The business broker
YOU JUSTWANT OUT
Some mornings the honest reason you are thinking about selling is that you are tired. The business has run on you for years, and the way out that comes to mind is a broker who finds a buyer and hands you a check. The trouble is the timing.
Four minutes, no card. Free, and everything you see is yours to keep.
The usual move
A business broker markets the business, screens buyers, and manages the deal to close. They engage when you are ready to list, which is the moment it is too late to change the number.
Give it its due
What a broker does
- Markets the business, finds and screens buyers, and runs the deal from LOI to close.
- Handles the negotiation and the process, which is real work you do not want to do alone.
- The right partner when you are actually ready to sell.
The gap
Why they arrive too late
- A broker is paid to close the sale in front of them, not to spend three years raising your multiple before it.
- They will not tell you what you are doing wrong while you still have time to fix it.
- By the time a broker is at the table, the discount for running on you is already priced in.
The long game
The daily trap and the discount are the same problem.
The value a broker sells is built in the years before they show up, and it is the same work that gets your life back now. An owner-dependent service business trades near 1.65x SDE, an owner-light one near 3.5x, a $555,000 gap on $300,000 of earnings. Two to three years before you list is when that gap is still yours to close. The free diagnostic shows what a buyer will see and what to fix first, so you walk into the broker meeting with the number already built.
owner-dependent vs owner-light on identical earnings, a $555,000 gap on $300,000 of SDE
Straight talk
If the business already runs without you and you are ready to list this year, a good broker is exactly who you want.
First, see what a buyer will priceWhat the diagnostic actually reads
Eighteen questions, four minutes. It reads the business on the three things a buyer prices, estimates a sale price, and names the first thing keeping the business tied to you. Free.
Business Independence Score
Can the business run without you?
The single value driver inside your control. It reads how much the business still depends on you personally, which is what a buyer discounts hardest.
Systems Maturity Score
How documented and repeatable are your operations?
Whether the work lives in written systems or in your head. Documented operations transfer; undocumented ones leave with you.
Acquisition Attractiveness Score
What would a buyer see when they look at your business?
The buyer’s-eye view: recurring revenue, customer concentration, clean books, and the risks that move the multiple.
Common questions
- Should I use a business broker to sell my business?
- A business broker is worth it when you are actually ready to sell, because they run the marketing, buyer screening, and deal process you should not do alone. What they will not do is spend the years before the sale raising your multiple, because they are paid to close the deal in front of them. Use a broker for the sale, and the years before it to build the number, which the free diagnostic reads today.
- How do I get the most money when I sell my business?
- Get the business off yourself two to three years before you list, because that is what moves the multiple and it takes time to show in the books. Owner-dependence alone is the difference between roughly 1.65x and 3.5x SDE, a $555,000 swing on $300,000 of earnings. The free diagnostic ranks which lever raises your number most, so you close the gap before a broker prices it in.
Free in four minutes
Find the first thing keeping the business tied to you
Three scores, an estimated sale price, and the ranked list of what is discounting your value, read against ten years of real closed transactions.
See what to hand off firstFree in 4 minutes, no credit card. Add your email to see your scores and estimated sale price.
Keystone gives an estimated sale price, not a formal appraisal. For a certified number in a sale, a loan, or a dispute, work with an accredited business valuator. This comparison reflects how these options differ as of 2026.