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Open guide →How to Buy a Small Business: A Beginner’s Step-by-Step Guide
A practical 12-step guide to finding, evaluating, financing, and purchasing an existing small business for the first time.
BUSINESS BUYER LEARNING CENTER
Learn how to buy a business, step by step.
Clear guides, checklists, and calculators that help you move from your first search through diligence, closing, and transition.
PRACTICAL RESOURCES
Answers for every stage of the purchase
Each guide explains the topic, shows what to verify, and connects you to the next step.
Beginner’s starting guide
Learn what buying an existing business involves, how long it can take, who helps, and the mistakes first-time buyers should avoid.
Read guide →Due diligence checklist
A structured checklist for verifying a small business’s financial, legal, operational, commercial, employee, and technology information.
Read guide →Small-business valuation
Understand SDE, EBITDA, valuation multiples, asset value, working capital, and the risks that change what a small business may be worth.
Read guide →Business acquisition financing
Compare SBA-backed lending, conventional loans, seller financing, buyer equity, and outside investors when purchasing a small business.
Read guide →SBA loans for acquisitions
A plain-language overview of how SBA 7(a) financing may be used for a business acquisition and what buyers should prepare.
Read guide →Questions for sellers and brokers
Use these questions to understand why a business is for sale, how it earns money, what depends on the owner, and which risks require verification.
Read guide →Business purchase LOI
Learn what a letter of intent commonly covers, which provisions may be binding, and what buyers should settle before due diligence.
Read guide →NDA for a business purchase
Understand why sellers require confidentiality agreements and what buyers should review before receiving sensitive business information.
Read guide →Asset vs. equity purchase
A beginner-friendly explanation of how asset and equity business purchases differ in ownership, liabilities, contracts, taxes, and closing mechanics.
Read guide →Estimate your buying budget
Estimate the down payment, closing costs, working capital, reserves, and debt coverage involved in purchasing an existing business.
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