Resources
Practical guides on selling a small business, understanding business valuation, and navigating the M&A process. Written by Edouard Lyndt, founder of Sundance Financial. Edouard is a Harvard-educated finance expert who has spent over a decade helping firms buy, grow, and sell businesses.
Videos
How to Value a Business: The Returns Approach
How buyers work backwards from the return they need to the price they can pay, and where the 2–4x rule of thumb actually comes from.
How to Value a Business: The Asset Approach
When asset value matters (and when it doesn’t), plus goodwill, fair market value, and how cash-free/debt-free deals work.
How to Value a Business: The Income Approach
A walk-through of the Income Approach (DCF): free cash flow, discount rates, and how the math actually works.
What Is SDE? The Cash-Flow Metric Every Owner Should Know
Seller’s Discretionary Earnings: what it is, how it differs from EBITDA, which add-backs are legitimate, with a worked example.
How to Value a Business: The Market Approach
A 5-minute explainer on how the Market Approach values a business using comparable transactions, with a worked example.
Articles
What the SBA’s New SOP (50 10 v8.1) Changes for Acquisition Loans
Higher debt service coverage, a mandatory Quality of Earnings analysis above $3M, a longer seller transition period, and tighter rules on smaller deals. What changes on 1 October 2026.
BizBuySell’s Q2 2026 Insight Report: Three Takeaways
Small business deal activity fell ~10% in Q2 2026, but valuations held steady at 2.65x cashflow. What the BizBuySell Q2 data says about deals, pricing, and lending.
The SBA’s Waiver for Passive Investors With Prior Loan Defaults
The SBA has clarified when investors with a stake in a business that previously defaulted on a federal loan can still back an SBA-financed acquisition.
The SBA Decouples Its 7(a) and 504 Lending Limits
From 4 July, borrowers can combine 7(a) and 504 loans for up to $10M in SBA-backed financing, up from a $5M cumulative cap. What it means for business buyers.
BizBuySell’s Q1 2026 Insight Report: Three Takeaways
Service businesses saw ~5% multiple expansion, nearly half of buyers are corporate refugees, and financing is tightening. Three takeaways from BizBuySell's Q1 2026 data.
Theoretical vs Observed AI Coverage, by Occupation
Anthropic's data on where AI could replace tasks versus where it actually is. Why the gap exists, and what it might mean for deal multiples in the trades.
Does an MBA Matter in Search? What the Yale Study Found
Yale SOM studied 155 exited search fund investments. The only statistically significant CEO demographic was whether the searcher held an MBA. A look at the caveats.
What Does a Business Broker Do?
What a broker should do at each stage of a sale, how they differ from real estate agents, and whether you actually need one.
Search Fund Outcomes: US/Canada vs Rest of World
55% of US/Canada search fund deals have exited versus 18% internationally, and US returns skew further into the right tail. Three observations from the IESE and Stanford data.
AI as a Structural Tailwind for Small Business Valuations
AI is expanding the buyer pool and improving the underlying asset. Why AI adoption is becoming a valuation input for small businesses, not just an operational one.
BizBuySell’s 2025 Insight Report: Volume, Valuations, and the 2026 Outlook
Main Street deal volume was essentially flat in 2025 at 9,586 closed transactions, and median valuations held at 2.26x SDE. What the full-year data shows.
The SBA Tightens Citizenship Requirements for 7(a) Loans
From 1 March 2026, SBA-backed loans require 100% US citizen or national ownership, with green card holders excluded. A timeline of how the rules have changed.
Why Dual Representation Shouldn’t Exist in Business Brokerage
Dual agency works where value is transparent and breaks down where it isn't. Why business sales sit firmly in the second category.
Revenue Multiples by Industry
How many times revenue is a small business worth? See typical revenue multiples across 80+ industries, with worked examples.
SDE Multiples by Industry
Average SDE and revenue multiples across 100+ industries, based on 9,500+ small business transactions from BizBuySell.
Red flags in business broker contracts
Key terms and clauses that business owners should understand before engaging a business broker
Stop Waiting for the ‘Right Market’ to Sell Your Business
Small business valuations have held at 2.5-3x SDE for over a decade, uncorrelated with GDP, public markets, or interest rates. Why timing the macro matters less than you think.
When is the best time to sell my business?
Learn why waiting for the 'perfect market' is often a mistake. Main Street valuations remain remarkably stable regardless of economic conditions.
Customer Concentration: Why It Really Matters
Losing 20% of revenue can cost the average business almost 40% of its EBITDA. How operating leverage amplifies customer concentration risk, and what to do about it.
SDE: The Metric That Matters Most in a Main Street Sale
Seller's Discretionary Earnings answers one question: how much cash could a new owner receive from the business at arm's length? Why Main Street is valued on SDE, not EBITDA.
Software Ate Private Equity. Will AI Do the Same for Services?
Software grew from 4% to 16% of PE portfolio value over a decade. If AI makes services scale the way software scaled operations, where does the next wave of capital go?
There Are More Private Equity Funds Than McDonald’s Restaurants
24,885 US private equity funds versus 14,300 McDonald's locations. Assets are consolidating at the top while deal values rise. Could smaller deals be the next battleground?
What does SDE mean for my business?
Understanding Seller Discretionary Earnings is essential whether you're buying, selling, or valuing a small business.
What Is a ‘Searcher’?
5.7% of Main Street buyers are searchers: individuals who raise institutional capital to acquire and operate a single small business. How they differ from other buyers.
Who Actually Buys Main Street Businesses?
Seller interest has grown 2.6x since 2020 while buyer interest stayed flat, but buyers still outnumber sellers 11:1. The three broad categories of Main Street buyer.
5 Differences Between Main Street and Larger M&A Transactions
Intermediaries, deal structure, sale process, buyer profile, and fees all work differently below $5M revenue. Five ways Main Street M&A departs from the mid-market.
3 Criteria for a ‘Sellable’ Business
85% of small businesses fail to sell. Most miss the three minimum requirements buyers need: survivability, transferability, and profitability.
Top 3 Pitfalls When Selling a Business
Navigating offers and negotiations is a daunting task. Here we talk about the top three things to look out for.
"How Much is My Business Worth?"
This article breaks down the key approaches to business valuation to help you understand what your business might be worth.
A Step-by-Step Roadmap to Selling Your Business
Selling a business can be a complex process. We break down the key steps to selling your business.