Most people learn how business sales actually work in the middle of one — which is the most expensive place to learn it.

Before the Deal is a new channel with one purpose: show you the mechanics before you're in the room. No hype, no gurus — just what buyers, sellers, and their lenders actually look at.

The first three episodes are live:

Buying a Business: The 6 Stages (And Where Deals Die) — the whole process end to end, and the specific points where most deals quietly fall apart. https://youtu.be/dz9QnvH4CAw

SDE Explained: The Number That Sets Your Price — the earnings figure nearly every small-business price is built on, and how it gets calculated and argued. https://youtu.be/j-UEDMnWjuo

Business Valuation Multiples Are Made Up (Sort Of) — where valuation multiples really come from and what actually moves them. https://youtu.be/Lc9r4PVcnE8

If you own a business — even one you're not planning to sell — start with the Deal-Readiness Checklist here: https://before-the-deal.beehiiv.com/p/the-deal-readiness-checklist — fifteen self-audit items, each mapped to a full episode. It shows you what a buyer could verify today versus what still depends on your explanation.

One useful lesson each week from here.

Reply question: are you closer to buying one, or handing one off?

Educational information only — not legal, tax, accounting, valuation, lending, investment, or transaction advice.