What Is My Business Worth?
Buyers start with the cash flow they can verify in your tax returns. They adjust that number for risk, and the adjustment is what sets the multiple.
ReadNotes on selling your business
The posts below answer the questions owners ask us most before they sell, in the same plain terms we use on a call.
What we buy, at a glance
The basics of a RockHaven deal, in one place.
- Revenue
- $1M to $10M a year
- Businesses
- Commercial cleaning
Staffing and recruiting
Agencies and consulting firms
Bookkeeping
IT services and MSPs
Home and commercial services
Light manufacturing
Specialty distribution
Sign and print shops
RV parks and campgrounds
Laundromats
Fire protection services - Geography
- Anywhere in the continental United States
- How we buy
- Full buyouts. Cash at close, with seller financing where it fits.
- The buyer
- You deal directly with us, the buyer One conversation with the buyer, not a parade of strangers through your business.
- Seller fees
- Sellers pay no fees at any point You keep the money a broker would take.
- Privacy
- Every conversation stays confidential Your staff, customers, and competitors never find out from a listing.
The listed route, by the numbers
Why so many owners look for a direct buyer instead.
170 days
Median time to close for a business that sells through the market
Source: BizBuySell, 2025 Year in Review. Counts businesses that sold.
20 to 30%
Of businesses that go to market ever sell at all
Source: Exit Planning Institute estimate. Based on owner readiness survey data, not a census of listings.
Take our free five-minute assessment to get an estimate of what your business could sell for.
What's My Business Worth? Book a CallStart with the question you have today
Posts are grouped by topic below. Pick the group that matches where you are, or jump straight to it here.
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What your business is worth
How a sale works, step by step
Getting ready to sell
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What your business is worth
3 postsCash flow, the multiple, and the risks buyers price into an offer. A straight number early, with the reason behind it.
SDE vs. EBITDA: Which One Prices Your Business?
SDE and EBITDA treat owner pay differently, so the same business can produce two very different prices. We run one set of books both ways to show where the gap comes from.
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Customer Concentration: The Quiet Price Killer
When one customer makes up a large share of revenue, buyers price that risk into the offer. Two businesses with the same profit can get very different prices for this reason alone.
ReadHow a sale works, step by step
4 postsThe direct sale, the paperwork, and the checks a buyer runs before closing.
Selling Your Business Without a Broker
You sell directly to the buyer with no listing and no broker taking a cut.
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Seller Financing, Explained in Plain Terms
You receive part of the price in payments after closing instead of all of it on the day you sell. The example inside uses illustrative numbers and covers what happens if the buyer misses a payment.
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What a Letter of Intent Actually Commits You To
Most of a letter of intent is not binding, but the exclusivity clause is. That clause takes you off the market while the buyer checks the business.
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How Due Diligence Works When You Sell a Business
After you agree on price, the buyer checks that the business matches what you showed them. The records buyers ask for first are listed here along with the problems that stop most closings.
ReadTake our free five-minute assessment to get an estimate of what your business could sell for.
What's My Business Worth? Book a CallGetting ready to sell
3 postsThe books, the team, and the business that runs without you in it every day.
Preparing Your Books Before You Sell
If your books mix personal spending with business spending, buyers will pay you less for it. Cleaning it up before you talk to a buyer is far easier than explaining it during diligence.
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Reducing Owner Dependence Before You Sell
If the business stops when you leave, buyers pay less for it. The test inside asks what would break if you were gone for thirty days, because that shows you what to fix before you sell.
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What Happens to Your Employees When You Sell?
Most owners ask about their people before they ask about price. This covers when a crew is told about a sale and what usually stays the same after closing.
ReadSelling by sector
5 postsWhat buyers look for in your kind of company, sector by sector.
How to Sell a Staffing Company
With staffing, buyers care about two things: who your clients are and whether the work keeps coming back. If placements churn, the price drops.
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How to Sell a Marketing Agency
Agencies look bigger than they are when ad spend runs through the P&L. Buyers strip that out and price you on clients who actually stay.
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How to Sell an MSP
For an MSP, value rests on contracted monthly revenue under signed agreements. Buyers look at agreement length and gross margin before they discuss a multiple.
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How to Sell a Landscaping Company
Buyers pay for dense routes and recurring maintenance. One-off cleanups do not count for much because you have to win that work again every year.
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How to Sell a Commercial Cleaning Company
In commercial cleaning, the signed contracts are what a buyer is actually buying. Contract length and pricing decide what the book is worth.
ReadTake our free five-minute assessment to get an estimate of what your business could sell for.
What's My Business Worth?