Overpaying doesn’t just cost money.

It costs flexibility.

It costs reinvestment capacity.
It costs marketing runway.
It costs the ability to absorb a mistake.
It costs the ability to pivot.

And for many small businesses, flexibility is the true competitive advantage.

When a buyer pays too much, the business becomes fragile—even if it’s operationally healthy.

That fragility shows up later as “unexpected problems,” but the problems were predictable.

You don’t have to predict the shock.

You just have to recognize the lack of cushion.