A small business broker in Chicago for owners doing $1 million to $5 million.
A small business broker in Chicago charges roughly 8 to 12 percent of the sale price, often with a $10,000 to $25,000 minimum, and a $1 million to $5 million company sells in six to nine months on a multiple of seller's discretionary earnings. Ours is 10 percent, in writing before market, no retainer, and the same four people work every sale.
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.
Why smaller sales get ignored, and why yours won't be.
The worry is fair. At a large brokerage, a $2 million listing is the smallest file in the office. A 10 percent fee on a $1.5 million sale is $150,000, real money to you and a small line on the year at a firm that also sells $20 million companies. So the smaller listing goes to an associate, and your file waits.
Our answer is the size of the firm. The four people on this site are the people on your sale. A managing advisor who spent fifteen years as an IRS auditor reads your books personally. Jim Calloway coordinates the deal team, as he has on more than sixty closings. Alex Nejad, CPA, handles tax and working capital. There is no one junior to hand you to.
How we price and run a $1 million to $5 million sale.
- Priced on SDE, from the bank statements up
- Businesses this size sell on seller's discretionary earnings: profit, plus your salary, plus the add-backs you can document. We rebuild that number from the tax returns and bank statements before we quote a range, because the buyer's accountant will. The 2026 multiples by industry and size are in how much is my business worth.
- Priced for a buyer who needs a lender
- Many buyers at this size are individuals and searchers who finance the purchase, so the business has to satisfy a bank as well as a buyer: tax returns that match the P&L, a working-capital number, a written transition plan.
- Confidential, which matters more in a small company
- A one-page profile that doesn't name the business, NDAs before anyone sees a financial statement, buyers vetted before they learn who you are. In a twelve-person shop, one rumor can cost you the foreman.
- A buyer list you approve
- The roll-ups active in your trade, the competitor two towns over, the searcher with financing lined up. You see the list before we call anyone. Which buyers are active in which county is on the business broker in Illinois page.
What changes under about $1 million.
Below about $1 million in revenue, our fee may not earn its keep, and we'll say so on the first call.
Preparation costs about the same whether the company does $600,000 or $6 million. A 10 percent fee on a $400,000 sale is $40,000, with the cleanup on top. At that size the money usually goes further with a sale to an employee or a family member, or with a smaller main-street broker, and we'll tell you what to ask them.
Between $1 million and $2 million, the answer is usually yes when the books need a CPA before a buyer sees them, and often no when the buyer is already known. Then we can represent you in that one negotiation without a listing.
A smaller sale, step by step. Six to nine months, typically.
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Value range, then a consult. Free.
A CPA-prepared range within two business days, then thirty minutes by phone with a CPA on your numbers, your timeline, and whether our fee fits.
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Exit-Readiness Review, if the gaps need pricing. $4,500 flat.
Two weeks: a scorecard across the five things buyers examine, a defended value range, a 90-day fix list, credited against the success fee if we later list. A longer list runs through the Sale-Ready Program, from $2,500 a month.
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Pricing memo, blind profile, buyer list. The 10% fee goes in writing here.
Normalized SDE, documented add-backs, a listing range with the evidence behind it, and a profile that doesn't name the business.
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NDAs, management meetings, LOI.
Buyers sign before they see your name. The serious ones meet you at the business, after hours if confidentiality needs it. Price, structure, working capital and your transition are settled in the LOI.
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Diligence and closing.
The buyer's accountant and lender work from a data room built before they asked. Purchase agreement, your attorney's review, lender sign-off, funds flow, handover.
No retainer, no monthly fee, no success fee if it doesn't sell. If we'd rather buy the business ourselves, we say so in writing before step three, with no commission. Fees clause by clause: business broker fees in Chicago.
The smaller the company, the more of it lives in the owner's head. Getting it onto paper before the buyer arrives is most of the work, and most of the price.
Lakeshore Exit Partners · Chicago
Selling a smaller Chicago business, answered.
Is my business too small for a broker?
A business doing $1 million to $5 million in revenue is not too small. Below about $1 million in revenue, our fee may not earn its keep; we say so in the free consult and explain what to ask a main-street broker instead.
Do I need a broker to sell my business?
Not always. If you already have a buyer, you need defensible financials, an evidence-backed price and diligence managed, not a listing. If buyers have to be found and the sale kept quiet, a broker earns the fee. We'll tell you which case you're in on the free consult. The longer answer is in should I hire a business broker to sell my company.
How are small businesses priced for sale?
Smaller businesses are priced on a multiple of seller's discretionary earnings (SDE): profit plus the owner's salary and documented add-backs. The multiple moves on what a buyer's accountant can verify and how much of the company depends on the owner.
How much does a small business broker charge in Chicago?
Chicago brokers typically charge 8 to 12 percent of the sale price for smaller businesses, often with a $10,000 to $25,000 minimum. We charge a 10 percent success fee agreed in writing before going to market, with no retainer. Preparation is a separate flat fee: $4,500 for the two-week Exit-Readiness Review, credited against the success fee if we later list the business.
How long does it take to sell a small business in Chicago?
Six to nine months from first conversation to closing is typical for a prepared company, with about 90 to 120 days on the market. If the books need a CPA before a buyer sees them, preparation runs first: two weeks for the Review, longer through the Sale-Ready Program. The month-by-month version is in how to sell a business in Chicago.
Will my employees and customers find out my business is for sale?
The process is built so they don't: a blind profile that doesn't name the business, NDAs before any financials are shared, buyers vetted before they learn your name. Employees, customers and suppliers learn of the sale when it is certain, usually at closing.
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.
Prefer to talk now? (312) 278-2109, weekdays 9 to 5. A person answers.