BizBuySell asked buyers this quarter what's holding them back. 31% said finding a quality business. 15% said financing. 13% said the asking price. Same survey, 86% said it matters to them whether the listing comes prequalified. Prequalified by whom, on what? A listing prequal from my desk means I saw the returns, tied the recast to them line by line, and tested the price against the cash flow that's actually on paper. The broker can put my name on the CIM because I'll pick up when the buyer calls to check. [FLAG: confirm that's your process and that you let brokers name you] The other version is a lender who saw a one-page recast and said "yeah, that works." That's a price opinion. It falls apart the week the returns show up, which in Main Street deals is often after the LOI. 78% of buyers in the same survey plan to use SBA. Ask the broker what the lender saw.

The fastest way to blow up your own deal is to rely on add-backs that can't be defended. Failed marketing efforts and bad hires are not add-backs. Why pay a multiple on someone else's mismanagement? I wouldn't, and you shouldn't either. Need a pulse check on your strategy? DM

Got a call from an acquisition entrepreneur I’d spoken with last October. Back then, the seller told him: “Give me 6 months to clean things up.” He waited. When he finally got back into it, the picture had changed: 📉 The financial trend had turned negative ✌️ A key employee found out about the potential sale and left 💸 A/R issues started surfacing The business today is worth less than the one he was ready to buy last fall. He dodged a bullet - but still wasted 8 months hyper-focused on this one deal. If you’re serious about search, don’t fall in love. It’s rough out there.

We've seen this play with med spas side for a little while now but the legal industry play is new to me. Interesting, and eligible - The MSO has to be truly active management. The second it starts reading like a fee collector, credit will have questions if going the SBA route.