Growth & Acquisition

Guides on buying and scaling businesses: due diligence, valuation, SBA acquisition financing, first 90 days, SOPs, hiring managers, and preparing a business for sale.

• How to Buy an Existing Business: A Step-by-Step Guide — A step-by-step guide to buying an existing business: sourcing deals, due diligence, financing, deal structure, and avoiding the mistakes that sink acquisitions.
• How to Build SOPs So Your Business Runs Without You — A practical guide to documenting the processes that keep your business running when you are not there, from prioritizing SOPs to the vacation test that proves it works.
• How to Choose Marketing Channels on a Small Business Budget — A practical, buyer-first framework for choosing marketing channels on a small business budget: what to fund, what to skip, and how to measure results.
• The First 90 Days After Buying a Business — A step-by-step 90-day plan for new owners: stabilize week one, verify the real numbers by day 30, then sequence changes so you keep staff and customers.
• Small Business Strategic Partnerships: A Complete FAQ — Strategic partnerships can accelerate small business growth, but only with the right structure. Learn the types, vetting steps, and must-have contract terms.
• Prepare Your Business for Sale: The Complete Checklist — A practical, order-of-operations checklist for getting your business sale-ready: clean financials, legal cleanup, reduced owner dependency, and a trusted due diligence data room.
• When to Hire a Business Consultant — A business consultant earns the fee when you face a specific, costly problem outside your expertise or bandwidth. Here's how to know, and what to expect.
• Seven Small Business Scaling Mistakes That Stall Growth — Scaling amplifies whatever already works or is already broken. The seven small business scaling mistakes that turn healthy growth into cash crunches and chaos.
• Franchise vs. Independent Business: How to Decide — Weighing a franchise against an independent business? Compare real costs, control, risk, and exit terms to find the right fit for your capital and goals.
• Hiring Your First Manager: How to Know You're Ready and Get It Right — Straight answer on when you are actually ready to hire your first manager, plus the readiness signs, role structure, and mistakes that sink it.
• SBA Loan vs. Seller Financing for a Business Acquisition — Comparing SBA 7(a) loans and seller financing for buying a business: how each works, when to combine them, and which fits your deal and cash position.
• Small Business Marketing Strategy Fundamentals: A Practical Framework — A practical framework for small business marketing strategy: define your customer, pick the right channels, set a real budget, and track what matters.
• The Business Acquisition Due Diligence Checklist Every Buyer Needs — A category-by-category due diligence checklist for buying a business: financials, legal, customers, HR, and assets, plus the red flags that derail deals.
• Small Business Valuation: How SDE and Multiples Set Your Price — Most small businesses are priced on SDE, not EBITDA. Here's how Seller's Discretionary Earnings and valuation multiples work, and how to calculate yours.
• Asset Purchase vs. Stock Purchase: The Basics Every Buyer Should Know — Asset purchase or stock purchase? Learn the real differences in liability, taxes, contracts, and employees before you structure your next acquisition.