👋 Welcome to Main Street Minute, your shortcut to Main Street acquisitions.
In this edition: How to make a smart offer on a business, 3 real deals to test your gut, and a meme that perfectly roasts every SMB newbie.
Plus: Ready to stop lurking and start doing? Check out our upcoming live events here.
Now let’s get down to business.
-W. Edwards Deming
One of our Deal Coaches recently laid out a clear playbook for a situation almost every buyer runs into:
A seller says, “Just make me an offer…” but gives you no price, no valuation, and maybe not even basic financials.
Here’s how to respond with confidence and clarity.
You can’t price what you can’t see.
Try this script:
“Totally happy to make you an offer, but I wouldn’t bid on a house without knowing how many bedrooms it has. Same goes here. If you can share last year’s P&L and a list of assets or inventory, I can put something together.”
At a minimum, ask for:
Example:
You’re looking at a pool cleaning business. Ask:
Even partial answers help you estimate.
You’re not trying to impress Goldman Sachs. You don’t need forensic accounting, just a directional number. Here’s a rough method:
SDE × Industry Multiple = Valuation Range
Example:
A landscaping biz does $200K in SDE.
At 3x SDE, that’s a ~$600K ballpark offer.
Here’s where most buyers mess up: they lowball without context.
Instead, explain. Frame your offer with three simple pillars:
Reference similar businesses to anchor expectations.
“Here are 2 other local landscaping businesses in the area listed at 2.8x and 3.2x SDE. That helped guide my thinking.”
Walk through your costs — debt payments, hiring, growth risks — to show how it affects what you can pay.
“If I finance this deal, I’ll have a ~$6K monthly loan payment. That eats a big chunk of profit, so I have to price accordingly.”
Talk through how SBA loans and lender requirements cap what they’ll lend.
“SBA lenders usually only lend up to 85-90% of the appraised value, and they require 1.25x debt coverage. That’s why I can’t go higher unless the cash flow supports it.”
This approach makes it feel less personal and more like a smart, data-driven process.
Don’t argue over small stuff. But hold your line on fundamentals.
Smart buyers don’t cave. They create options: seller notes, earn-outs, timing tweaks. Show you’re serious, not desperate.
“I might be able to meet that number if you carry a seller note with favorable terms. That gives me room to operate and keeps you involved in the outcome.”
This signals flexibility, without giving away leverage.
Here’s what to do:
✅ Request key financials (P&L, balance sheet, rough SDE)
✅ Apply a simple multiple to estimate the value
✅ Present your logic, not just a number
✅ Negotiate by offering some creative options
Every week, our members bring real deals to the table… and tear them apart with expert coaches.
We dig into the numbers, challenge assumptions, and sharpen strategy.
With hundreds of recorded calls in the vault, there’s no shortage of lessons.
Here’s a taste:
Lean, profitable, B2B frozen food biz with zero employees and high customer concentration. After nearly 40 years of business, this deal relies on decades of trust and one massive client. This buyer thinks he can grow it — would you?
Off-market deal. No clean financials. No real industry experience. But Olman and Jen hustled their way in, negotiated 75% seller financing, and 3X’d revenue from $370k to $1.25M. Could you do the same?
$3M revenue. $500K SDE. Strong team, but zero pre-close employee access and $400K in working capital needed. Could you pull off a smooth handoff with this biz?
👉 Read the full breakdowns, gauge the numbers, and decide how YOU’D move forward.
😮 Wait… this actually works? A clever way to get student help for SMBs. Read this.
👋 What if they all quit? How to prep for Day 1 walkouts. Read this.
💰 Read this or regret it: 18 ways brokers and sellers inflate prices. Study this.
🧠 Learn to buy a biz: From sourcing to closing, get the full roadmap to acquiring your first (or next) small business. Start here.
The information contained here may not be typical and does not guarantee returns. Background, education, effort, and application will affect your experience. Your results will likely vary.
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