The questions owners actually ask.

Not unless you decide to tell them. Every prospective buyer signs a confidentiality agreement — an NDA — before they see any identifying information about your business. We don't disclose your name, location, or financial details until you've approved us to do so with a specific buyer.

In most transactions, employees learn about the sale only after a deal is finalized and you've chosen to announce it. Many sellers find this is actually easier — you can introduce the new owner on your own terms, in a controlled way, rather than managing rumors mid-process.

The initial valuation conversation costs nothing. There's no fee to find out what your business is worth, and no obligation to move forward.

If you decide to list your business for sale, Dan works on a success fee — meaning he's paid a commission at closing, only if the transaction closes. There are no upfront listing fees and no ongoing monthly charges. If the business doesn't sell, Dan doesn't get paid.

This structure means Dan's incentives are aligned with yours: get you to a successful close at the best possible price.

No — in fact, earlier is almost always better. Many owners wait too long, start the process under pressure (health issue, burnout, family situation), and end up selling at a discount because they didn't have time to prepare properly.

A conversation with Dan when you're still years away from wanting to sell gives you information you can actually act on. You'll know what the business is worth today, what factors are holding the value down, and what you could do in the next 1–3 years to increase your exit price significantly.

The first conversation is always free and always confidential. There's no commitment to sell — just information to help you make a better decision.

Most small businesses are valued using a multiple of what's called Seller's Discretionary Earnings, or SDE. SDE is essentially your net profit plus your salary and any personal expenses run through the business — it represents the total financial benefit of owning the company.

The multiple applied to your SDE depends on your industry, the quality of your business (owner independence, recurring revenue, customer concentration, systems, growth trend), and current market conditions. In 2025, the average SDE multiple across all industries was approximately 2.7x — but well-positioned businesses in high-demand industries regularly sell at 3x, 4x, or higher.

Dan uses recent comparable transaction data, his knowledge of your industry, and a hands-on review of your financials to arrive at a realistic range — not a number engineered to get your listing, and not a lowball designed to set a soft expectation.

The most common range is 6–9 months from the time your business is listed to the day you close. Some transactions move faster — particularly in industries with strong buyer demand, or when the seller is well-prepared. Others take longer, especially if due diligence surfaces complications or if the first buyer doesn't close and a new one needs to be found.

The preparation phase (before listing) typically takes 4–8 weeks. That's where Dan works with you to pull together your financials, write the CIM, and get everything ready for the market. Doing this well upfront is one of the biggest factors in a faster, cleaner transaction.

A CIM — Confidential Information Memorandum — is a professionally prepared document that tells the story of your business to prospective buyers. It covers your history, operations, financials, market position, and growth opportunities. Think of it as a detailed prospectus that serious buyers use to evaluate whether they want to make an offer.

A well-written CIM does a lot of the selling for you — it answers buyers' questions before they ask them, positions the business in its best light, and gives serious buyers the confidence to move forward. A weak or missing CIM signals disorganization and often results in lower offers, more buyer skepticism, and a longer sales process.

Dan handles the preparation of your CIM. You review and approve it before it goes to any buyer.

Due diligence is the period after a buyer makes an offer and you accept it. During this phase — which typically runs 30–60 days — the buyer and their advisors review your business in detail. They'll look at tax returns, bank statements, contracts, leases, employee records, equipment, and more.

This is a normal part of every transaction, and it shouldn't be alarming. The key is being prepared: clean financials, organized records, and no surprises. Dan helps you get ready for due diligence and guides you through it so the process doesn't disrupt your business.

Most transactions survive due diligence without issue when the seller has been upfront about the business's strengths and limitations from the start. Problems typically arise when buyers discover things they weren't told.

Buyers range from individual entrepreneurs who want to step into an operating business, to private equity groups that buy multiple companies in an industry, to strategic acquirers (competitors or adjacent businesses) looking to expand.

Most buyers — especially individual buyers and PE groups — need the existing team to stay in place. They're buying a business that runs, not just a set of assets. Replacing a trained staff is expensive and disruptive, and most buyers know that. Employee retention is often a key part of what makes a business attractive.

If protecting your employees is a priority for you, Dan can make that a factor in how we position the business and which buyers we prioritize — it's a legitimate part of the conversation.

Usually, yes — for a period of time. Most buyers want the seller to remain available for a transition period of 30–90 days after closing. This gives the buyer time to learn the operations, get introduced to key customers and employees, and get up to speed on things that aren't written down anywhere.

The length and terms of your transition commitment are negotiated as part of the deal. Some sellers end up staying longer if there's a strategic reason and they're compensated for it. Others are out the door as soon as the transition period ends.

What you won't be signing up for is running the business indefinitely. The whole point is to hand off the responsibility — that's what closing day is for.

Seasonal revenue is completely normal in many industries, and experienced buyers understand it. The key is presenting the right time period of financials — typically 3 years of annual numbers, plus a trailing twelve months — so buyers can see the full picture and understand the seasonal pattern.

Seasonality itself doesn't significantly hurt valuation. What matters more is whether revenue is stable, growing, and predictable. A business that consistently earns X in its busy months and Y in its slow months is something buyers can underwrite. A business with erratic, unexplained swings is harder to value and finance.

Dan works with you to present your financials in the most accurate and favorable way, including any addbacks that reflect one-time expenses or non-recurring items that shouldn't count against your earnings number.

It depends on your specific situation, but there are a few general things to consider. The current environment for small business sales is strong — buyer demand is high, SBA financing for acquisitions is widely available, and multiples across most industries are at or near historical averages. That said, no one can predict what interest rates or economic conditions will look like in three years.

Waiting can make sense if your business is growing and you believe the value will increase meaningfully. But waiting also carries risk: health changes, key employee departures, market shifts, or personal burnout can all force a less-prepared exit at a worse time.

The honest answer is that the "right time" is personal — it depends on your goals, your financial situation, and what you want the next chapter of your life to look like. That's exactly the conversation Dan wants to have with you. There's no agenda, no pressure — just a real conversation to help you think it through.

Not every listing results in a sale, and not every deal that goes under contract closes. It happens. The most common reasons are: the business is priced above what the market will support, financial documentation doesn't hold up during due diligence, or a buyer discovers something unexpected.

If a listing isn't generating the right interest, Dan will give you honest feedback about what's driving that — price, presentation, timing, or something else. Sometimes the answer is adjusting the price. Sometimes it's improving an aspect of the business before relisting.

The advantage of going through a structured process with an experienced broker is that you get real market feedback, not silence. That information is valuable even if the first effort doesn't result in a sale.