Sell Your Business at a Premium by Understanding Buyer Financing [Ep.202]

When many entrepreneurs go to sell their business, they're more focused on their business than on the buyer. Understanding how buyers approach an acquisition, particularly when it comes to funding and deal structure, can help you position your business for the most profitable exit. In this episode of The Opportunity podcast, Greg breaks down how buyers actually think when evaluating an acquisition and why financing plays such a critical role in deal outcomes. While sellers often fixate on valuation, buyers are just as focused on how they will pay for the business and how much risk they are taking on.

Greg walks us through how SBA loans can allow buyers to bring more cash to the table, and why small mistakes with these loans by sellers often cause deals to fall apart. He also explores alternative funding options like revenue-based financing and how buyers use leverage and other people's money to acquire businesses more efficiently.

The conversation dives into seller financing and earnouts, not as compromises, but as powerful deal-making tools that can expand the buyer pool and unlock higher overall valuations. Greg also shares why setting up a US entity can make your business more attractive to buyers, especially for international sellers.

If you're thinking about selling in the next few years, this episode will help you start positioning your business as a scalable, buyer-friendly machine that buyers can confidently finance and pay a premium for.

Topics Discussed in this episode:

• Thinking like a buyer and understanding buyer financing tools (00:52)
• SBA loans and how they dramatically increase money upfront (03:21)
• The biggest SBA mistake sellers make and how deals fall apart (04:31)
• Alternative funding options like revenue-based financing (06:31)
• How buyers use leverage and other people's money to acquire businesses (08:19)
• Seller financing and earnouts as deal-making tools (09:53)
• Why setting up a US entity can dramatically improve exit outcomes (14:34)
• Positioning your business as a scalable, buyer-friendly machine (16:03)

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Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how to make your business 'funding friendly'.