Every business owner I speak with starts in the same place: “What is my business worth?” and “Is now the right time to sell?” In 2026, those are the wrong two questions.
The lower middle market is not frozen. It is selective. The same market is running competitive auctions for some businesses and going silent on others, and the dividing line has far less to do with the economy than with the company itself. Buyers have stopped paying for potential and started paying for certainty.
Nine factors determine whether they compete for what you have built, and each one is within your control — but not in the final six months before a sale.
Our latest video walks through all nine factors and introduces the scorecard that separates a hot deal from a frozen one. Watch it before you decide your timing is the thing that matters.
