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CGK Insights

The CGK blog on selling, buying, and valuing privately-held businesses.

Commentary from the senior named principals who actually close the engagements.

The CGK blog is where senior CGK principals publish working analysis on what is moving the market for privately-held companies in the High Main Street and lower-middle-market bands. Topics rotate across selling a business, buying a business, business valuations, M&A structuring, financing, tax, regulatory shifts, and the macro and policy backdrop reshaping the buyer pool. Read what you need, then submit a confidential profile if you want a senior principal to weigh in on your specific situation.

As Featured On

Inside the Blueprint, the national business television program featuring CGK business brokers and M&A advisors.

CGK has been featured on Inside the Blueprint, a national business television segment that highlights the strategy, discipline, and outcomes that separate the M&A firms business owners should actually engage from the ones they should not.

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All CGK Insights

Recent commentary from the CGK team.

Every post below is authored or reviewed by a senior CGK principal. Topics span selling a business, buying a business, business valuations, M&A structure, financing, tax, and the macro backdrop. Use the pagination at the bottom of the grid to browse the full archive.

Buy a Business in Washington DC

Washington DC, the Nation’s capital, is a booming metropolis that beckons entrepreneurs to take the leap and join the success being experienced in this district. Buy a business in Washington DC and take advantage of a business that has customers, employees, and a set of systems and processes that are ...

The Importance of the Owner’s Cash Flow When Buying or Selling a Business

Updated July 2026. Owner’s cash flow, usually measured as seller’s discretionary earnings or SDE, is the number most private business sales are priced on. It starts with net income and adds back owner compensation, benefits, interest, depreciation, and one-time or discretionary expenses, showing what the business truly generates for one ...

Selling an Essential Business During the Covid-19 Pandemic

With the pandemic, many business owners are wondering if it might be time to sell. For many, however, selling their business right now might not be a good idea since revenue is down significantly. Owners of an essential business, however, are more in luck. Now might be the perfect time ...

How to Find a Good Business Broker

Updated July 2026. To find a good business broker, look for verifiable closed transactions in your size range, a documented process for confidential marketing and buyer qualification, valuation work built on comparable sales rather than rules of thumb, success-based fees, and references from owners like you. Close rate separates professionals ...

Are There Tax Implications for Selling a Business?

There are tax implications for selling a business. However, the way the deal is structured could have a big impact. There are a lot of decisions to make that can have an impact on the taxes of the sale, though there are restrictions on these decisions by the IRS. The ...

What Documents And Info Are Needed To Sell A Business?

Updated July 2026. To sell a business you will need three to five years of financial statements and tax returns, a seller’s discretionary earnings recast with documented add-backs, customer and revenue summaries, equipment lists, and lease information. Marketing materials stay high level; sensitive detail waits for diligence after a signed ...

Increasing the Valuation of Your Business Without Creating More Earnings

Updated July 2026. You can increase what buyers pay without growing earnings by reducing risk: document the earnings you already have, lower owner dependency, spread customer concentration, secure contracts and leases, and clean up your records. Multiples move on confidence. The same cash flow at lower perceived risk commands a ...

Want to Own Your Own Business? An Insider Technique That Reduces Risk, Saves You Time and Effort

Are you tired of working for someone else? Ready to take the plunge and become a business owner? You aren't alone. According to the Chamber of Commerce website, for the period of 2009-2016, around 400,000 small businesses are started each year. However, as we all know, the road to success ...

Preparing for a Business Valuation in Five Simple Steps

Updated July 2026. To prepare for a business valuation: gather three to five years of financials and tax returns, list your add-backs with documentation, summarize customers and revenue mix, note equipment and lease terms, and write down what makes the business transferable. A prepared owner gets a sharper number and ...

Can You Sell Your Business Without a Business Broker?

Updated July 2026. You can sell a business without a broker, and some owners do, usually to a family member, an employee, or a buyer they already know. For a sale on the open market, the data is unforgiving: roughly 20% of listed businesses actually close, and unrepresented sellers carry ...

Business Brokers Have Better Closing Rates

A dedicated business broker can dramatically improve closing rates on businesses for sale. But why? Here are five reasons business brokers can make a huge difference. #1, They Know Buyers When you’re selling your business, obviously you want to reach as many potential buyers as possible. Business brokers simply know ...

Employees are a Key Factor When Selling Your Business

No business can truly succeed without quality employees. No matter what industry you’re in, you need employees that are capable and caring. And of course, the opposite can happen as well. We’ve all heard horror stories of businesses broken by a handful of key employees who either don’t care or ...

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National Footprint

CGK has offices across the country.

Whichever office you reach, you get the entire firm. Click any city to learn about that local presence and the named principal leading that market.

Austin, TX
2720 Bee Caves Road
Austin, TX 78746
(512) 900-5960
Baltimore, MD
111 S Calvert St
Baltimore, MD 21202
(410) 777-5759
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102 S Tejon St
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
(719) 471-0115
Dallas, TX
325 N Saint Paul St
Dallas, TX 75201
(469) 998-1968
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Denver, CO 80202
(303) 974-7978
Houston, TX
1200 Smith St
Houston, TX 77002
(713) 588-0240
Louisville, KY
312 S 4th St
Louisville, KY 40202
(502) 287-0332
Nashville, TN
424 Church St
Nashville, TN 37219
(615) 800-7118
Phoenix, AZ
40 N Central Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85004
(602) 714-7470
San Antonio, TX
700 N Saint Mary’s St
San Antonio, TX 78205
(210) 526-0094
Washington, DC
1050 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 888-6120
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