ServicesSell a Business
Sell a Business in Lockhart
We sell established private businesses for their owners, from the first valuation through closing day. The same small team prepares your numbers, screens buyers under a signed confidentiality agreement and works the deal to the finish, so you are never handed off to someone who has not learned your company.
What selling with us actually involves
A buyer is not purchasing your equipment or your sign. They are buying a stream of cash flow, so most of the work in a sale is proving that cash flow is real, repeatable and able to survive a change of owner. We recast your financials into seller's discretionary earnings, document every add-back, and package it so a buyer and their lender can verify it without months of back-and-forth.
This is the right page if you plan to exit within the next year or so and want the sale handled quietly while you keep running the company. If you are three to five years out, our exit planning work is the better starting point. If you only need a defensible number, see business valuation.
Putting your company on the market with us costs you nothing up front. You sign no retainer, and no surprise charges appear later in the paperwork. Our compensation comes out of the sale itself, after you as the seller are paid, so our time goes to deals that can actually close.
What the sale includes
- Recast financials and pricing
- We rebuild three years of tax returns and profit-and-loss statements into a single earnings figure, separating owner salary, personal expenses run through the company and one-time costs. That number drives your asking price, and it has to hold up when a lender's underwriter tests it.
- Blind listing and confidential memorandum
- Your listing runs as a blind profile with no name, location detail or anything that identifies the company. Buyers see the full confidential information memorandum only after signing a nondisclosure agreement.
- Buyer qualification
- Before anyone meets you, we check liquidity, relevant experience and whether they can realistically qualify for SBA 7(a) financing. New listings go to registered buyers first, so early conversations are usually with people already screened.
- Offer and letter of intent negotiation
- Price is one line of a deal. We negotiate cash at closing, any seller note, working capital, inventory, the non-compete and how long you stay on to train the new owner.
- Due diligence and closing
- We build the document list, keep the data room organized, answer the lender's questions and push the landlord for lease assignment. Then we coordinate with your attorney and CPA on the purchase agreement and the purchase price allocation, which affects your taxes.
Signs it is time to sell
Unsolicited offers keep arriving
A competitor or customer asking to buy you is a signal the market sees value. One unprompted offer is rarely the best one; a marketed sale with several qualified buyers usually tells you what the company is really worth.
Your books are clean and earnings are steady
Two or three years of stable or rising earnings is the strongest selling window. Buyers and lenders pay for a trend, and a dip in the last year before listing can cost more than it looks.
A lease renewal is coming up
Most buyers and their lenders want lease term that covers the loan. Selling before you sign a renewal, or negotiating an assignment clause into it, keeps your options open.
You are running the company on habit
Owner fatigue shows up in the numbers within a year or two. Selling while you still have the energy to support a transition protects both the price and the business you built.
How our fee and your net proceeds are shaped
Our fee is a success fee paid from the sale proceeds at closing, and nothing is due when you sign the listing agreement. We put the fee in writing before you commit. What changes your outcome most is how the deal is built, so these are the factors we walk through with you.
Size and complexity of the deal
A single-location company with clean books is a simpler sale than a multi-site operation with inventory, several entities or a partner buyout attached.
Real estate in the transaction
If you own the building, selling it with the company changes financing, appraisal and timeline. Our business and property sales work covers that structure.
Asset sale or stock sale
Most small companies sell as asset sales, and the purchase price allocation among equipment, goodwill and the non-compete changes how much of the price you keep after taxes.
Seller financing and earnouts
Carrying a seller note can widen your buyer pool and support a higher price, but part of your money arrives over time instead of at closing.
How a sale moves from first call to closing
- 1
Confidential valuation call
We talk through your company, your goals and your timeline. You send recent financials, and we come back with a valuation and a frank view of what a buyer will question.
- 2
Preparation and packaging
We recast the financials, write the confidential memorandum and agree on asking price and terms with you. The same people who did your valuation write the package.
- 3
Marketing and screening
The blind listing goes out, registered buyers hear first, and every inquiry signs an NDA and passes our financial screen before getting details.
- 4
Offers and letter of intent
We bring you qualified offers, explain how each one pays out after taxes and financing, and negotiate the letter of intent.
- 5
Due diligence and closing
We manage document requests, lender underwriting and landlord consent, then work alongside your attorney and CPA until funds transfer and keys change hands.
Questions owners ask before selling
Will my employees and customers find out I am selling?
Not from us. The listing is blind, buyers sign an NDA before learning your name, and we schedule site visits after hours or present them as something routine. Most owners tell key staff only after the letter of intent is signed or near closing.
How long does it take to sell a business?
It varies with the company, but most sales take several months from listing to closing. Due diligence and lender underwriting are often the longest stretch. Clean, organized records shorten it noticeably.
Do I have to stay on after the sale?
Usually for a short transition, which is negotiated in the letter of intent. Buyers and SBA lenders want to see the owner introduce key customers and suppliers. We work to keep that period defined and reasonable.
What if the buyer needs a loan?
Most buyers of small companies use SBA financing, often combined with a seller note. We prepare your package with lender requirements in mind, and our acquisition financing guidance helps buyers get approved so your deal does not stall.
Do you work with owners outside Lockhart?
Yes. We regularly talk with business owners in Luling, San Marcos, Kyle and Buda. Most of our sit-downs take place in our office or over a phone or video call, so a seller an hour's drive away gets the same attention as one across town.
Find out what your business would sell for
Start with a free, confidential valuation and an honest read on what buyers will look at first. The person you speak with is the person who will work your sale.