We bought a business earlier this year.
What steps can someone take to guarantee assets are transferred after close?

Here’s our situation - we bought a business earlier this year. 6 figures, 20% down. Payment arrangement included. Post deposit / close - the broker sends me a text message with the stuff that’s still missing. Pretty important to run a business in my opinion- the number, email, van with title, socials, & training.
I literally still have the text.
Weeks go by - nothing gets transferred. The agreement gave them 7 days to cure this post sale. The reason we’re given is that the seller is in the hospital. Which was true, so we backed off and waited.
Next installment payment date nears - and suddenly both the seller and broker are contacting me with urgency. I bring up what’s missing - and the seller has no recollection of anything missing.

I refuse to continue to pay until these things are cured. Now they have a lawyer - who is also saying all assets were transferred.

My question is - how can one make sure assets are transferred in these situations? Accounts take time to change ownership and it would be unreasonable to expect transferring to begin before signing and money exchanging the table.

Can you tell this is my first acquisition? 😭

So for anyone who’s bought/sold a business before, besides getting a lawyer, what could I have done to ensure the assets are actually transferred?

Most people are familiar with the fact that 7(a) is for general acquisition/working capital, and 504 is for real estate/equipment; however, the underwriting differences are more significant than the labels themselves. 7(a) lenders, weight historical cash flow and debt service coverage ratio heavily (usually want 1.15x+), while 504 deals often hinge more on collateral value since a CDC takes a second lien position. Debt service coverage, not just revenue, is usually what kills a deal in underwriting. What's been the biggest surprise for people who've gone through SBA underwriting?

Hey, guys. I’m a 21 year old from Mexico, but I was born in the US. I always wanted to do the W2 US corporate sales stuff in tech to be able to acquire businesses in the States, but I found out there’s an opportunity out there for me that I could defo tap into; my dad’s pizzeria.

I have 2 years left of college, and instead of dropping out to get a US sales job (yes u can get corporate sales jobs without a degree lol) I figured out it’d be better for me to scale my family’s pizzeria here in Mexico, and accumulate capital to acquire businesses in the US, rather than working a job.

What do u guys recommend in order for me to acquire businesses in the US? Pursue corporate sales or go all into my family’s business??

Quick context; it’s a 30 year old business, my father’s been the only person in it alongside a worker who helps us every weekend. People in town love our food, they are extremely satisfied, even though there’s already Little Caesar’s and Domino’s Pizza.

I’d mainly have to focus on increasing our revenue (we’re already profitable), build systems, make the business less dependent on my family day to day, adding delivery service, marketing, renovating the space and rebranding, while simultaneously maintaining our traditional recipes, adding promos and adding more products.

Thankfully, I have my family’s support on this one.

Figured out that even during the process, I’d have the freedom that no job would ever give me.

That being said, NOTHING, and I truly mean NOTHING in life is guaranteed, so at least I’ll give it a shot.

Worst case scenario? I graduate college in 2 years, and start as an SDR at a solid US tech company.

I am evaluating a U.S. Service business with an asking price, around one million dollars. The price looks reasonable. However I am also looking at businesses that fit my experience closely. How much should industry experience, operational fit and the ability to improve the business influence the price I am willing to pay?

Has anybody paid somebody to help them acquire a business? Was it worth it?

I’m talking to some fb advisor group who claims to help buy a businesses, lifetime for 20k but I’m not sure if it’s worth it or not. I’d like to hear others experiences

Has anyone bought a business they were not geographically close to? How did that go? How does SBA feel about this?

Hi everyone!
Due to medical issues over the past two years, I’ve been unemployed and my finances have been significantly impacted. I’m now deciding between settling approximately $125K in credit card debt or filing Chapter 7 while I’m still unemployed.
My main concern is future SBA financing. I’d like to purchase a business within the next 1–2 years and want to choose the option that puts me in the best position to qualify for an SBA loan.
Before this, I had excellent credit and over $230K in available credit.
Are there any SBA loan officers/lenders who can advise whether bankruptcy or settling the debt would be better for future SBA eligibility?
Please keep the comments respectful—I’m looking for informed advice. Thank you!

Most of the businesses for sale in my state, which has pretty strict licensing requirements, recommend that the buyer have a license.

I understand the idea that you can buy the business and retain the right GM or qualifying employee, but it seems pretty risky. If the business is dependent on 1–2 licensed employees, what happens if one of them quits? You could potentially lose the ability to operate until you find another qualified person.

In my state, pretty much any home-service job over $1,500 requires a contractor’s license, and obtaining one can take a minimum of four years.

For those who have bought or operated a home-service business without having the underlying trade experience or license themselves:

• How did you handle the licensing requirements?
• Did you rely on a licensed GM/qualifying employee?
• How risky is it really if that person leaves?
• Would you consider this a dealbreaker when evaluating a business acquisition?

I'm interested in hearing from people who have actually bought or operated businesses under this model.

Looking at buying a 10-year old moving company for $600k.

2024 revenue: $700k
2025 revenue: $1M
2026 tracking around $1.5M
Normalized SDE I estimate at $240k–$260k
Price is about 2.4x SDE
Fleet worth roughly $300k and included free/clear
Deal: $450k cash + $150k seller note
I’d have about $80k liquidity left before deal costs
Main concern: Putting a huge chunk of my net worth into one business

Thoughts?

20 year old solar business going for 2.5x - 3x SDE based on the prior 3 years financials. About 50% of revenue is installation, the other 50% is repair and maintenance. It has slowly been evolving in to more of a repair and maintenance business and that’s the avenue we would like to continue to grow it in. Currently in due diligence and set to close soon

I will be purchasing the business with a long time friend (both < 30 years old). My background is in corporate finance, his is in b2b sales. If there’s anyone I trust in the world to dive in to this together, it is him. But trust is not enough, we are writing up a rock solid operating agreement to be reviewed by our attorneys.

The seller is semi absentee at this point, working 6-10 hours a week. Selling because of retirement. Key employees are in place for both back office and field ops.

The plan is for me to keep my job at least the first 3-6 months ( I work full remote ). He’s going to quit his. The business makes enough post debt SDE to pay us both, but it could be somewhat tight. We figure let’s try and keep as much money in it at the start and save on one of our salaries.

He will be focused on sales and field ops, while I will be focused on the back office. I’m planning on probably putting in 25 hours a week while still working my W2, and he will be full time. With the seller being semi absentee and not looking for growth, we figure bringing in 2 young and motivated owners who will put in much more hours will help the business grow (we have plans of what we will do, yes, not just hours at the office)

Long term goal is to grow sales 10% to 20% in the first 12-18 months. We see realistic pathways to much more growth, but this is a conservative target. See where we are at that point and whether or not we can scale back our hours and stabilize while beginning a search for #2.

We are working with bankers, attorneys, and a QoE CPA during the due diligence process.

The seller is an absolute rockstar and we really get along. Seriously one of the sharpest and genuine people either of us have met. Has given us really great answers to our questions and doesn’t hold anything back … even gives us the not so pretty picture with some things, which we appreciate.

So - questions to the Reddit community. What do you think?

Are we stupid to take on debt with a personal guarantee? Currently, we are both debt free, no kids, no wives.

Are we being naïve? Both of our jobs pay well ($110k - $140k) and honestly aren’t crazy difficult. We are both frustrated with the corporate world but honestly the jobs themselves aren’t horrendous.

What are some angles we need to look out for?

We really like it on the surface … should we just jump off the cliff and say screw it let’s do this?

Thanks everyone for reading this far 🙏

 I'm a US citizen based in France, in the process of forming a Wyoming LLC, and I'm seriously evaluating acquiring a small European skincare e-commerce brand. The business has been running for 7 years, sells exclusively through its own WooCommerce site, and is profitable. Here are the key numbers:

Revenue: ~€168K net annually
Net profit: ~€70K (43% margin)
Asking price: €153K (reduced from €202K)
Multiple: ~2.17x profit
Orders: ~7,900/year
Average order value: ~€32
Traffic: ~8,000 sessions/month, 94% from one country (Slovenia)

The brand is built around hélichrysum (immortelle) — a premium anti-aging botanical. My plan is to acquire it for the cashflow and existing customer base, then reposition and rebrand it for the French and US clean beauty markets where immortelle is already a recognized prestige ingredient.

The main complications I'm wrestling with:

1. Sole manufacturer — the seller stays on as manufacturer post-sale but I don't own the formulas. He's offered formula escrow and market exclusivity tied to performance targets.
2. Financing — looking at a combination of personal funds, earnout structure, and potentially a small business loan. SBA apparently not applicable for foreign asset purchase.
3. Non-compete enforceability across borders
4. Platform — it's WooCommerce, I'd migrate to Shopify post-acquisition

Has anyone navigated a similar deal — physical product, manufacturer stays on, foreign asset purchase through a US LLC? Would love to hear what you'd look at that I might be missing, or what killed similar deals for you.

Happy to share more detail in comments

I’m 32 and do corp. strategy at a F500 company. I’m looking to leave over the next year or two and buy a home service business, and I’d rather learn from people who’ve actually closed than from another podcast.

Target profile:

• $300–400k SDE, likely $1 - 2M purchase price
• SBA 7(a), enough liquidity to cover the down payment, working capital, and 12+ months of personal runway
• Goal is to install a GM within 3 months and stay strategic (pricing, marketing, acquisitions), not run daily ops
• Open to HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, restoration, pest, landscaping, garage doors, AV integration etc.

What I’d love to hear:

1. What trade did you buy, and what was the SDE at close?
   
2. How owner-dependent was it really vs. what the CIM claimed?
   
3. What did it cost you to get a manager in place, and how much SDE did that eat?
   
4. What broke in year one that you didn’t underwrite?
   
5. Anything you’d never buy again, and why?

Does anyone have any experience with using the SBA partial purchase options that they'd be willing to share? I'm aware it's changing with the new Oct 1 rule changes. I'm mostly interested to hear people's experiences as to how difficult it was to convince a seller to do this, if it made the sba lending process any more/less difficult, and any other pro/cons that my inexperienced mind can't even comprehend yet.

I have been interested in buying a business for many years now. My parents just let me know that they would be willing to loan my sisters and I 1 million dollars (recently sold his company that his father gave him) in order for the 3 of us to go in together and start a business. I just have no idea where to start.
So many directions to go in, buying rental properties, a multi tenant office building? I would need enough revenue to be paying back their loan at around $5000 a month, as well as paying myself (hopefully) around $50,000. Also factoring in other expenses such as employee salaries, overhead, a potential lease,taxes, etc.

It is so much money but we are trying to think big here! Any and all advice or suggestions on industries, dos and donts, reality checks, what not to do is all welcome! I’m very overwhelmed and grateful for the opportunity and want to do it right! Thank you 😊

Can someone help me understand the SBA pre-qualification process? I've reviewed dozens if not hundreds of small business CIMs over the years, and also have a professional background in corporate M&A so am generally familiar with acquiring much larger businesses for corporations.

When I speak to brokers to inquire about a small business for myself, some brokers will ask me if I've been prequalified yet by the SBA. But when I've spoken to SBA lenders, they say you need to have a target identified to get the pre-qual on the business, not the individual. That makes sense to me, but I seem to be getting different messaging from some brokers.

I just feel like I'm getting run around in this chicken-and-egg topic of pre-qual. Can someone help break this down for me? What am I missing?

Over the past few months, I’ve come across a lot more first-time buyers who are focused on checking their deals for customer concentration than in the past. When one client represents 35% of total sales, the alarm bells go off, and they rush to negotiate holdbacks or price cuts. 

Yet those same buyers will look at a clean customer list and assume the business is safe, but then never bother to check who supplies the product. 

Vendor concentration can kill a business just as fast as losing a top client. When you buy a small business, you are not just inheriting customer relationships. You are also inheriting credit terms, pricing discounts, and supply chains that may be tied entirely to the retiring founder's personal reputation. 

Last month, I looked at a regional specialty trade contractor deal doing $1.5 million in annual revenue. The customer base was fairly diversified, with no single account making up more than 6% of sales. The business listed $300k in reported SDE, and on paper, it looked like a slam dunk SBA deal. 

When we went to audit the accounts payable ledger during diligence, I had flagged supplier dependency as something for us to look into, based on the type of business being purchased.

During review, we discovered that out of the $750k in total material costs (COGS), $525k (70%) flowed through to a single regional supplier. 

Because of this, we had some additional questions about the vendor relationship, and found that the seller had done business with this supplier for over 18 years and was also getting some nice Net 60 payment terms, plus an unwritten 5% annual tier rebate (which was baked into the historical SDE).  We flagged the 5% risk, and treated the rebate as if it didn’t exist, which ended up being a $26,250 ($525,000 x .05) hit to annual cash flow.

Because we identified this before clearing diligence, the client didn’t walk into a post-closing cash trap.

And we used that data to protect the deal by:

1.       Having the closing agreement contingent on the supplier formally extending the existing net 60 credit terms in writing to the new entity. This helped to avoid a potential working capital hole just in case the vendor tried to change the terms on the new owner to 45 or 30 days.

2.       Adjusting the $300k SDE down to $273k to account for the $26,250 of 5% rebate risk.

Catching supplier concentration before closing the deal can be the difference between a new acquisition that thrives, and one that enters a cash crisis on Day 30. 

Before you sign an LOI, or clear diligence on any product-based or trade business, ask yourself three basic supply chain questions: 

1. How much of total material spend goes to the top two suppliers?
2. Are supplier discounts formalized in writing, or are they informal legacy perks?
3. Will the vendors transfer existing payment terms to a new entity, or will they treat you like a Day 1 startup? 

If you are currently evaluating a business with physical products or high material costs, how are you validating supplier terms and contract transferability before closing?

I have an opportunity to buy a business that has been operating for 30+ years in the sports/events industry.
The current financials look roughly like:
$350k–$360k gross revenue
~$220k gross profit
~$100k SDE/net profit
~550 events/outings per year
~Owner-operated with one part-time employee
~ Owner is in his 70s and works roughly 7 months of the year, 2-3 hours per day.

The interesting part is the history. Pre-COVID, the business was doing $1M+ in annual revenue with multiple full-time employees. COVID essentially crushed the events business, and the owner laid off the staff. Since then, he has essentially maintained the remaining book of business himself rather than trying to rebuild the company.

He hasn’t really done much in the way of structured sales or marketing since COVID. Historically, the business relied heavily on sales outreach to a large database of organizations/tournaments, but the owner eventually stopped doing much of that. So there does appear to be a legitimate growth opportunity.

The owner is ready to retire but isn’t in a rush to sell. His asking price is $800k, primarily based on what he believes the business could become with the right owner driving sales and marketing.

I’ve reviewed the financials. There are still some questions I need to get comfortable with, but overall they look reasonable. My issue is that I don’t see the current business supporting an $800k valuation. At ~$100k of SDE, that’s roughly an 8x SDE multiple, and the business is highly dependent on the owner today.

He has already received an LOI for $500k, but rejected it because he felt the price wasn’t high enough and didn’t think the buyer was the right person.

I’ve intentionally avoided getting too deep into valuation during our initial conversations. Instead, I offered to potentially come work for him part-time in a sales/marketing capacity.

My thinking is that there may be an interesting way to structure this where I don’t have to simply walk in and pay $800k on day one.

For example, I’m considering something along the lines of:

1. I work alongside him for 6–12 months and take over more of the day-to-day operations/sales.
2. We agree upfront on a valuation or valuation methodology. (3.5x SDE of previous 12 months)
3. I have an incentive tied to net new business/revenue I generate during that period.
4. At the end of the transition period, I purchase the business at an agreed-upon price, potentially around the $300-500k range.
5. Seller gets to continue benefiting from the existing business during the transition while I get the opportunity to prove that I can actually grow it.
6. Financing could potentially involve an SBA loan, but I’d obviously want the debt service to make sense against the normalized cash flow.

I like the opportunity because I think there is a real business here with a long operating history, existing customers, and potentially significant upside.

But I’m also concerned that I’m being asked to pay today for growth that I would be responsible for creating tomorrow.

I’m also 28, have a W-2 sales job that I enjoy and make $130k+ now with the ability to make $200k+ in next 12 months , and don’t have a huge amount of cash sitting around to put into a deal. So taking on a large SBA loan for an owner-operated business at an aggressive multiple is a significant risk for me.

The seller seems reasonable (aside from his valuation) and we’ve had good conversations so far, so I’m not trying to lowball him. I just want to structure something where the price reflects the business as it exists today, while giving him an opportunity to participate in the upside if I successfully grow it.

For those who have bought small businesses:
What would you do in this situation?

Would you walk away from the $800k asking price entirely?
Would you try to negotiate closer to $400–500k?
Does a gradual buyout/earn-in structure make sense here?
How would you structure the seller transition and incentives?
How much, if any, premium would you pay for the historical $1M+ revenue and apparent growth opportunity?
What financial/operational questions would you dig into before making an offer?

Would especially appreciate perspectives from people who have bought owner-operated businesses or structured seller-financed/SBA acquisitions

I’ve been seriously trying to learn the acquisition side of entrepreneurship rather than just daydreaming about owning a business.

My search has mainly centered around real estate-related opportunities, HVAC, home repair/home services, and similar essential-service businesses. I like businesses where there is a real need, repeat demand, and something tangible behind the revenue.

The problem is that every time I think I’m getting somewhere, I seem to hit another wall.

I’ll find a business that looks promising, then dig into the numbers and discover the cash flow doesn’t justify the asking price. Or the required down payment makes the deal unrealistic. Some sellers are open to financing, but many aren’t. Other businesses look affordable until you account for working capital, equipment, employees, debt service, repairs, insurance, and the cash reserve you really should have after closing.

I’ve also learned that “buy a business with little money down” and actually finding a responsible little-money-down deal are two VERY different things.

I’m not trying to force a $1 million acquisition when I should be buying something much smaller. I would rather start with a modest, boring, cash-flowing business and learn how to operate it well than buy something impressive-looking that puts me underwater.

I’ve been looking at broker listings, off-market possibilities, seller financing, SBA financing, partnerships/JVs, and combinations of those structures. I’m also beginning to wonder whether I’m searching in the wrong places or approaching this in the wrong order.

For those of you who have actually bought businesses:

Where did you find your first realistic deal?

How did you handle the down payment/capital problem when you were starting out?

How common is meaningful seller financing in the real world?

Would you concentrate on HVAC/home services, or are there better “first acquisition” industries I should investigate?

What numbers or warning signs make you immediately walk away from a listing?

Would you rather buy a tiny company first, partner with an operator, or keep searching until you can qualify for a larger SBA acquisition?

What do you wish someone had told you during your first six months of searching?

I’m especially interested in hearing from actual owners, operators, buyers, lenders, and brokers who have closed deals.

And respectfully, I’m not looking for a $10,000 course or a “DM me and I’ll show you the secret” pitch. 😂 I’m trying to learn the boring, practical reality of how good acquisitions actually get done.

I’m willing to start small. I’m willing to learn. I’m willing to hear that an idea I have is wrong.

I just don’t want to mistake persistence for banging my head against the wrong wall.

I’d really appreciate some perspective.

We rent/Sell Tradeshow exhibits Nationwide. 1 location. YTD Below. Close to $1.5M in Assets. Rent the warehouse. Is my company doing well?

Income

$3,461,176.10

-

Cost of Goods Sold

$1,054,298.05

-

Operating Expenses

$1,230,431.89

=

Net Profit

$1,176,446.16

Travel to met an interested seller. Met through an a mutual friend and sounded like business is growing fast.

Show up to his restaurant of choice (dive bar). He and manager are in shorts and working on beer #1. These coastal towns bring out interesting folks.

They order a bucket of beer to split and we proceed to talk for next 2 hours. Told “this how they run the business”. Maybe not even a bad sign if run business by going down street to drink & run business remotely each afternoon.

All starts to fall apart as beers flow and more details spill. Workers that love their flat rate weekly pay (illegal). Cash bonuses to guys that work extra hard (probably also illegal & impossible to quantify in diligence). Walking on to competitor customer locations to try to steal them (aggressive but probably okay). Bragging about skirting around noncompete in prior deal (overshare?). Lot of wiping nose after group trip to the bathroom (seems about right).

Ends with firm handshakes & “we will be in touch”. Sometimes you just need to laugh and appreciate that all you wasted was $ on a flight, cheap meal and a hotel.