Clearly Acquired Blog

Expert insights, funding strategies, and practical guidance for securing capital, financing growth, and navigating business acquisitions. Whether you're raising capital for expansion, restructuring debt, or exploring your first acquisition, our blog provides the knowledge and resources to help you succeed.

Growth
May 6, 2025

Steps to Conduct Culture Due Diligence

Cultural due diligence is the process of evaluating whether two companies can work well together beyond the financials. It involves assessing leadership styles, decision-making processes, communication norms, and workplace values to identify alignment or potential clashes. Done well, it prevents post-close disruptions, boosts retention, and lays the groundwork for a smoother integration.

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Growth
May 5, 2025

What Is a Business Line of Credit and How Does It Work?

A business line of credit gives companies flexible access to capital, allowing them to borrow only what they need and repay over time. It works like a credit card—draw funds, repay, and reuse—with interest charged only on the amount used. This makes it ideal for managing cash flow, covering emergencies, or funding short-term growth opportunities.

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Growth
May 5, 2025

Small Business Acquisition Trends 2025

In 2025, small business acquisitions are surging thanks to an aging wave of owners looking to exit, easier access to financing, and powerful AI-driven tools that streamline sourcing, underwriting, and closing. Platforms like Clearly Acquired are making the process faster, more transparent, and more secure—helping both buyers and sellers navigate valuation gaps, due diligence, and financing hurdles with confidence. The future of acquisitions is tech-enabled, data-driven, and more accessible than ever before.

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Growth
May 2, 2025

5 NDA Use Cases in Business Sales

Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) are vital in business sales to protect sensitive information and maintain trust throughout the transaction. They safeguard key assets like financial records, customer data, trade secrets, deal terms, and employee details from misuse or leaks. NDAs reduce risk, preserve competitive advantage, and ensure smoother, more secure negotiations.

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Growth
April 30, 2025

10 SMB Acquisition Case Studies

These 10 SMB acquisition case studies showcase how strategic financing, thoughtful transition planning, and operational improvements drive post-deal success. From manufacturing and logistics to e-commerce and healthcare, each example reveals practical lessons in deal structuring, team retention, and revenue growth. Whether through SBA loans, seller financing, or hybrid models, the key takeaway is that well-executed acquisitions can create significant value across industries.

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Growth
April 29, 2025

How to Spot Unusual Accounting Adjustments

Unusual accounting adjustments—like one-time legal settlements, asset sales, or restructuring costs—can distort a company’s true financial health. Spot them by looking for non-recurring events, suspicious timing of revenues or expenses, and end-of-period anomalies like large round-number entries. Careful review of documentation, timing, and consistency across periods is key to uncovering hidden risks.

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Growth
April 28, 2025

Broker Role in SMB Acquisitions: A Complete Guide

Business brokers play a crucial role in SMB acquisitions by connecting buyers and sellers, managing valuations, due diligence, negotiations, and deal closings. They leverage platforms like Clearly Acquired to streamline sourcing, verification, and financing, giving clients faster access to high-quality opportunities with reduced risk. By blending traditional expertise with modern digital tools, brokers help simplify transactions and maximize successful outcomes.

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Growth
April 25, 2025

Business Broker Fee Structures Explained

Understanding business broker fee structures helps buyers and sellers choose the right fit for their transaction. Common models include commission (tied to sale price), fixed fees (for smaller deals), retainers (for complex transactions), and hybrids that blend elements of each.

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Growth
April 24, 2025

5 Common Seller Objections in SMB Deals

Selling a small business is often delayed by common seller objections around valuation, payment terms, handover, privacy, and timing. This post breaks down each concern, explains the emotional and financial roots behind them, and offers clear strategies buyers can use to build trust, provide transparency, and streamline the deal.

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Growth
April 22, 2025

Major SOP 50 10 8 SBA Changes (Effective June 1, 2025) — What They Mean for Business Buyers

The SBA’s new SOP 50 10 8 rules, effective June 1, 2025, introduce major updates that make business acquisition loans more flexible and borrower-friendly. Key changes include removing rigid liquidity tests, allowing seller notes as equity (with conditions), requiring stock deals for partial buy-ins, and accepting CPA-reviewed financials instead of tax returns. These shifts open the door for more creative, compliant deal structures and broader borrower eligibility.

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Growth
April 22, 2025

Checklist for Buying Healthcare Businesses in Niche Markets

Buying a niche healthcare business requires a detailed checklist to ensure success—from evaluating market fit and financials to performing legal and staffing due diligence. Strategic funding options like SBA loans and expert deal structuring help buyers close confidently, while post-acquisition plans ensure smooth transitions and growth

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Growth
April 21, 2025

Cash Flow Sensitivity Analysis for Small Businesses

Cash flow sensitivity analysis helps small businesses understand how changes in sales, expenses, or payment timing impact liquidity. By modeling best-case, base-case, and worst-case scenarios, business owners can anticipate cash shortages, adjust strategies, and improve financial planning. This approach is also critical for buyers evaluating acquisitions, revealing hidden risks and guiding smarter investment decisions.

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Acquire Quality. Fund Growth. Close with Confidence.

As an AI-driven Business Acquisition Marketplace and Financing Platform, we are on a mission to simplify and accelerate the MainStreet to MidStreet lending and acquisition ecosystem.

We specialize in technology that supports price discovery, identity verification and financial qualification, and buy-side tools to help searchers source and manage deal flow, make offers, secure lending/financing solutions, and close with confidence.

illustration of team with digital platform

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some frequently asked questions by users that are looking to buy businesses on Clearly Acquired:

How can I show business owners I'm a legitimate buyer and that I'm interested?

With a Clearly Verified account, you can instill confidence in other users, brokers and sellers that you are, who you say you are, when you "verify" your identify.  This is the key to instilling confidence in the users on the platform,  gaining traction and getting instant access to financials, supporting data and insight to quickly move to making an offer or moving on.   This will save you months of wasted time and expedite the closing of a sale.

How are my finances verified?

Using financial technology the Clearly Acquired Platform safely and securely verifies your finances, to help sellers understand your closing capability and help lenders expedite your financing. Additionally, the buy-side deal room will help you get your documentation in order, to prepare you for the debt and equity financing you will need to close your acquisition.

Can I get in touch with advisors to help support me in this process?

The Clearly Acquired team is here to support you on your business acquisition or business sale journey. That said, the platform is designed to connect you with a community of users, who are identify verified, which include: investors, lenders, advisors, brokers, consultants, and other buyers who are looking for partners.  

What is a Deal Hub?

The Deal Hub is the central repository for all transaction-related activities on our business acquisition platform. It serves as a secure and organized space where buyers and sellers can access critical information and manage the entire acquisition process efficiently. The Deal Hub is divided into two main components: the Data Room and the Deal Rooms.

Data Room: The Data Room is a secure, virtual storage space where sellers can upload and share essential documents related to their business. This includes financial statements, legal contracts, operational reports, and other due diligence materials. Buyers can access these documents to conduct thorough evaluations and make informed decisions. The Data Room ensures that all sensitive information is protected and only accessible to authorized parties.

Deal Rooms: The Deal Rooms are dedicated spaces for each business listing where buyers and sellers can collaborate and negotiate terms. Each Deal Room is equipped with tools for real-time communication, document sharing, and tracking the progress of the deal. This streamlined environment facilitates transparent and efficient interactions, helping to expedite the acquisition process and ensuring that both parties are aligned at every stage.

The Deal Hub's comprehensive and secure infrastructure simplifies the complexities of business acquisitions, providing a seamless experience for all users involved.

What is Plaid?

Plaid is a financial technology company that provides a secure and seamless way to connect and interact with financial institutions. It enables applications to access users' financial data with their consent, facilitating a wide range of services such as identity verification, account authentication, and transaction history retrieval. Plaid's robust API infrastructure ensures high security, reliability, and compliance with regulatory standards.

By integrating Plaid, Clearly Acquired can offer a secure, efficient, and reliable method for identity verification, building trust among users and ensuring the integrity of the acquisition process.

I am new to the idea of business acquisition, where can I get more information on how to get started?

Make sure to check out our Educational Course on Business Acquisition that is offered in our paid plans for buyers: From Purchase to Profit: Mastering the Art of Business Acquisition.

This Membership Course for buyers is designed to empower individuals with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to navigate the business acquisition process successfully. Whether you're a first-time buyer or an experienced entrepreneur, our course equips you with the tools and insights needed to make informed decisions and achieve your acquisition goals. Join us and embark on your journey to buying a business with Clearly Acquired.

Easy as 1, 2, 3

Create Your Account. Get Verified. Start Searching.

1

Create an account

Every day, lenders, investors, brokers, and sellers come to Clearly Acquired looking for qualified operators like you. Creating an account and getting verified helps you stand out and build trust.

2

Build your profile

Build your profile to get matched with capital and opportunities. Showcase your expertise and resume, to connect with the right capital and acquisition partners—making every opportunity count.

3

Search & Connect

Browse Verified listings, source off-market deals, & manage deal flow with powerful tools to underwrite opportunities, and connect with capital to streamline the entire acquisition and funding process

Join the Clearly Acquired Search Community

Create Your Profile & Get Verified for Free