Transferability Blog
Expert articles on building transferable businesses, exit planning, SBA lending, and the Transferability Score™.
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New IRS App Replaces IRS2Go: Tax Transcript Access and Security for Sellers
The IRS just replaced IRS2Go with a new mobile app for accessing tax records. Here is what that means for your due diligence timeline and how to keep your data secure during a sale.
How to Optimize Your sde Calculation and Business Setup Before Selling
Income does not equal profitable. I talk to owners who want to know what their company is worth, but the real question is whether it can run without you. Here's how to get your operations and books ready for a future sale.
How Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 5.5 upgrade affects your software business valuation and transferability
Anthropic just upgraded Claude with a faster Sonnet 5.5 model. For software owners planning to sell, this release highlights why owning your software matters more than which provider you use today.
How early business expenses impact your sale price and how to value a small business
The expenses you book in year one dictate what a buyer sees and how the final sale is reported for taxes. Here is exactly what to keep, what to remove, and how it changes your exit number.
SBA Size Standards: Will Your Buyer Qualify for a 7(a) Loan?
SBA size standards decide whether your buyer can use a 7(a) loan to buy your business. Here is how the rule works and what to check before you list.
SBA SOP 50 10 8.1: What the October 1, 2026 Rules Mean If You're Selling Your Business
Starting October 1, 2026, SBA buyers need 1.25x debt coverage on past earnings, an independent valuation on every sale, and total debt capped at appraised value. Here's what that does to your asking price.
2026 Business Mileage Deduction: New IRS Rate Explained
If you drive a vehicle for business, there’s a meaningful update for tax year 2026 you need on your radar. The IRS has just raised the standard mileage rate for business use to 72.5 cents per mile, up from 70 cents last year. This change affects how you calculate your mileage deduction and employee reimbursements [...]
Unlock More: Higher SBA Caps Could Open Bigger Buying Power
A Quiet Policy Shift With Massive Consequences Congress is pushing a proposal that would double the SBA loan limit for manufacturing businesses from roughly $5–5.5 million to $10 million. Inc. confirms this proposal is tied to rising bankruptcies and the urgent need to support U.S. manufacturers. (External link: https://www.inc.com/melissa-angell/congress-wants-to-double-sba-loan-limits-as-small-business-bankruptcies-hit-record-high/91273233) If this passes, it will instantly change the landscape for buyers, [...]
The $1,000 Path That Builds Real Momentum
Your first thousand bucks won’t build a full business. It will build clarity. Most people blow small budgets on logos, tools, and subscriptions they never use. The smarter move is to treat the money as fuel for proof. When you choose a path instead of a product, the dollars stretch further and move faster. Why [...]
How to Start a Business With No Money
Being broke isn’t a disadvantage. It’s an advantage. You have less to lose, fewer bad habits to unlearn, and more urgency to move. Most small businesses don’t fail because they start small. They fail because they start heavy. When you strip the startup game down to the essentials, you realize you don’t need capital. You [...]
Why Most Startups Fail (And What It Says About You)
Most Businesses Don’t Fail. The Owner Does. People love quoting the stat that 95 percent of startups fail. It makes failure feel inevitable, like a storm you can’t avoid. Yet that number hides the real truth. Startups don’t die because the idea was bad. They die because the owner wasn’t ready for the emotional load [...]
Start a Business With No Money the Real Way
This is Week 1 of the “Start With No Money” series. Today is Day 1: How do you start a business with no money? TLDR You don’t need capital to start. You need movement, skills you already have, and a simple way to turn those skills into money fast. Week 1 of the “Start With No Money” series [...]
Google’s New “Private AI Compute” Changes the Game for Business Owners
Google just rolled out Private AI Compute, a system that finally solves the biggest complaint business owners have had about AI: “I want the power of cloud AI without handing over my data.” This matters more than any new feature Google has released this year — not because of Pixel phones, but because it signals a [...]
Acquisition Not Start-Up: Ken Massey’s Leap Into Ownership
Why one man stopped chasing start-up glory and bought his way into freedom. The Myth of the Start-Up Hero We glorify the start-up grind — late nights, ramen budgets, and “build it from nothing” stories that sound heroic but usually end in burnout. What rarely makes the headlines are the quiet entrepreneurs who skip the [...]
How One Policy Could Wreck Your Business Sale
TL;DR: A new national survey shows that 87% of small business owners want Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits made permanent, and 84% say losing them would cause severe financial strain. Health-care costs are one of the most overlooked levers in small business valuation, exit planning, and acquisition strategy. Buyers and sellers who get ahead [...]
Why Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” Could Turn Your Future Exit Into a $15 Million Tax-Free Opportunity
Thinking about selling your business in the next few years? The One Big Beautiful Bill Act could make your exit far more profitable — if you understand how to position yourself for it. The new law expands one of the most overlooked wealth-building tools in entrepreneurship: Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS). And while most small-business [...]
Confidence Is Rising—But So Is Risk: Where Smart Owners Stay in the Healthy Zone
New data shows record optimism among small businesses—but unchecked leverage could turn that confidence into collapse. TL;DR Small business confidence is surging — 93% of owners expect growth in 2025 — but three-quarters are turning to fintechs and alternative lenders instead of banks. This dual trend is both opportunity and warning: optimism fuels deal flow [...]
🚀 ChatGPT Atlas: The Browser That Thinks With You
Published on BusinessOwner.com The way we use the internet just changed—again. OpenAI has officially launched ChatGPT Atlas, a web browser powered by artificial intelligence that doesn’t just showyou the internet—it thinks with you. What Is ChatGPT Atlas? Atlas is OpenAI’s new AI-powered browser, announced October 21, 2025 (OpenAI Blog; The Verge; TechCrunch). Think of it as ChatGPT fused directly into your [...]
The $3 Trillion Silver Tsunami: What It Means for First-Time Business Buyers
TL;DR Over the next 10–15 years, a massive transfer of business ownership is underway as Baby Boomer entrepreneurs retire. Roughly 70% of privately held businesses may change hands, representing trillions in value. Yet the majority of these owners lack formal exit plans and are unprepared for clean transitions. For first-time buyers, this presents a rare [...]
BizBuySell Q2 2025: Buyers Regain Leverage
TL;DR — BizBuySell Q2 2025 (Buyer Leverage Returns) The business‑for‑sale market cooled slightly in Q2 2025. According to BizBuySell’s Insight Report, transactions fell 4% year‑over‑year while sale prices dropped and buyers shifted toward less expensive deals . Here’s why conditions are improving for prepared buyers, and how to respond. Market Highlights Why Buyers Have the Upper Hand How [...]
iPhone 17 Launch: Thin Tech, Thick Business Benefits
Apple unveiled its iPhone 17 lineup—and a game-changing new iPhone Air—on September 9, 2025. These aren’t just sleeker gadgets. For business owners building real equity, this hardware represents tools you can leverage today to manage, market, and scale smarter. Let’s break down what matters for ownership, not just hype. 1. Ultra-Slim iPhone Air = Portable Power, [...]
Urgent Sales? How to Close Deals in 72 Hours
TL;DR – What You Need Fast “I Only Have 72 Hours — What Do I Do?” You’re on Reddit r/smallbusiness and someone posted: “72 hours—or six sales—or my business tanks.” You’ve been there. They tried Facebook groups, DMs, maybe even ads—but still stuck. That grinding sense of “I need revenue now,” while juggling marketing, legal, [...]
SBA Rolls Out MARC Loans: A Real Option for Scaling Manufacturers
Simplified, flexible working capital for small manufacturers starts October 1, 2025. What’s the deal? The SBA just unveiled the Manufacturer’s Access to Revolving Credit (MARC) loan—its first-ever 7(a) product exclusively for small manufacturers, effective October 1, 2025. TL;DR: The SBA is launching MARC loans on October 1, 2025, giving small manufacturers up to $5M in revolving or term credit for working capital, inventory, and [...]
Job Security vs Self-Employment: The Hard Truth
Most people cling to a paycheck thinking it’s safer. Reality check: the only thing safer might be complacency. We’ll cut through myths, unpack the data, and challenge you to consider ownership—with resources you can actually trust, like BusinessOwner.com. Why “A Job Is Safe” Is a Risky Bet Bottom line: Safety in a traditional job is a [...]