Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition
The Searcher's Map to Buying a Small Business.
A stage-by-stage roadmap through the entire search, with the best current tools, communities, lenders, and guides at every step.
Thorough
Every resource is evaluated the same way: what it does, current pricing, who it's for, and pros and cons, with sources listed.
Current
Every recommendation is checked against primary sources, and pricing comes from the vendor rather than a roundup.
Practical
Organized around how searches actually run: eight stages from first curiosity to your first 100 days as an owner.
The Roadmap
Eight stages. Each one explains what matters, the questions to answer, the mistakes that cost searchers months, and the best current resources for the job.
Stage 1
Decide if ETA Is for You
Buying a business means running a business. Confirm that is the role you want.
Stage 2
Choose Your Path
Self-funded, investor-backed, or deal-by-deal: the funding model shapes everything downstream.
Stage 3
Set Up & Fund the Search
Entity, runway, tools, and advisors: the groundwork that determines whether your search lasts long enough to close.
Stage 4
Define Your Thesis
Industry, geography, and size: the filter that turns a high volume of listings into a manageable funnel.
Stage 5
Source Deals
On-market coverage plus off-market outreach, run as a weekly discipline. Sourcing is a pipeline, not a browsing habit.
Stage 6
Screen & Value
Decline quickly, scrutinize add-backs, anchor value to financeability, and move decisively on qualified opportunities.
Stage 7
Diligence & Financing
QoE, legal, lenders, and structure: the 60–120 day process between LOI and closing.
Stage 8
Close & Transition
Complete the closing, communicate with every stakeholder, and spend the first 100 days learning before changing.
Tools & Data
All Tools →Path Quiz
Seven questions that map your capital, income needs, and timeline to a recommended search path, with the reasoning shown.
SBA Acquisition Calculator
Estimate the purchase price, loan amount, monthly payment, and required SDE your available cash supports.
Deal Screener
Twelve structured checks across financials, operations, and deal dynamics, returning a clear keep-digging, renegotiate, or walk assessment.
Pipeline Tracker
Track targets from sourced to LOI. Private by default, with optional sync across devices.
Industry Buy Guides
All Guides →Buying an HVAC Business
What the market pays, the licensing and refrigerant issues that decide deals, and the diligence list that separates durable HVAC companies from rigs and a phone number.
Buying a Plumbing Business
Where plumbing multiples actually sit, why the master license decides more deals than price, and the diligence list that separates a service business from an owner with a van.
The Directory, by Category
53 resources across 18 categories, each checked against primary sources.
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