The 7 Deadly Sins Articles

Explore deeper insights from The Seven Deadly Sins of Business Valuation series through our curated collection of expert articles. These pieces expand on the book’s core themes and provide practical applications for SBA lenders, business owners, and advisors. Each article is designed to help you recognize common valuation pitfalls, understand key concepts from the SBA SOP, and improve your underwriting or advisory approach. Whether you’re dealing with goodwill, normalization, or strategic pricing missteps, these articles offer guidance rooted in decades of real-world valuation experience.

7 Deadly Sins of Selling a Business: 1. The First Deadly Sin—Unreasonable Expectations of Price and Value

~ Certified Business Appraiser

Most business owners believe they know what their company is worth. As they may have worked to build the business, often from the ground up, they feel that their intuitive value conclusions accurately reflect the fair market value of the firm. In many cases, they are biased in their views towards the firm, and therefore, … Continue reading 7 Deadly Sins of Selling a Business: 1. The First Deadly Sin—Unreasonable Expectations of Price and Value

7 Deadly Sins of Selling a Business: 2. The Second Deadly Sin—Lack of Confidentiality

~ Certified Business Appraiser

The key to successfully marketing and selling a business is confidentiality. Business owners do not want customers, suppliers, and the competition to know that their business is available for acquisition. Unlike real estate brokers who hang a “For Sale” sign in front of the property, professional transaction advisors or business brokers maintain a high degree of … Continue reading 7 Deadly Sins of Selling a Business: 2. The Second Deadly Sin—Lack of Confidentiality

7 Deadly Sins of Selling a Business: 3. The Third Deadly Sin—Emotions

~ Certified Business Appraiser

The process of selling a business is, in many cases, a life changing event for the owners. Many consider the business their “baby.” As such, there is a great deal of emotion involved in the process of selling a business. It is not unusual for the owners to become very emotionally charged in attempting to … Continue reading 7 Deadly Sins of Selling a Business: 3. The Third Deadly Sin—Emotions

7 Deadly Sins of Selling a Business: 4. The Fourth Deadly Sin—Inexperienced Professionals

~ Certified Business Appraiser

Most small business owners are skilled at running their business but do not have the background that is conducive to successfully negotiating a transaction involving their business. Lacking negotiating skills may result in leaving money on the table in the transaction. As this is not an optimal outcome for the business owner, it is wise … Continue reading 7 Deadly Sins of Selling a Business: 4. The Fourth Deadly Sin—Inexperienced Professionals

7 Deadly Sins of Selling a Business: 5. The Fifth Deadly Sin—Insufficient Financial Information

~ Certified Business Appraiser

Lack of financial information from both the seller and the buyer of a business has the ability to quickly kill a deal. Nothing is more embarassing for the transaction advisor than to get to close the closing table only to find out that the buyer does not have the money to successfully close the deal. … Continue reading 7 Deadly Sins of Selling a Business: 5. The Fifth Deadly Sin—Insufficient Financial Information

7 Deadly Sins of Selling a Business: 6. The Sixth Deadly Sin—Failure to Cooperate

~ Certified Business Appraiser

Once the owners of a business have made the commitment to pursue a sale or merger of their company, a great deal of time must be spent on those parts of the process that lead to the closing—free flow of information, coordinating site visits with prospective buyers, due diligence, etc. Whilst the transaction advisor will work … Continue reading 7 Deadly Sins of Selling a Business: 6. The Sixth Deadly Sin—Failure to Cooperate

7 Deadly Sins of Selling a Business: 7. The Seventh Deadly Sin—Failure to Disclose Problems at the Outset

~ Certified Business Appraiser

After prospective buyers have been pre-screened and have expressed sufficient interest in pursuing an acquisition of the company, preliminary due diligence begins. Preliminary due diligence is a basic analysis of the company, its financial position, etc. to whatever extent permitted by time and the willingness of the owners to divulge information at this stage. Typically, … Continue reading 7 Deadly Sins of Selling a Business: 7. The Seventh Deadly Sin—Failure to Disclose Problems at the Outset

7 Deadly Sins of Selling a Business

~ Certified Business Appraiser

Many business owners are individuals who have started or acquired a business. Most of these business owners have considered or will consider at some point an exit strategy in order to retire, achieve liquidity to pursue other business ventures, etc. Exit planning may be part of the business owner’s overall strategy of acquiring, growing the … Continue reading 7 Deadly Sins of Selling a Business

7 Deadly Sins of Startups from a Valuation Perspective: No Risk/Return Analysis

~ Certified Business Appraiser

One of the most difficult considerations for an entrepreneur is the risk/return analysis of the potential business venture. An incomplete or poorly-reasoned risk/return analysis on the part of the entrepreneur may lead a savvy financial investor to turn down a potential investment in the business in favor of an apparently less risky opportunity. Even in … Continue reading 7 Deadly Sins of Startups from a Valuation Perspective: No Risk/Return Analysis

7 Deadly Sins of Startups from a Valuation Perspective: Unrealistic Growth Expectations

~ Certified Business Appraiser

Planning for too little growth and trying to play catch up when growth exceeds expectations creates a number of challenges, such as the need to expand operations and capacity and the resulting requirement for capital expenditures and potentially, additional financial resources. However, planning for too much growth is just as bad, if not worse, in … Continue reading 7 Deadly Sins of Startups from a Valuation Perspective: Unrealistic Growth Expectations