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The ContractorExit blog
Plain, practical advice on buying and selling trade businesses in the United States - valuation, the sale process, the legal steps and everything in between.
Why Business Sales Fall Through: The 7 Deal Killers
Why do business sales fall through? Diligence surprises, valuation gaps, financing collapse, lease assignment fights and more, plus how to prevent each one.
ContractorExit Editorial Team 路 18 Sep 2026 路 9 min read
How to Sell a Business Confidentially (Without Employees or Customers Finding Out)
How to sell a business confidentially: blind listings, NDAs before financials, and a staged plan for what to tell employees and customers, and when.
16 Sep 2026 路 9 min read
Selling a Business With Bad Financial Records: How to Fix It Before You List
Unreported cash income is worth zero to a buyer and messy books sink deals. What bad records cost you, and the cleanup plan that recovers the multiple.
14 Sep 2026 路 10 min read
Business Broker Fees: What Brokers Charge and What You Get
Business broker fees run 8% to 12% of the sale price on Main Street deals, with a Lehman-style formula above $1 million - here's what that commission buys.
11 Sep 2026 路 9 min read
How to Sell a Business Without a Broker
Skipping a broker saves 8-12% of the sale price but shifts five jobs onto you: valuing, marketing, negotiating, diligence and closing the sale yourself.
9 Sep 2026 路 9 min read
How Long Does It Take to Sell a Business?
Most businesses take 6 to 12 months from listing to close. What BizBuySell and IBBA Market Pulse data show about time on market and what speeds up a sale.
7 Sep 2026 路 8 min read
Owner Dependence: The Number One Thing Cutting Your Sale Price
Owner dependence is the biggest thing cutting your sale price - worth one to two full turns of SDE. How buyers test for it, and how to fix it before you list.
4 Sep 2026 路 9 min read
How to Prepare Your Business for Sale: The 12-24 Month Checklist
How to prepare a business for sale: the 12-24 month checklist covering management, clean books, contracts and customer diversification before you list.
2 Sep 2026 路 8 min read
How to Sell an Electrical Contracting Business
How to sell an electrical contracting business: the six-stage process, why the qualifier problem gets asked in the first call, and what decides your price.
31 Aug 2026 路 10 min read
How to Sell a Landscaping Business
How to sell a landscaping business: the six-stage process, why timing inside the year matters here more than in any trade, and what decides your price.
28 Aug 2026 路 11 min read
How to Sell an HVAC Business: Process, Buyers and Price
How to sell an HVAC business: the six-stage process, the three buyer types shopping right now, and the maintenance base and licensing that set the price.
26 Aug 2026 路 9 min read
How to Sell a Plumbing Business
How to sell a plumbing business: the six-stage process, where buyers come from, and the license, fleet and contract details that decide your price.
24 Aug 2026 路 8 min read
Trades Business Valuation Multiples by Industry (2026 Data)
SDE and EBITDA valuation multiples by industry for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, cleaning and pest control - and what moves a business within its range.
21 Aug 2026 路 9 min read
Add-Backs in Business Valuation: What Buyers Will Accept
Add-backs decide how much of your reported profit a buyer actually pays for: the standard list, the gray zone, and the fantasy ones that kill deals.
19 Aug 2026 路 10 min read
SDE vs EBITDA: Which One Buyers Use to Value Your Business
SDE vs EBITDA decides which multiple applies to your sale. Here's the exact crossover point, a worked example, and how to tell which one values your business.
14 Aug 2026 路 9 min read
What Is SDE? Seller's Discretionary Earnings Explained
Seller's discretionary earnings is the number every trade business valuation is built on. Here is the formula, every add-back, and a worked example.
10 Aug 2026 路 10 min read
How Much Is a Pest Control Business Worth in 2026?
How much is a pest control business worth? Quarterly route businesses reach 3x-5x SDE, the highest multiple in home services, on recurring route revenue.
3 Aug 2026 路 12 min read
How Much Is a Cleaning Business Worth in 2026?
How much is a cleaning business worth? Most sell at 2x-3.5x SDE - but the contract is the asset, and commercial agreements push good ones past 4x.
27 Jul 2026 路 12 min read
How Much Is a Roofing Company Worth in 2026?
How much is a roofing company worth? BizBuySell data shows a 2.99x SDE median - storm-chaser shops land near 2x, service-oriented roofers reach 3.5x or above.
20 Jul 2026 路 11 min read
How Much Is a Landscaping Business Worth in 2026?
How much is a landscaping business worth? Most sell for 2x to 3.5x SDE - and the maintenance vs design-build split is the biggest factor moving that number.
13 Jul 2026 路 10 min read
How Much Is an Electrical Business Worth in 2026?
How much is an electrical business worth? Most sell for 2x to 3.5x SDE - and the master electrician license structure is the biggest factor moving that number.
6 Jul 2026 路 11 min read
How Much Is a Plumbing Business Worth in 2026?
How much is a plumbing business worth? Service plumbing with maintenance contracts sells at 2.5x-3.5x SDE, new-construction at 1.5x-2.5x SDE.
29 Jun 2026 路 11 min read
How Much Is an HVAC Business Worth in 2026?
How much is an HVAC business worth? Small shops sell at 2x-3.5x SDE, established firms at 5x-7x EBITDA - the maintenance agreement base drives the gap.
22 Jun 2026 路 11 min read
Blue Collar Business Valuation: How Trades Are Priced
Blue collar business valuation explained: SDE vs EBITDA, typical multiple ranges by trade, and the seven factors that move your final price.
15 Jun 2026 路 17 min read
How to Buy a Blue Collar Business: The Complete Guide
How to buy a blue collar business: where to find deals, value them, fund the acquisition, run due diligence, and survive the first 90 days.
10 Jun 2026 路 19 min read
How to Sell a Blue Collar Business: The Complete Guide
How to sell a blue collar business: what it's worth, how to prepare, where buyers come from, how deals are structured, and how to close cleanly.
10 Jun 2026 路 12 min read
How to value a trade business (without overthinking it)
Profit multiples, what moves the number up or down, and why recurring revenue is worth more than you think.
2 Jun 2026 路 6 min read
Selling your business: what actually happens, step by step
From first valuation to completion - the real timeline, who does what, and where deals usually slow down.
28 May 2026 路 8 min read
Why blind listings protect you (and your staff)
Selling quietly matters. Here's how a blind listing keeps your customers, crew and competitors out of it.
19 May 2026 路 4 min read
Buying your first trade business: a buyer's checklist
What to look for in the numbers, the questions to ask, and the red flags that should give you pause.
12 May 2026 路 7 min read
Do I really need a broker and a lawyer to sell?
Short answer: yes, and here's the long answer on what each one does and why it pays for itself.
5 May 2026 路 5 min read
Getting your books sale-ready before you list
Clean numbers sell businesses faster and for more. The simple tidy-up that makes buyers comfortable.
28 Apr 2026 路 6 min read
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