You built it over years. Buyers will price it in minutes — off one number and a multiple. Run the same math they will: real 2026 market multiples, a defensible value range, and an Exit-Readiness Score that shows exactly what's holding your price down.
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Most small businesses sell for 2 to 4 times their Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE). Across 9,500+ closed transactions in 2025 the all-industry average was about 2.5× SDE, and the Q1 2026 median was 2.7×. A business with $200,000 of verified SDE is therefore worth roughly $500,000–$540,000 at market averages — before industry, size, and risk adjustments move the number.
SRC: BizBuySell Insight Reports, 2025 & Q1 2026SDE is the total annual benefit an owner-operator takes from the business: net profit plus the owner's salary and benefits, interest, depreciation, amortization, and one-time or personal expenses. It's the standard pricing metric for owner-operated businesses under roughly $5M in revenue — because it answers the only question a buyer cares about: what would I earn here?
SRC: Standard business-brokerage & SBA lending practiceThree inputs, six value drivers, real 2025–26 transaction multiples. Your number appears instantly — nothing is saved or listed unless you ask for the full report.
Each category carries the SDE multiple band it actually traded at in 2025–26.
The largest ownership transfer in American history is underway. Every year an owner waits, more comparable businesses come to market chasing the same buyers.
~6M
McKinsey projects roughly six million ownership transitions as boomer owners retire — over one million firms viable for sale, worth up to $5 trillion.
SRC: McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility, 202610,000
Over half of U.S. small-business owners are now 55 or older, and one in four is past 65. The entire generation crosses 65 by 2030.
SRC: U.S. Census · Forbes, 202630–40%
The rest close or transfer informally, often at a deep discount — usually because the owner never prepared the business or learned its value in time.
SRC: Industry succession estimates, 2025–262.7×
Buyer demand is deep right now — SBA-financed operators, search funds, consolidators, and international investors — and multiples have firmed since 2023.
SRC: BizBuySell Insight Report, Q1 2026Typical bands for owner-operated Main Street businesses, from 2025–26 closed-transaction data. Size matters too: sub-$500K deals trade near 2× SDE while the $1M–$2M tier trades near 3.3×.
| Industry | Typical band | Midpoint | What pushes it higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laundromat · car wash · coin-op | 3.4× – 5.0× | 4.2× | Equipment value, semi-absentee income |
| Medical · dental · health services | 2.6× – 4.2× | 3.2× | Recurring patients, licensing moat |
| Manufacturing · distribution | 2.6× – 4.0× | 3.2× | Contracts, equipment, B2B accounts |
| HVAC · plumbing · electrical | 2.4× – 3.8× | 2.9× | Maintenance agreements, PE roll-up demand |
| Cleaning · janitorial · routes | 2.2× – 3.4× | 2.7× | Commercial contracts, route density |
| Construction · contracting | 2.0× – 3.4× | 2.6× | Backlog, licenses, repeat GCs |
| Landscaping · lawn care | 2.0× – 3.2× | 2.5× | Maintenance contracts vs one-time installs |
| Professional services | 2.0× – 3.0× | 2.5× | Retainer clients, team not tied to owner |
| E-commerce · online | 1.8× – 3.2× | 2.4× | Owned audience, subscriptions, margins |
| Auto repair · services | 2.0× – 3.0× | 2.4× | Bays, fleet accounts, reputation |
| Retail (brick & mortar) | 1.7× – 2.7× | 2.1× | Lease terms, inventory turns, location |
| Restaurant · food service | 1.6× – 2.6× | 2.0× | Transferable lease, staff that stays, brand |
Two businesses with identical profit routinely sell for prices $200,000 apart. The difference is almost always one of these six — and each is fixable with 12–24 months of runway.
Maintenance agreements, retainers, subscriptions. Contracted revenue is the single strongest predictor of a premium multiple — buyers pay for certainty.
If the business runs two weeks without you, a buyer is purchasing a system. If it stops when you stop, they're buying a job — and they'll price it like one.
One customer above ~25% of revenue routinely triggers price cuts or earnouts. Diversified revenue keeps the full price payable at close.
Three years of rising revenue lets a buyer underwrite the future. A decline — even a small one — gets discounted 0.5× or more off the band.
Financials that match tax returns, with documented add-backs. Buyers commonly disallow 20–40% of undocumented add-backs at offer stage — clean books survive diligence.
Ten-plus years of history de-risks the purchase and unlocks SBA financing — which widens your buyer pool and supports your price.
Employees, customers, and competitors typically learn a business was sold after closing. Here is the sequence The List runs — in English and Portuguese.
A broker opinion of value built on your verified financials, defensible add-backs, and confidential closed comparables from Central Florida.
Free · no obligationYour business goes to market as a blind profile — industry, financial highlights, and region only. No name, no address, no way to identify you.
Identity sealedEvery buyer signs an NDA and proves financial capability before learning who you are. You meet only the serious, funded few.
NDA + proof of fundsOffer strategy, due diligence management, and coordination with attorneys, lenders, and landlords through funding — a process that typically runs six to nine months end to end.
Success fee onlyYour price is set by whoever wants the business most. The List markets every engagement to all four pools — including a buyer network most local brokerages can't reach.
Individuals buying their own income with 10% down and 10-year SBA 7(a) terms. The deepest pool for deals under $2M — and the reason clean books pay.
Sweet spot: $300K–$2MProfessionalized individual buyers backed by investor capital, hunting durable cash flow — they pay up for owner-independent operations.
Sweet spot: $500K+ SDERoll-ups actively acquiring trades, healthcare, and services in Florida — often the top bidder when recurring revenue is real.
Premium payerVisa-driven buyers who must own and operate a real U.S. business — and who move decisively on profitable Orlando companies. We advise them daily, in Portuguese and English.
Falamos PortuguêsVerified Google reviews from buyers, sellers, and tenants across Central Florida — lightly condensed for length.
Before purchasing 8 acres in Davenport we reached out for consulting — Renan and Chris are extremely knowledgeable, and their guidance was instrumental in an informed decision. True experts in Central Florida commercial real estate.
Excellent communicating and negotiating with the landlord through our entire commercial lease — responsive, professional, and truly acting in our best interest. They even connected us with the other services we needed.
Juliano and Renan were always available and ready to help throughout the entire lease process. They made everything easy and stress-free — highly recommend.
Most small businesses sell for 2 to 4 times their Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE). Across 9,500+ closed transactions in 2025 the all-industry average was about 2.5× SDE, and the Q1 2026 median was 2.7×. A business with $200,000 of verified SDE is therefore worth roughly $500,000–$540,000 at market averages — before industry, size, and risk adjustments that can move the number materially in either direction.
SDE is the total annual financial benefit an owner-operator takes from a business: net profit plus the owner's salary and benefits, interest, depreciation, amortization, and one-time or personal expenses run through the business. It is the standard valuation metric for owner-operated businesses under roughly $5M in revenue, because it answers what a new owner-operator would actually earn.
Florida Main Street businesses trade in the same national bands: roughly 1.5–2.5× SDE for restaurants and retail, 2.5–4× for home services, trades, and healthcare, and 4× or more for asset-heavy recurring-revenue businesses like laundromats and car washes. Orlando's population growth of roughly 1,500 net new residents per week supports buyer demand across most categories.
The calculator is an educational estimate built from published 2025–2026 transaction multiples, size adjustments, and six value drivers. A formal broker opinion of value adds verified financials, defensible add-back analysis, and confidential closed comparables from the local market. The List Orlando prepares that opinion at no cost and no obligation in a private advisory briefing.
No. Professional business sales are run confidentially: the business is marketed through a blind profile that omits the name and exact location, buyers sign a non-disclosure agreement and are financially screened before any details are shared, and employees, customers, and competitors typically learn of the sale only after closing.
Industry marketplace data consistently puts the typical Main Street sale at six to nine months from listing to close, though well-priced businesses with clean books and transferable operations move faster. Preparation time matters more than listing time: owners who start valuation and clean-up work 1–2 years before selling capture meaningfully higher prices.
Yes. The List Orlando's bilingual team represents domestic buyers and international investors — including visa-driven buyers who must acquire an operating U.S. business — in English and Portuguese. For sellers, that widens the buyer pool beyond the local market; for buyers, it means guidance from advisors who have made the same move.
The private advisory briefing and broker opinion of value are free and carry no obligation to list. Like most business brokerages, The List is compensated by a success fee only when a sale closes — so the incentive is aligned with achieving the strongest defensible price, not with producing a flattering number.
Conditions currently favor prepared sellers: buyer demand is deep — SBA-financed operators, search funds, private-equity consolidators, and international investors — while McKinsey projects roughly 6 million U.S. small-business ownership transitions by 2035 as boomer owners retire. Owners who sell before that supply wave crests face less competition for the same buyers. Timing ultimately depends on your numbers and goals; this is general information, not financial advice.
Five levers move the multiple most: recurring or contracted revenue, a business that runs without the owner's daily presence, no customer above about 25% of revenue, a documented growth trend, and clean CPA-quality books that match tax returns. Each lever typically shifts the multiple by 0.1–0.25×, which on $250,000 of SDE is $25,000–$60,000 of sale price per lever.
Answers current as of July 10, 2026 · reviewed against BizBuySell, IBBA, and McKinsey 2026 data
Run the calculator, then let a senior advisor pressure-test it against real Central Florida comparables — free, confidential, in English or Portuguese. Whether you sell in six months or six years, the owners who win are the ones who knew their number first.
Confidential · nothing listed · nothing public · no obligationThe calculator takes 60 seconds, needs no email, and nothing is saved or listed. Most owners are off by 2× in one direction or the other.
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