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Notes from the
middle of a deal.

Valuation, deal structure, diligence, financing, and the tax treatment that quietly decides how much of the headline number reaches your account. Written as the questions come up in real transactions, not as content.

Anyone can buy a trophy. The test is the reference call.
Insights

Who Is the Best Business Broker in Atlanta? An Honest Way to Decide

Every broker claims to be the best business broker in Atlanta. Here is a test you can run on all of us in one phone call, the evidence we put behind our own claim, and the cases where the best broker for you is genuinely somebody else.

September 3, 2026  ·  7 min  ·  Read the piece →
The cost of money is set a long way from your P&L
Insights

How Interest Rates Set the Price of Your Business

Your buyer borrows the purchase price, so the Fed helps set it. How SBA coverage math turns a rate hike into a smaller supportable loan, what that does to your proceeds, and the parts of the equation an owner actually controls.

September 1, 2026  ·  8 min  ·  Read the piece →
Atlanta at golden hour
Selling

Selling Your Business Before Rates Rise Again: Using the Lead Time Well

Futures markets price 64% odds of a September hike and 88% odds rates end the year higher. What that means for an owner planning an exit: why the rate that matters is the one at funding, and how to spend the lead time.

September 1, 2026  ·  7 min  ·  Read the piece →
Downtown Atlanta from above at dusk
Buying

Buying a Business When Rates Are Rising

The 7(a) quote you sign is not the quote that funds. How a buyer stress tests a deal against the Fed, what the October 1 SBA rules change, and why a hiking cycle quietly favors the prepared buyer.

September 1, 2026  ·  7 min  ·  Read the piece →
Working through how a deal gets paid for
Insights

How Business Deals Are Structured: Price, Seller Notes, Earnouts and Escrow

Two offers at the same price can be worth hundreds of thousands apart once the structure is written down. Cash at closing, SBA equity injection rules, seller notes on full standby, earnouts, escrow and purchase price allocation.

August 15, 2026  ·  8 min  ·  Read the piece →
Atlanta at night from the interstate
Valuation

What Is My Business Worth? A Practical Guide for Atlanta Business Owners

What is my business worth in Atlanta? Learn how SDE, EBITDA, and industry multiples determine business value, from a broker who sells businesses in the Atlanta metro.

August 12, 2026  ·  8 min  ·  Read the piece →
An owner in their workshop
Selling

How to Sell Your Business in Atlanta: The Complete Guide

The complete guide to selling your business in Atlanta. From valuation and confidentiality to buyer qualification, negotiations, and closing. Free consultation available.

August 6, 2026  ·  8 min  ·  Read the piece →
Atlanta at sunset
Buying

How to Buy a Business in Atlanta: A Buyer’s Complete Guide

Step-by-step guide to buying an existing business in Atlanta. Learn how to find opportunities, evaluate deals, secure financing, and successfully transition into ownership.

July 22, 2026  ·  10 min  ·  Read the piece →
Working through figures with an accountant
Taxes

Taxes on Selling a Business in Georgia: What You'll Owe and How to Keep More

Taxes on selling a business in Georgia, capital gains vs ordinary income, asset vs stock sale, and strategies to keep more of the proceeds. From an Atlanta broker.

July 9, 2026  ·  11 min  ·  Read the piece →
A business owner in a cafe
Insights

Do I Need a Business Broker? Costs, Fees & How to Choose

Do I need a business broker to sell or buy a business? An Atlanta broker breaks down what they do, what they charge, when you need one, and when you might not.

July 2, 2026  ·  9 min  ·  Read the piece →
The Atlanta skyline from Midtown
Buying

Where to Buy a Business in Atlanta | Submarket Guide

Where to buy a business in Atlanta - a neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide for buyers covering demographics, lease rates, labor pools, and which submarkets fit which industries.

June 12, 2026  ·  11 min  ·  Read the piece →
A deal closing with a handshake
Financing

How Business Deals Get Structured: Seller Financing, Earn-Outs, and Deal Terms Explained

Understand how small business deals are structured in Atlanta. Asset vs stock sales, seller financing, earn-outs, SBA terms, and what to expect on both sides of the table.

June 5, 2026  ·  8 min  ·  Read the piece →
A commercial building
Real estate

Should I Sell My Business With the Real Estate, or Keep the Property?

Should you sell your business with real estate or keep the property? An Atlanta broker breaks down 4 options, package sale, lease-back, sale-leaseback, or split sale.

May 29, 2026  ·  10 min  ·  Read the piece →
A physician in a medical practice corridor
Selling

How to Sell a Medical Practice in Atlanta | Owner's Guide

How to sell a medical practice in Atlanta - valuation, credentialing, PE buyers vs physician buyers, patient retention, and the regulatory issues that make medical unique.

May 14, 2026  ·  13 min  ·  Read the piece →
The interior of a restaurant before service
Selling

How to Sell a Restaurant in Atlanta | Owner's Guide

How to sell a restaurant in Atlanta - valuation, lease, liquor license transfer, buyer types, and the prep work that separates restaurants that sell from ones that don't.

May 1, 2026  ·  10 min  ·  Read the piece →
A home services technician at a work van
Selling

Sell a Home Services Business in Atlanta | Owner's Guide

How to sell a home services business in Atlanta - plumbing, electrical, pest control, landscaping, and more. Valuations by trade, PE demand, and how to prepare your exit.

April 13, 2026  ·  11 min  ·  Read the piece →
An HVAC technician working on rooftop units
Selling

How to Sell an HVAC Business in Georgia | Owner's Guide

How to sell an HVAC business in Georgia - PE roll-up demand, valuation multiples, maintenance agreements, and how to position your company for the strongest exit now.

March 31, 2026  ·  10 min  ·  Read the piece →
A lender meeting over loan documents
Financing

How to Get an SBA Loan to Buy a Business: Requirements, Rates, and the Real Process

How to get an SBA loan to buy a business in Atlanta, down payment requirements, 7(a) vs 504, realistic timelines, and what lenders actually look at. From a business broker.

March 23, 2026  ·  9 min  ·  Read the piece →
The Walnut Street Bridge and the Chattanooga skyline
Valuation

What Is My Business Worth? A Practical Guide for Chattanooga Business Owners

What is my business worth in Chattanooga? How SDE, EBITDA and multiples set the price, what Tennessee franchise and excise tax takes out of it, and how the Georgia state line changes a deal.

March 9, 2026  ·  11 min  ·  Read the piece →
An attorney reviewing documents
Ownership

Divorce & Selling a Business in Georgia: Owner's Guide

Going through a divorce and own a business in Georgia? How the business gets valued, your options for keeping or selling it, and the mistakes that cost owners most.

February 17, 2026  ·  10 min  ·  Read the piece →
Advisors reviewing a financial plan
Financing

Financial Planning for Selling a Business | Exit Guide

Financial planning before and after selling a business - the full exit planning timeline from 3 years out through post-sale. Tax strategy, estate planning, and wealth preservation.

February 4, 2026  ·  13 min  ·  Read the piece →
An owner taking a call from the office
Selling

How to Sell Your Business in Chattanooga: The Complete Guide

The complete guide to selling a business in Chattanooga. Tennessee entity and tax decisions, confidentiality in a metro of 588,000, two-state files, buyer qualification and closing.

January 29, 2026  ·  10 min  ·  Read the piece →
Two parties across a table with an agreement
Ownership

Business Partner Buyout: Exit Options, Valuation & Process

Your business partner wants out. How to handle a business partner buyout - valuation, funding options, operating agreement provisions, and the mistakes that destroy value.

January 9, 2026  ·  12 min  ·  Read the piece →
The Chattanooga riverfront at dusk
Buying

How to Buy a Business in Chattanooga: A Buyer’s Complete Guide

A step-by-step guide to buying a business in Chattanooga. Where to look, SBA financing under SOP 50 10 8, Tennessee licensing that does not transfer, two-state diligence and the first 90 days.

December 29, 2025  ·  10 min  ·  Read the piece →
Reviewing a funding structure on paper
Financing

Use Your 401(k) to Buy a Business (ROBS): Risks & Costs

Can you use your 401(k) or IRA to buy a business? How ROBS works, what it costs, where it makes sense, and where it goes wrong. From an Atlanta business broker.

December 18, 2025  ·  9 min  ·  Read the piece →
Ross’s Landing and the downtown riverfront
Buying

Where to Buy a Business in Chattanooga: A Submarket Guide

A submarket-by-submarket guide to buying a business in the Chattanooga metro, from Enterprise South and the airport industrial belt to Northshore, Ooltewah and the Georgia counties.

December 1, 2025  ·  9 min  ·  Read the piece →
A client meeting with a financial advisor
Selling

What to Do With Money After Selling a Business | Guide

What to do with money after selling a business - taxes, financial team, investment framework, and the emotional transition. From an Atlanta business broker who's seen it all.

November 24, 2025  ·  10 min  ·  Read the piece →
An advisor across the desk
Insights

Do I Need a Business Broker in Chattanooga?

When a Chattanooga business owner needs a broker and when they do not. What the fee buys, why the buyer pool sits outside the metro, and what a two-state file actually requires.

November 12, 2025  ·  8 min  ·  Read the piece →
Terms agreed over the numbers
Financing

Seller Financing and Deal Structure in Chattanooga

How seller notes, earn-outs and escrows actually work in a Chattanooga sale, what SBA rules changed on June 1 2025, and how Tennessee taxes an installment sale at the entity level.

October 31, 2025  ·  9 min  ·  Read the piece →
Modeling the two transactions as one closing
Real estate

Selling a Business With the Real Estate in Chattanooga

Selling a Chattanooga business that owns its building. How to structure the two transactions, Tennessee against Georgia transfer tax, franchise tax on net worth, and what SBA financing allows.

October 17, 2025  ·  8 min  ·  Read the piece →
Billing and payer records across a table
Selling

How to Sell a Medical Practice in Chattanooga

Selling a medical practice in Chattanooga. Why Tennessee’s corporate practice of medicine rules narrow your buyer pool, how the hospital systems buy, payer concentration and certificate of need.

October 3, 2025  ·  9 min  ·  Read the piece →
The deal that closes after the licensing is solved
Selling

How to Sell a Home Services Business in Chattanooga

Selling an HVAC, plumbing, electrical or landscaping company in Chattanooga. The Tennessee contractor license that does not transfer, the Georgia reciprocity gap, and what recurring revenue is worth.

September 18, 2025  ·  9 min  ·  Read the piece →
Working through the numbers a buyer will ask for
Selling

How to Sell a Restaurant in Chattanooga

Selling a restaurant in Chattanooga: what a liquor-by-the-drink license does to your buyer pool, how tourism seasonality is underwritten, the lease, and what the numbers have to show.

September 3, 2025  ·  8 min  ·  Read the piece →
Start here

The first conversation is
just a conversation.

Forty minutes, your financials, and an honest read on what your business would bring today and what it would bring in two years. No listing agreement comes out of it.

eXp COMMERCIALMAYNARD NEXSEN