I started where plenty of future buyers start: interested, capable, and completely unsure where to look first.
I had reached a point in my career and personal life where buying another small business felt possible. I was especially interested in cash-generating businesses such as car washes and laundromats. The appeal was easy to understand. Figuring out whether one was actually a good deal was not.
At the same time, financially savvy friends kept talking about a generational shift: many Baby Boomer business owners want to retire, and somebody will need to carry those companies forward.
The opportunity sounded real. The beginner-friendly roadmap did not.
I searched for practical explanations of how to buy a business and found plenty of material written for people who already understood the vocabulary. SDE, add-backs, debt service, multiples, working capital—the acronyms arrived long before the plain-English explanation.
So I did what beginners do. I researched, asked friends and family, used modern tools including AI, and kept translating what I learned into questions I could actually use. Acquisition Quest is the site I wish I had found during that first search.
It is for millennials who are ready to build something of their own, younger people who got there faster, experienced professionals who are tired of making money for somebody else, and anyone older who has decided their next chapter might come with a set of keys.