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Answers for people buying businesses and building holding companies.
Practical, sourced answers for first-time buyers, searchers, and owners buying their second business and beyond. Written by Joel Arberman, who has taken 17 companies public and advises acquisition entrepreneurs through Meraki Partners, LLC. Our view is that the most valuable acquisition strategy is a holding company, and at scale, sometimes a public one.
Start here
- How do you build a holding company for acquisitions?
- Should a holding company go public, and at what size?
- What does an acquisition adviser cost compared with a course or mastermind?
Building a holding company
For searchers and owners buying their second business and beyond: structure, capital, roll-ups, paying sellers in stock, and whether to go public.
Which model: search fund, self-funded or independent sponsor
- Traditional search fund or self-funded search: which is right for me?
- What's the difference between a self-funded searcher and an independent sponsor?
- ETA, search fund, independent sponsor or holding company: what's the difference?
- What percentage of searchers actually buy a business, and how do the returns turn out?
- How do you know when to give up on your search?
Investor terms and the step-up
- What are standard investor terms for a self-funded search?
- How does an equity step-up work in a search deal?
- How does the waterfall and preferred return work in a self-funded deal?
- What are typical independent sponsor fees and carry?
- How much salary can I pay myself after buying a business with investors?
The second acquisition
- I already own a business. How do I finance buying a second one?
- Can I use an SBA loan to buy a second business?
- Is my first business a platform, or just a business?
- Should a second business sit under my company, a sister LLC, or a new holding company?
- How do you fund acquisitions two through ten without more SBA debt?
- How do you buy a competitor?
Structuring the holding company
- What is a holding company and what does it do?
- What are the pros and cons of a holding company?
- How do you set up a holding company for multiple LLCs?
- Should a holding company be an LLC or a C-corp?
- How much does it cost to set up a holding company?
- How do you move an existing business under a new holding company?
- How do you value a holding company?
- Who should be on a holding company's first board and advisory team?
Roll-ups and multiple arbitrage
- What is multiple arbitrage and how do roll-ups create value?
- How do you run a roll-up as a small business owner?
- Why do roll-ups fail?
- What's the multiple difference between an add-on and a platform?
- Which industries work for small business roll-ups?
- Should you sell to a private equity platform or build your own?
Paying sellers in stock, rollover and earnouts
- How do you pay a seller with stock instead of cash?
- What is rollover equity and how much is typical?
- How do earnouts work in a small business acquisition?
- Why do sellers accept public stock more readily than private stock?
- Can a seller defer taxes by taking stock?
Raising capital for the holding company
- How do you raise capital for a holding company before the first acquisition?
- Family office, private equity or your own network: who should fund your holding company?
- Fund, holding company or deal-by-deal SPVs: how should you raise?
- When should you raise capital: before or after you find a deal?
- How do investors in a holding company get liquidity if you never sell?
When a holding company should go public
- Can a holding company with $1 million to $5 million in revenue go public?
- Public roll-up vs private roll-up: how does the math compare?
- Does being public actually help a company make acquisitions?
- Which small holding companies have gone public, and what happened?
Routes and costs
- What are the ways a holding company can go public?
- What does it cost to take a holding company public and keep it public?
- What happens to SBA loans when the parent company goes public?
Operating as a public holding company
- How do you avoid dilution in a public roll-up?
- How do sellers who take public stock get liquidity?
- What finance team does a public holding company need?
Adviser vs course
- Are business-buying courses and masterminds worth the money?
- What should an acquisition mentor actually give you?
Buying your first business
For first-time buyers: readiness, finding deals, financing and SBA loans, valuation, diligence, letters of intent, closing and the first 90 days.
Am I ready to buy a business?
- Am I ready to buy a business with no ownership experience?
- How much money should I have saved before I start looking for a business?
- Can I get an SBA loan to buy a business if I quit my job?
- Do I need industry experience to buy a business?
- Does my spouse have to sign the personal guarantee, and how do I talk to them about it?
- How do I know when I should buy a business?
Buy, start or franchise
- Should I buy a business or start one?
- Franchise resale or independent business: which is better for a first-time buyer?
- Why would anyone sell a profitable business?
- Is the baby boomer wave of business sales real?
Finding deals
- Where do you find good businesses for sale?
- How do you find off-market businesses for sale?
- What should a first letter to a business owner say?
- How do you set acquisition criteria (a buy box)?
- How many businesses do you need to look at before you buy one?
Business brokers
- Do I need a business broker to buy a business?
- Who pays the business broker when you buy a business?
- How do you get business brokers to take you seriously?
- Why won't the broker share financials before an LOI?
How much cash do I need?
- How much cash do I need to buy a business?
- Can you really buy a business with no money down?
- How do you finance buying a business?
- Can I use my 401(k) to buy a business (ROBS)?
- What does buying a business cost beyond the down payment?
- Are there grants to buy a small business?
- What are creative ways to finance buying a business?
SBA 7(a) acquisition loans
- What are the SBA 7(a) rules for buying a business, as of October 2026?
- How does an SBA loan to buy a business work?
- Can a seller note count toward the SBA 10% down payment?
- How much will a bank lend to buy a business?
- Can I avoid the personal guarantee on an SBA loan?
- Do I need a trade license to buy an HVAC or plumbing business with an SBA loan?
- SBA loan or seller financing: which is better?
Seller financing and creative structures
- How does seller financing work when you buy a business?
- What are typical seller note terms?
- How do you ask a seller to finance part of the deal?
- What is a full-standby seller note, and why do sellers resist it?
- Can investors fund my down payment, and what do I give up?
Valuation
- How are small businesses valued?
- What is the difference between SDE and EBITDA?
- Which add-backs are legitimate, and which should you question?
- How do you tell a good deal from a bad deal?
- Does the asking price include inventory, receivables and working capital?
- How much should I pay for a business?
Due diligence
- What questions should you ask when buying a business?
- How do you verify that a seller's numbers are real?
- What is on a due diligence checklist for buying a small business?
- Do you need a quality of earnings report to buy a small business?
- How do you know whether a business can run without its owner?
- How much customer concentration is too much?
Red flags
- What are the red flags when buying a business?
- What do you do when a seller won't share financials?
- Should you buy a business with declining revenue?
- How do you value a business with unreported cash income?
- When should you renegotiate and when should you walk away?
LOI and negotiation
- Should you offer the asking price in your letter of intent?
- Is a letter of intent binding?
- What should a letter of intent to buy a business include?
- What happens after you sign a letter of intent?
- How do you compete when other buyers want the same business?
Asset vs stock and what's included
- Asset purchase or stock purchase: which should a buyer choose?
- Are inventory and receivables included when you buy a business?
- What is a working capital peg?
- What happens to the lease when you buy a business?
Taxes and legal
- What is purchase price allocation (Form 8594), and why does it matter?
- What kind of entity should you buy a business through?
- What do lawyers and accountants cost when you buy a business?
- What should the seller's non-compete say?
Timeline and closing
- How long does it take to buy a business?
- How long does an SBA acquisition loan take to close?
- What has to be done before closing day?
First 90 days
- What should you do in the first 90 days after buying a business?
- How do you keep employees after you buy a business?
- How long should the seller stay after the sale?
- What should you build in year one if you plan to buy more businesses?
Industry guides
- What should you know before buying an HVAC business?
- Is buying a laundromat a good investment?
- What should you know before buying a car wash?
- What should you know before buying a cleaning business?
- What should you know before buying a property management company?
- What should you know before buying a construction company?
- What should you know before buying a liquor store?
- Should you buy a restaurant?
- What should you know before buying an online business?
- Which "boring" businesses are worth buying?
Partners, investors and your deal team
- Should you buy a business with a partner?
- Who should be on your deal team, and when do you hire them?
- How do you line up investors before you have a deal?
- What books, podcasts and communities should a business buyer use?
Meraki Dealmakers is a service of Meraki Partners, LLC, an advisory firm. It is not a broker-dealer, investment adviser, business broker, law firm or accounting firm. Articles are general information, not legal, tax or investment advice. Reviewed October 2026.
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Meraki Dealmakers is a service of Meraki Partners, LLC.
Meraki Partners, LLC is an advisory firm. It is not a broker-dealer, investment adviser, business broker, law firm or accounting firm, and does not solicit investors or receive compensation based on capital raised.
© 2026 Meraki Partners, LLC