Self-funded search

Definition

Searching on your own money and keeping most of the ownership.

Why It Matters

It is the most common path today and the least documented. You search on your own dime and buy with an SBA loan and your own equity, keeping most or all of the ownership and every bit of the control, in exchange for carrying the personal guarantee and the search costs yourself.

In numbers: A $4M purchase financed with a 90% SBA loan needs about $400,000 of equity injection, and that figure decides whether this path is open to you at all.