Should I Buy a Dry Cleaning Business?
Dry cleaning is a stable cash-flow business with declining industry headwinds. Typical multiples 2-3x SDE, $200k-$500k purchase prices, and real risks — PERC compliance, aging equipment, and fuel costs. Here’s how to evaluate one.
Buy a Business vs Start One
Buying gives you cash flow, customers, and a team on day one. Starting gives you a clean slate and full equity. Here’s how to decide which path fits your capital, skills, and risk tolerance.
Questions to Ask When Buying a Business
The tactical questions buyers ask in management meetings, customer calls, and employee interviews during diligence. Sample scripts, follow-ups, and the questions that surface what sellers don’t volunteer.
Questions to Ask Before Buying a Business
The complete pre-LOI question list for business buyers. 47 questions across 6 categories — financial, customer, operational, legal, strategic, seller motivation — that determine whether to write the LOI or walk.
Working Capital Adjustment in Acquisitions
How the working capital peg is calculated, why the 12-month trailing average is the most common methodology, how seasonality is handled, and how the post-close true-up works in lower-middle-market deals.
Operational Due Diligence in PE Deals
PE firms hold businesses 5-7 years — so they test more than the numbers. The 9 operational areas they investigate, the timeline, and the red flags that kill deals during diligence.
Financial Due Diligence & QoE Explained
Financial due diligence is the buyer’s deep audit of revenue, EBITDA, working capital, and debt-like items. The full process, sell-side vs buy-side QoE, what testers look for, and what it costs ($25k-$100k+).
Due Diligence vs. Earnest Money for Buyers
From the buyer’s perspective: how due diligence and earnest money work together to derisk a business acquisition. Timeline coordination, who controls each phase, and how contingency mechanics protect your deposit.
Earnest Money vs. Due Diligence Explained
Earnest money is a good-faith deposit (1-5%, often $25k-$250k). Due diligence is the post-LOI investigation period (60-120 days). Here’s how they relate, when the deposit is at risk, and when it’s returned.