Straight answers from attorney-brokers.

For a well-prepared lower-middle-market business, a typical sell-side process runs 6–12 months from engagement to closing. Roughly 1–2 months for valuation and packaging, 2–4 months for buyer outreach and LOI negotiation, and 2–4 months for diligence, definitive-agreement negotiation, and closing. Complexity, financial cleanliness, and seller flexibility on terms can shorten or extend that timeline materially.

For most businesses in our range, valuation begins with a multiple applied to SDE (Seller’s Discretionary Earnings) or EBITDA, calibrated to your industry, growth, customer concentration, and quality of earnings. We cross-check against recent comparable transactions and, for higher-growth or recurring-revenue businesses, against a discounted cash flow analysis. Working capital, capex, owner add-backs, and lease/real-estate considerations all influence the final number — and so does deal structure (asset vs. stock, cash vs. earnout, escrow size).

Yes — and we are both. The legal documents that govern the sale (LOI, purchase agreement, disclosure schedules, transition services agreement, escrow and indemnity terms) determine whether you actually keep your sale price after the wire hits. That’s exactly why we built this firm. Most brokerages hand the file to attorneys at LOI; we’re running the legal thinking from day one.

We run a confidential, NDA-gated process. Your business is never publicly listed by name. Buyers receive a “teaser” first — generic enough that employees, customers, and competitors cannot identify you. Detailed information is released only after we’ve qualified the buyer and a confidentiality agreement is in place.

The initial valuation is free. Sell-side engagements are typically structured on a success-fee basis at closing, with structures varying based on deal size and complexity. Full-Service Deal Advisory engagements (combining brokerage and active legal oversight) may include a modest retainer credited against success fees. We discuss all fees transparently before you sign.

A mix of strategic acquirers (competitors and adjacent businesses), private-equity sponsors (platform and add-on acquisitions), family offices, independent sponsors and search funds, and individual operator buyers. We tune buyer outreach to your specific business profile and your goals around price, structure, and post-close involvement.

An earnout ties part of the purchase price to post-closing performance. Earnouts can bridge valuation gaps, but they’re also where many sellers quietly lose money — especially if metrics, calculation methodology, dispute mechanics, and acceleration triggers aren’t carefully negotiated. We’ll tell you whether an earnout makes sense, and if so, exactly how to structure it.

The working-capital peg is the level of working capital the buyer expects you to deliver at closing. Set it wrong, and your sale price effectively gets reduced post-closing through a true-up adjustment. We model the peg before signing the LOI — not after diligence reveals the buyer’s preferred number.

Almost never, when handled correctly. Information disclosed to buyers in diligence is curated and gated. Site visits, when needed, are arranged off-hours or framed to non-management staff. We help you plan an internal communication strategy for closing day and the days after.

You’re not alone — most owner-operated businesses have add-backs, commingled expenses, or informal record-keeping. Part of our pre-marketing work is recasting financials into a buyer-ready format and (if needed) helping you decide whether a quality-of-earnings review is worth commissioning before going to market.

That depends on your business, your personal goals, and the market. We’ll tell you honestly. Sometimes the right answer is “sell now.” Sometimes it’s “fix three things and revisit in 18 months — here’s the playbook.” We’d rather give you the right answer than the answer that earns us a fee today.