How to analyze a business before you buy it
The five steps that separate a real opportunity from a mirage: confirm the fit, verify the earnings, read the trends, scan for risk, and test the price against the debt.
The priceHow to value a small business you want to buy
SDE, multiples, and the lender math that decides what a price really is — the three questions to ask in order, with a worked example.
The numbersWhat is SDE? Seller's discretionary earnings, explained
The number a small-business price is built on: what counts, what doesn't, how to calculate it — and how sellers pad it.
The numbersAdd-backs explained: how to tell legit from inflated
Every add-back moves the price by a multiple of itself. How to sort the legitimate ones from the wishful ones — with a worked example that moves an asking price $145K.
The risksRed flags when buying a small business
Nine warning signs that sink more deals than everything else combined — what each looks like up close, and when to reprice, restructure, or walk.
The conversationQuestions to ask a seller before making an offer
What to ask about the money, the customers, the team, and the real reason they're selling — and what a bad answer sounds like.
The numbersHow to read a small business's financials
What the tax returns, P&L, balance sheet, and bank statements each prove — and the one-month tie-out that catches numbers that don't hold up.
The numbersSDE vs EBITDA: which one matters when you're buying?
Same business, two different earnings numbers, two very different prices. How to tell which metric a listing is actually quoting — with a worked example.
The numbersWhat's a fair multiple for a small business?
Real market data on SDE and EBITDA multiples by deal size, and the factors that actually move a multiple up or down — not a made-up rule of thumb.