What's Opening in Your City?
New restaurants, bars, retail shops, and commercial permits across the Phoenix metro and Prescott — researched daily from city open data portals and written by Eddy Roche.
Add-Backs Buyers Will Accept (And the Ones They Quietly Discount)
Not all add-backs survive due diligence. Discover which expense adjustments buyers accept, which ones they reverse, and why aggressive add-backs erode your sale price before you negotiate.
EBITDA vs SDE: Which Earnings Number Matters for Your Phoenix Business Sale
SDE and EBITDA measure different buyer profiles and sale sizes. Understanding which denominator applies to your business—and at what revenue threshold the switch occurs—is critical to avoiding a valuation surprise when your deal goes to market.
Asset Sale vs. Stock Sale in Arizona: Which Structure Costs You More?
Asset and stock sales carry fundamentally different tax and liability consequences for Arizona business owners. Understanding the structural trade-offs—capital gains treatment, liquor license complications, and state tax burden—helps you avoid expensive surprises at closing.
How Restaurants Are Valued in Arizona: SDE Multiples and What Sellers Should Expect
Restaurant valuations in Arizona typically rely on SDE (Seller's Discretionary Earnings) multiples that vary by concept type and profitability. Understanding where your restaurant sits in the 2x to 4x range — and what happens when SDE falls below your liquor license value — is essential for any owner preparing to sell.
How Arizona Business Brokers Get Paid: Commission Structures, Minimums, and Negotiation Reality
Arizona business brokers typically charge 12% commission on sales under $1 million, 8% on the second million, and enforce minimum fees—but these rates are far more negotiable than most sellers realize, especially for larger deals and ongoing relationships.
Landlord Consent and Lease Assignment: The Silent Deal-Killer in Phoenix Commercial Sales
When you sell a business that operates on a commercial lease, the landlord's consent isn't a formality—it's a gate your buyer must pass through. Understanding what landlords demand, how to negotiate early, and why this invisible barrier derails roughly 30% of Phoenix retail and restaurant deals will save you months and significant deal value.
From LOI to Purchase Agreement: What Sellers Should Expect to Negotiate Twice
A Letter of Intent signals buyer interest, but it is not your final deal. Most sellers discover during the purchase agreement phase that key terms—working capital, indemnity caps, and non-compete scope—get re-traded, sometimes significantly. Understanding which LOI concessions to protect and which to reserve for later negotiation can mean the difference between closing at your target price and walking away.
Seller Carry Notes: When They Help Close the Deal and When They Create Risk
Seller carry notes can bridge a buyer's down-payment gap or make a business deal viable when traditional financing falls short. But financing part of the purchase yourself creates tax, legal, and recovery risks that Arizona business owners must understand before agreeing to any carry-back arrangement.
How the Arizona Commerce Authority Shapes Buyer Demand for Phoenix Metro Businesses
The Arizona Commerce Authority's corporate recruitment initiatives and workforce programs drive out-of-state relocation to Phoenix, creating measurable demand from strategic buyers looking to enter or expand in high-growth sectors. Understanding this dynamic helps sellers time their market entry and buyers identify acquisition targets in momentum markets.
Selling an Arizona-Based E-Commerce Business: What Buyers Look For in 2026
Arizona has become a hub for e-commerce sellers thanks to its lack of inventory tax and central location for West Coast distribution. Understanding what buyers evaluate—from platform stability to financial structure—is essential to maximizing your valuation before listing.
Scottsdale's Service Economy in 2026: Why Salons, Spas, and Med-Spas Trade Fast
Scottsdale's high-income demographics and wellness-spending culture create a distinct market advantage for salon, spa, and med-spa operators and buyers. These service businesses consistently trade at premium multiples—often 3 to 4 times SDE—because of predictable revenue, recurring clientele, and a demographic that prioritizes beauty and wellness investment.
Arizona Population Growth and the Buyer Pipeline for Phoenix Businesses
Arizona's inbound population is reshaping who buys Phoenix-area businesses. Retirees and relocating professionals from California, Illinois, and Washington bring capital and acquisition appetite—creating a specific window for sellers to transact into peak buyer density.
Selling the Business and the Real Estate: Bundle, Lease-Back, or Separate Sale?
Owner-occupants in the Phoenix metro often face a critical choice: sell the business and building together, lease the property back to the buyer, or divide the transaction into separate asset and real estate sales. Each structure carries distinct tax, cash flow, and valuation consequences.
Valuing a Franchise Resale in Phoenix: How Brand Rights Change the Math
Franchises command higher multiples than independents, but franchisor transfer fees, approval rights, and buyer restrictions reshape the valuation math. Learn how to price a franchise resale in the Phoenix metro and navigate franchisor approvals to close faster.
What Is an Arizona Liquor License Actually Worth?
The value of an Arizona liquor license depends on its type, transferability, and the underlying business revenue. For bar and restaurant owners, the license can represent anywhere from a modest intangible asset to the majority of enterprise value—particularly when seller discretionary earnings fall below $75,000.
Co-Brokering in Arizona: When Two Brokers Are Better Than One
Co-brokering splits commissions between listing and buy-side brokers, typically 50/50, and expands your buyer pool without extra cost. Learn why buyer representation pays for itself and how Arizona broker networks operate under IBBA referral protocols.
Why Service Businesses Trade Higher Than Restaurants in the Phoenix Market
Service businesses command multiples of 2.5–4x SDE in the Phoenix metro, while restaurants typically max out near 2x. Recurring revenue, minimal capital requirements, and owner independence create fundamentally different risk profiles that drive buyer valuations significantly higher.
Non-Competes in Arizona Business Sales: What's Actually Enforceable
Arizona courts enforce non-compete agreements only when they meet strict reasonableness standards on geography, duration, and scope of trade. Understanding what actually holds up in litigation can save buyers millions and help sellers draft agreements that survive challenge.
What Credentials Should an Arizona Business Broker Have?
Not all business brokers in Arizona are equally qualified. Understanding which credentials matter—and why—helps owners and buyers identify professionals who can genuinely guide a transaction to closing.
What an Arizona Business Broker Actually Does: A Day-by-Day Account
Business brokers are often misunderstood—treated as order-takers rather than project managers who navigate listings, buyer screening, and due diligence. This account of a broker's actual workday explains why the role justifies its fee in the Arizona market.
FSBO vs. Broker-Listed in Phoenix: Why Unrepresented Sellers Leave 30% on the Table
Business owners selling without a broker in Phoenix often realize 20–30% less in final sale price than broker-listed comparables. This gap persists even after accounting for broker commissions, driven by limited buyer access, weak deal structure, and information leaks that tank value mid-transaction.
Why a 270-Day Listing Period Costs You Less Than 90 Days
The length of your business listing window directly affects buyer competition and final sale price. A longer marketing period attracts more qualified buyers and reduces desperation pricing, while a rushed 90-day cycle often signals distress to the market.
How Arizona Business Brokers Get Paid: Fees, Minimums, and What Is Actually Negotiable
Arizona business brokers typically charge 12% commission on deals under $1 million, 8% on the second million, with minimums around $16,000. Commission is negotiable based on deal size and seller relationships, but the listing-side structure actually protects sellers by attracting more buyer brokers to the transaction.
Landlord Consent and Lease Assignment: Why Commercial Sales Stall in Phoenix
Most commercial leases require landlord approval before a sale can close. Understanding what landlords demand—and how to negotiate consent early—is critical to avoiding a deal collapse that leaves your business unsold.
Auto Repair Shops in Arizona: Valuation, Owner Transitions, and What Buyers Must Verify
Auto repair shops in the Phoenix metro command 2.5–3.5x SDE multiples, but the biggest challenge isn't price—it's the customer trust that walks out the door when the owner-mechanic leaves. This article examines how successful sellers structure earnouts and what buyers should require in due diligence to bridge that risk.
Scottsdale's Service Economy in 2026: Why Salons, Spas, and Med-Spas Trade Fast
Scottsdale's high-income demographic and luxury wellness spending create a rare buyer environment where salon, spa, and med-spa businesses command premium valuations and sell quickly. Here's what operating costs look like and why these businesses attract such aggressive buyers.
Phoenix Restaurant Sales in 2026: Where the Market Is Hot and Where It Cooled
The Phoenix-metro restaurant market in 2026 shows stark differences across submarkets, with Tempe near ASU, Scottsdale Old Town, and Downtown Phoenix commanding vastly different buyer interest and pricing. Quick-service and bar concepts are outpacing full-service restaurants in transaction volume, reflecting broader shifts in foot traffic and consumer behavior post-pandemic.
The Phoenix Franchise Market in 2026: Why Buyers Are Paying Premium Multiples
Phoenix's rapid population growth and economic expansion are fueling unprecedented demand for established franchise brands, with resales commanding above-asking multiples. Here's what drives the trend and how it affects franchise valuations across the metro.
Selling the Business and the Real Estate: Bundle, Lease-Back, or Separate?
Many Arizona owner-occupants face a critical decision: sell the business and building together, lease the property back to the buyer, or separate the transactions entirely. Each structure carries distinct tax, valuation, and financing consequences that can shift deal value by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
What Makes a Buyer Pay Above Asking on a Phoenix-Metro Business
Most buyers negotiate down, but some pay above asking price. We break down the five concrete conditions that signal premium value to sophisticated Phoenix-metro business buyers and help owners understand what positions a sale for multiple offers.
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