Second Look Audit
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Second Look Audit

Independent scores for small online businesses already for sale. We read the fine print so you can decide with a clear head.

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Library

A short shelf for the person doing the buying.

Books we would hand someone before a first acquisition or a first month as owner. The notes are ours. The links go to Amazon.

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  • Cover of Built to Sell

    Acquisitions

    Built to Sell

    A short argument for making a company less dependent on the founder. That is the question hiding inside a lot of small online listings: if the seller leaves, does the profit stay.

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  • Cover of Buy Then Build

    Acquisitions

    Buy Then Build

    Written for people who want to own a company that already sells something. Read it as a way to think about deal flow and the first months as owner, then come back to our score for the price and the concentration.

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  • Cover of Buying a Business That Makes You Rich

    Acquisitions

    Buying a Business That Makes You Rich

    A practical walk through the whole purchase: finding a company, valuing it, negotiating and closing. Good to read before your first offer, then keep beside our score when you compare a price with the earnings behind it.

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  • Cover of HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business

    Acquisitions

    HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business

    A plain introduction to buying an existing company instead of starting one. Useful before you read a listing, because it walks through what to ask about earnings and what you would actually do after the close.

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  • Cover of Never Split the Difference

    Acquisitions

    Never Split the Difference

    Negotiation notes for the call with a seller or a broker. It will not tell you whether the multiple is fair. Our rubric is for that. This is for the conversation.

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  • Cover of Search Funds & Entrepreneurial Acquisitions

    Acquisitions

    Search Funds & Entrepreneurial Acquisitions

    Explains how people raise money to buy one company and then run it. Even if you never raise outside capital, the chapters on sourcing, diligence and the first year as owner are worth the read.

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