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When a business changes hands, the lease attached to it can be just as important as the business itself. This is especially true for restaurants, retail stores, salons, and other companies that rely heavily on location and customer traffic. A strong location can add value to a business. However, the downside of the equation is that a problematic lease can create unexpected headaches for both buyers and sellers. For anyone considering the purchase of a business,...

30 May, 2026

Santa Fe has a perfectly good greatest hits list: Ten Thousand Waves, The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Canyon Road, Meow Wolf, and Museum Hill to name just a few. All of them are worth your time, but if you’re a repeat visitor who’s already done this circuit, the traveler whose idea of a good time involves a ghost town and a buffalo named Harley, or anyone looking for that serendipitous discovery, this series is for you. We’re...

20 May, 2026

One of the first questions sellers ask us is some version of: “How many buyers do you already have for a business like mine?” The question is totally reasonable. If you’re selling a plumbing company in Albuquerque, you assume we should already know every competitor, every strategic buyer, every private equity group rolling up businesses in your market. Sometimes we do, but just as often we don’t. Of all the things that a business broker brings to...

20 May, 2026

There's no shortage of advice about what to ask when buying a business. Lists circulate freely, and most of them cover the same ground: financials, customer concentration, employee retention, legal exposure. While all this is solid advice, a boilerplate list will only get you so far. It’s not the same as knowing how to phrase the questions, where to push deeper, and when to sit back and allow one question to organically build upon the...

16 May, 2026

Family-owned businesses continue to play an outsized role in the New Mexico economy, where most businesses are small and owner-operated. Yet despite how common these businesses are, succession planning remains one of the least addressed challenges facing owners approaching retirement or transition. Many owners assume that selling to a child or other relative will be simpler than selling to an outside buyer. In reality, family transitions often introduce a different set of operational, financial, and emotional...

12 May, 2026

Simply put, due diligence is how you make sure the business you think you're buying is actually the business you are buying;  not the business the seller describes or that the listing presents online, but the actual operating business: its customers, revenue, cash flow, habits, and risks. It sounds straightforward. In practice, it's where some deals go sideways. Pajarito Window Washing: a Hypothetical Example To illustrate this, let’s look at a small window washing operation that consists of...

08 May, 2026

Many sellers are surprised to discover how much influence a buyer's lender has over the sale process. Even when a buyer is motivated and the business looks strong, financing isn't a formality; it's an ongoing evaluation that can shape price, structure, timing, and even who can realistically buy the business. A "Yes" Is Conditional Until Closing A bank's approval doesn't arrive once and stay put. A loan moves through several sets of hands, and each stage brings...

05 May, 2026

Most New Mexico small business owners often focus on the day-to-day operations, with an eye toward growing the business. They spend little time preparing to exit their business, often because it’s such a far-off possibility as to seem impractical. While it may sound counterintuitive, exit planning needs to be part of your growth strategy from Day One. It’s not only for large businesses. Without a plan, owners often drift toward burnout – and burnout erodes your...

04 May, 2026

Buying a business is often framed as a process. And it is with clear steps: NDA, LOI, financing, due diligence, legal review. But if you’ve been around enough transactions, a pattern starts to emerge. Some buyers move through that process and close. Others stall out, get overwhelmed, or walk away. It’s usually not because of one dramatic issue. More often, it comes down to how the buyer shows up from the beginning. Here are a few traits...

04 May, 2026

Selling a business is rarely derailed by poor negotiating tactics. More often, it comes down to preparation, flexibility, and a realistic understanding of what the other side is up against. That last part is harder than it sounds. Most sellers have spent years building something, and the number in their head reflects that history. A buyer sees a set of financial statements and a risk they're being asked to take on with their own capital and...

03 May, 2026

Buyers often spend a lot of time focused on the deal itself - price, terms, structure. Less time is spent really thinking what they actually want out of it. That distinction tends to matter more than it seems. Start With Your Own Motivations Before getting into tactics, it’s worth stepping back and understanding what you want out of the transaction. Most buyers are not driven by a single objective, and those motivations are rarely clean or separate. You...

02 May, 2026

Most people envision selling a small business as a straightforward transaction: a purchase price is agreed upon, the deal closes, and the seller walks away with the proceeds. In many cases, that's exactly how it works. But not every deal fits that model, particularly when parties agree on the value of the business as it has performed historically but differ on what comes next. When that gap exists, a holdback is one tool that can help. Rather...

07 April, 2026

Buying your first business is one of those decisions that feels equal parts exciting and a little overwhelming. For a lot of people, the appeal is obvious. You get control over your work, more upside financially, and the chance to build something that’s actually yours. But getting from “this sounds interesting” to actually owning a business takes more than instinct. It takes some structure, a bit of patience, and usually the right people around you. Here’s how...

14 March, 2026

Risk reduction is one of the strongest arguments for acquiring an existing business rather than starting from scratch. And it's true – you're buying a proven model with established customers, trained employees, vendor relationships, and brand recognition. You're not guessing whether the market exists or whether anyone will pay for what you're offering. The business has already answered those questions. Buying a business lowers risk, but it doesn’t remove it. Think of it as joining a...

18 February, 2026

Purchasing an existing business offers a level of predictability and stability that launching a startup simply cannot provide. No matter how innovative or well-researched a new business idea may be, it will always involve uncertainty. Even with meticulous planning and support, new ventures often fail. In contrast, an established business has a documented operating history and a track record you can evaluate before making a decision. The past performance of an existing company will give you...

10 January, 2026