy from a bad one — recurring revenue, owner independence, route density, contracts, and the categories buyers keep coming back to.

Businesses for Sale by Owner: What Buyers Should Know

What buying a business directly from an owner, with no broker in the middle, actually involves: where these deals surface, the diligence burden, valuing an owner-priced business, and the paperwork you still need.

The SBA 7(a) Acquisition Loan, and Buying With Little Money Down

How the SBA 7(a) program actually finances a business purchase, what low-injection structures really look like, and why 'no money down' is mostly a myth.