One deal. Two disciplines.
Usually two firms.
A typical broker
Buyers, marketing, and deal experience. A good broker knows who's acquiring in your industry this year.
The financial cleanup that decides your multiple. Diligence surprises kill deals the broker priced months earlier.
Commission at closing, which rewards listing now over getting you ready first.
The CPA and the dealmaker, one team
Books brought to a clean, GAAP-ready standard: monthly closes a buyer can trust, documented add-backs, margins that survive scrutiny.
We implement improvements with your team: a stronger sales and marketing engine, leaner operations, internal controls, and the SOPs and manuals that let the business run without you.
We list the business, bring vetted buyers to the table, manage diligence, and negotiate through closing. Same people. No handoff.
Lakeshore invests in and acquires Chicagoland businesses outright. If we want to be your buyer, we say so in writing up front, and you stay free to take the market instead.
Preparation is always a published flat fee. The listing and sale are structured for your deal, in writing, before you commit.
A CPA alone
Clean taxes and statements from someone who already knows your books. Keep them; we work alongside your CPA, not against them.
Value building. Taxes filed right won't raise your multiple. Buyers pay for GAAP-clean books, a sales engine that works, and operations that run without the owner.
For filings and closes, not for what your business fetches at the sale table.
Most owners get a broker or an accountant.
The good exits get both, working as one.
See services and pricing · Comparing brokers? Read the Chicago broker guide
Two ways to sell. One team.
List with us
Evidence-backed pricing, a confidential process, and vetted buyers — roll-ups, strategics, and searchers — brought to your table. We run the deal from listing through closing, and the fee is in writing before we go to market.
Sell to us
Sometimes the strongest buyer is already in the room. Lakeshore can take a stake in your business or buy it outright: no listing period, no marketing exposure, and a close on your timeline.