Sell my business in Chicago: three ways to do it, and what each one costs.
To sell a business in Chicago, you price it on verified earnings, market it confidentially to vetted buyers who sign an NDA before seeing financials, negotiate the letter of intent, then run diligence and an Illinois closing. Six to nine months is typical. A listed sale with Lakeshore costs a 10 percent success fee, agreed in writing before we go to market; if we buy the business ourselves, there is no commission.
What would it sell for today?
Revenue, industry, and where to send it. Within two business days you'll have a CPA-prepared value range and the two or three items a buyer's accountant would raise first. Free, confidential, nothing to sign.
If the honest answer is "wait two years," you'll hear that. The math behind the range is on how much is my business worth, with the multiples by size.
What are my options for selling a business in Chicago?
Three that work. Which one is yours depends on your timeline, your numbers, and how ready the business is today. We'll tell you which we'd pick, including "not yet." Owners doing $1 million to $5 million can also read the small business broker in Chicago page, which covers staffing and fees at that size.
Evidence-backed pricing, vetted buyers, diligence to closing.
A blind profile, NDAs before financials, buyers vetted before they learn your name. Roll-ups, strategics, searchers, and individuals, from a list you approve. Six to nine months, typically.
How a listing runs Path two · Sell to LakeshoreOne prepared buyer. No listing period, no commission.
We invest in and acquire Chicagoland businesses. If we want to buy yours, we say so in writing up front, and you stay free to go to market instead.
What we buy Path three · Prepare firstTwo weeks with your real numbers, then decide.
If the value problem lives in the books or the customer mix, fixing it pays better than listing sooner. A scorecard, a defended range, and a 90-day fix list.
What the Review coversCan I sell my business without a broker?
Yes. A competitor called. A roll-up sent a letter. A key employee wants to buy. You may not need a marketed listing at all, and think twice before signing an exclusive agreement that pays a commission on a buyer you found yourself.
Their accountant will still rebuild your earnings from the bank statements up, so the books have to hold. And the first offer is rarely the best one, because the buyer priced it before anyone on your side checked the math. We can represent you in that one negotiation without a listing: rebuild the earnings, review their LOI, negotiate structure and working capital, and manage diligence, at a fee agreed in writing first. If their number is fair, we'll say so. If it isn't, a second prepared buyer is the most reliable way to improve it, and sometimes that buyer is us.
How do I sell my business in Chicago, step by step?
Six steps, in order. Ninety to 120 days on the market is typical for a prepared business. Cash-basis books or a customer over 20 percent of revenue add time, which is why step two exists.
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Value range
Free, within two business days. A working range and the items a buyer's accountant would raise first.
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Readiness check
A free 30-minute consult, or the $4,500 Review if you want the gaps priced. Some owners go to market from here; some spend 90 days on the fix list first.
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Pricing memo, blind profile, buyer list
Normalized earnings, documented add-backs, a listing range with the evidence behind it, and a one-page profile that doesn't name the business. You approve the buyer list. The 10% fee is in writing before this step.
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NDAs, the CIM, management meetings
Buyers sign before they see anything with your name on it. The serious ones meet you, usually at the business, after hours if confidentiality needs it.
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LOI and diligence
Price, structure, working capital, and the transition are settled in the letter of intent. Diligence runs from a data room built before anyone asked.
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Closing
Purchase agreement, your attorney's review, lender sign-off, the Illinois and Cook County tax notices, funds flow, handover plan. Jim Calloway has coordinated more than sixty closings; Alex Nejad, CPA, handles the tax and working-capital questions.
How long does it take to sell a business in Chicago?
Selling a business in Chicago takes six to nine months from the first conversation to closing when the books are clean: about two weeks to 90 days of preparation, 90 to 120 days on the market, and 60 to 90 days from the letter of intent to closing. A direct sale to Lakeshore, or to a buyer you already know, can close in 90 to 120 days because there is no marketing period. The national benchmarks point the same way: businesses sold in Q3 2025 spent a median of 149 days on the market, and the median time from listing to close in 2025 was 170 days (BizBuySell Insight Report, Q3 2025; 2025 year in review). There is no published Chicago-only days-on-market figure; BizBuySell's Chicago table reports sale counts and prices, not time on market. The month-by-month version, with what happens in each step and what adds time, is how to sell a business in Chicago.
- Value range and readiness check
- Two business days for the range. Two weeks for the $4,500 Review if you want the gaps priced, up to 90 days if you work the fix list before going to market.
- On the market
- 90 to 120 days for a prepared business: blind profile out, NDAs signed, the CIM read, management meetings held, offers in.
- Letter of intent to closing
- 60 to 90 days. Diligence from a data room built in advance, the purchase agreement, the buyer's lender, and the Illinois and Cook County tax notices, which have their own clocks (below).
- What adds time
- Cash-basis books that have to be rebuilt on an accrual basis, one customer over 20 percent of revenue, a buyer whose financing depends on a lender's underwriting, or a landlord who is slow to assign the lease.
What documents do I need to sell my business in Chicago?
The fifth of the five things buyers examine. A data room built before anyone asks is the difference between a 60-day diligence and a 120-day one.
To sell a business in Chicago you need three years of federal tax returns and year-end financial statements, a year-to-date and trailing-twelve-month P&L, bank statements that tie to them, a documented add-back schedule, revenue by customer, the lease, employee and equipment lists, and every license and permit with a note on whether it transfers. Assemble them before the first buyer asks, not in diligence.
- Financials
- Three years of federal returns and year-end statements, the year-to-date and trailing-twelve-month P&L and balance sheet, bank and merchant statements that reconcile to them, and an add-back schedule with the support for each item. The buyer's accountant rebuilds earnings from the bank statements up, so start there.
- Customers and contracts
- Revenue by customer for three years (one customer over 20 percent of revenue is the first question), customer and service agreements with their assignment clauses, supplier and distributor agreements, and any work in progress or backlog schedule.
- People
- An organization chart, the payroll register with tenure, employment, non-compete and non-solicit agreements, benefit plans, and a note on which licenses are held by the company and which by a person.
- Premises and assets
- The lease and its assignment clause, an equipment list with serial numbers and any liens (a UCC search is part of diligence), vehicle titles, insurance policies and loss runs.
- Licenses, permits and notices
- Every state and municipal license with whether it transfers. City of Chicago business licenses are issued for a specific location and are not transferable: the buyer files a change-of-ownership application and confirms the business is in good standing with the Department of Finance, with no unpaid debt, taxes or open violations, before closing (source: City of Chicago, Business Affairs and Consumer Protection). Add the Form CBS-1 and Cook County bulk-sales notices below, the entity documents and minutes, and any pending litigation or claims.
The Exit-Readiness Review builds this file in two weeks and scores what is in it; the free value range tells you which two or three items a buyer's accountant would raise first. What happens when the file has gaps, and how those gaps turn into seller notes and earnouts instead of cash at closing, is in seller financing and earnouts in Chicago deals.
What has to happen at closing in Illinois?
Your attorney runs these. We keep them on the calendar so they don't move the closing date.
In an Illinois asset sale, the buyer files Form CBS-1, the Notice of Sale, Purchase, or Transfer of Business Assets, with the Illinois Department of Revenue at least ten business days before closing. The Department issues a bulk sales release once the seller's state taxes are settled. A buyer who skips the filing can be held liable for the seller's unpaid Illinois taxes up to the value of the assets, so buyers' attorneys insist on it, and the ten-day clock belongs on the closing calendar (source: Illinois Department of Revenue, Form CBS-1 instructions).
Cook County runs its own version. A business that pays or remits Cook County taxes files the county's Notice of Bulk Sales or Transfer with the Cook County Department of Revenue at least 45 days before the sale, and the seller remits any county taxes due within 30 days after it (source: Cook County Department of Revenue). Forty-five days is longer than most owners expect, which is why we raise it at the LOI, not the week of closing. Outside Cook County, ask your attorney whether the county or municipality has a notice of its own; local licenses and permits often have to be reissued to the new owner either way.
The rest is deal mechanics: the working capital target set in the LOI and trued up at closing, the allocation of the purchase price for tax purposes, the lease assignment, the transition period you agreed to, and the funds flow. Alex Nejad, CPA, handles the tax and working-capital questions on our side; the legal work is your attorney's. Selling across the state line? The Illinois guide covers the six counties and Northwest Indiana.
Buyers pay for proof, not potential. Every serious buyer sends an accountant before they send an offer. Most owners meet that person for the first time in diligence, after the price is agreed.
Lakeshore Exit Partners · Chicago
Selling in Chicago, answered.
How do I sell my business in Chicago?
Three workable ways. List it with a firm that markets it confidentially to vetted buyers. Sell it directly, to a buyer you already know or to Lakeshore. Or prepare first, then sell for a stronger multiple. Which fits depends on your timeline, your numbers, and how ready the business is today.
Can I sell my business without a broker?
Yes, especially with a buyer in hand or a direct sale to Lakeshore. What you still need is defensible financials, an evidence-backed price, and diligence managed. We provide that in a single negotiation without a listing. More in the Chicago broker guide.
How long does it take to sell a business in Chicago?
Selling a business in Chicago takes six to nine months from the first conversation to closing when the books are clean: about two weeks to 90 days of preparation, 90 to 120 days on the market, and 60 to 90 days from the letter of intent to closing. A direct sale to Lakeshore, or to a buyer you already know, can close in 90 to 120 days because there is no marketing period. Nationally, businesses sold in Q3 2025 spent a median of 149 days on the market, and the median time to close in 2025 was 170 days (BizBuySell Insight Report, Q3 2025; 2025 year in review). There is no published Chicago-only days-on-market figure.
What does it cost to sell a business in Chicago?
Most Chicago business brokers charge a success fee of 8 to 12 percent of the sale price, paid at closing, sometimes with a minimum fee or an upfront charge. Lakeshore charges 10 percent, agreed in writing before going to market, with no retainer. Add your attorney's fees and any pre-sale cleanup. The fee table and the fee article cover every clause.
What is my business worth?
Most businesses doing $1 million to $15 million in revenue sell on a multiple of earnings, SDE for smaller companies and EBITDA for larger ones, and the multiple moves on what a buyer can verify. How the math works, with the size bands. The free value range gives you a working low and high and the gaps most likely costing you value.
What is the Illinois bulk sales notice?
In an Illinois asset sale, the buyer files Form CBS-1 with the Illinois Department of Revenue at least ten business days before closing, and the Department issues a bulk sales release once the seller's state taxes are settled. Cook County requires its own Notice of Bulk Sales or Transfer at least 45 days before the sale. Your attorney files both; we keep them on the closing calendar.
What documents do I need to sell my business in Chicago?
To sell a business in Chicago you need three years of federal tax returns and year-end financial statements, a year-to-date and trailing-twelve-month P&L, bank statements that tie to them, a documented add-back schedule, revenue by customer, the lease, employee and equipment lists, and every license and permit with a note on whether it transfers. Assemble them before the first buyer asks, not in diligence.
Will my employees or customers find out?
Not from us. The profile is blind, buyers sign an NDA before they see financials, and buyers are vetted before they learn your name. You decide when your people are told, usually after the purchase agreement is signed.
What buyers look for Industries and counties What Chicagoland businesses sell for Owner FAQ
Find out what it would sell for. Free.
A CPA-prepared value range and the gaps a buyer's accountant would find first, within two business days.
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