What a Word Doc Taught Me About Buying Businesses

May 09, 2025
by a professional from Duke University in Windermere, FL 34786, USA
We once asked a seller for their financials. They proudly sent a Word document. Not a spreadsheet. A document. It had emojis. “Cash Flow 😎” was the heading.
This wasn’t fraud. It wasn’t laziness. It was their normal.
And that’s the reality for most small business acquisitions. You’re not stepping into a buttoned-up machine, you’re walking into a house someone built without an architect.
Buyers: due diligence is the easy part. Making sense of chaos without insulting the seller? That’s the real work.
in New York, NY, USA