Seller Resources: Guides for Selling Your Business

Selling a business is one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll make - and most owners go into it with almost no information. We wrote these guides to change that.

Whether you’re just starting to think about an exit, actively preparing, or ready to talk to a broker, everything below is organized in the order you’ll need it. Start wherever makes sense for you.

Start Here: The Complete Guide to Selling a Business

If you only read one thing, make it this.

Start Here

How to Sell a Business: The Complete Guide

The full process from first thought to closing day. Covers valuation, preparation, finding buyers, negotiation, and what to expect at every stage. This is the overview - the guides below go deeper on each topic.

Read the guide

Is Now the Right Time?

Most owners either sell too late or too early. These guides help you figure out where you stand.

When Is the Right Time to Sell?

Market timing, personal readiness signals, and the financial indicators that suggest it’s time. Spoiler: the best time to sell is when you don’t have to.

Exit Planning Checklist

A practical checklist to see how prepared you actually are. Most owners who think they’re ready aren’t - this tells you what’s missing.

Why Most Business Sales Fail

Only 30-40% of businesses that go to market ever sell. These are the six reasons deals fall apart - and what you can do differently.

Understanding the Numbers

What’s it worth, what drives the multiple, and what will you actually keep after taxes? These are the financial questions every seller needs to answer early.

How Valuation Actually Works

SDE vs. EBITDA, the three valuation methods, what drives multiples up or down, and why online calculators get it wrong. The real mechanics of how businesses are priced.

Tax Implications of Selling a Business

Capital gains vs. ordinary income, entity structure, and strategies to reduce your tax burden. Start planning early - this is the difference between what you sell for and what you keep.

Increase Your Business Value

The specific changes that move your multiple - and the ones that don’t matter as much as you’d think. Best started 1-2 years before you sell.

Owner Dependency: The Hidden Value Killer

If the business can’t run without you, buyers see risk. Systematized businesses sell for 6-8x EBITDA. Founder-dependent businesses struggle to get 4x. Here’s how to close that gap.

Getting Ready to Sell

Once you know what your business is worth and you’ve decided to move forward, preparation determines everything. Buyers who encounter messy financials or missing documentation walk away.

How to Prepare Your Business for Sale

Financial cleanup, operational documentation, legal housekeeping, and the things most owners forget. The work you do here directly affects your sale price and timeline.

Keeping Your Business Sale Confidential

Employees leave, customers panic, competitors circle. Confidentiality isn’t optional - it’s essential. How to market your business without anyone finding out.

How Long Does It Take to Sell a Business?

Realistic timelines by deal size and complexity. The short answer is 6-9 months. The longer answer involves a lot of variables you should plan for.

Do You Need a Broker?

For businesses in the $1M-$25M range, the right broker can mean the difference between a deal that closes at a premium and one that drags for two years. But the wrong broker can be worse than no broker at all.

What Is a Business Broker?

What brokers actually do, how they earn their fees, and who benefits most from hiring one. A straightforward explanation without the sales pitch.

Choosing a Broker: Red Flags to Watch

20 questions that separate good brokers from bad ones. Including the answers that should make you walk away.

Understanding Business Broker Fees

Commission structures, the Lehman formula, retainer models, and the hidden fees that inflate your costs. Know what you’re paying for before you sign anything.

Selling Without a Broker

It’s possible - but not always smart. When going solo makes sense, when it doesn’t, and what you’re giving up either way.

What to Expect During the Process

You’ve prepared, you’ve chosen your team, and you’re ready to go to market. Here’s what the actual process looks like - from first offer to wire transfer.

Understanding Deal Structure

Asset sales, stock sales, earnouts, seller financing, and non-competes. What each term means and how it affects what you take home.

Letters of Intent (LOI) Explained

What’s in an LOI, what’s binding, what’s negotiable, and why you have the most leverage before you sign.

Surviving Due Diligence

What buyers will ask for, how to prepare your data room, and what derails deals at this stage. The most anxiety-inducing part of the process, demystified.

The Closing Process

From signed LOI to wire transfer day. Purchase agreements, escrow, working capital adjustments, and what actually happens on closing day.

Telling Your Team

When and how to tell employees, customers, and vendors. The timing, the messaging, and handling the emotional weight of the hardest conversation you’ll have.

After the Sale

The wire hits your account. Now what? These aren’t the financial planning articles you’ll find everywhere else.

Life After Selling: Finding What's Next

The identity shift nobody warns you about. What happens when your phone stops ringing, the non-compete kicks in, and you wake up on Monday with nowhere to go.

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