David DiCarlo

Introduction

I’ve spent most of my life building businesses, selling, negotiating, solving problems, and figuring out how to create value where it did not exist before.

Before becoming a business broker and M&A advisor, I built companies of my own, worked as a top-producing residential real estate agent, and ultimately built and sold one of my own businesses. That experience matters to me because I approach business brokerage from an owner’s perspective, not simply as someone trying to get another listing.

I understand that selling a business is different from selling almost anything else you own.

For many business owners, the company represents decades of work, financial risk, missed vacations, payroll made when money was tight, employees who became family, relationships with customers and vendors, and a significant portion of their personal net worth. There may be a number on the financial statements, but there is also a story behind that number.

I take both seriously.

I have also been through difficult periods personally and professionally. I know what it is like to build, lose ground, rebuild, take responsibility, make difficult decisions, and keep moving forward when the outcome is uncertain. Those experiences have had a major impact on the way I work with business owners today.

When someone trusts me with the sale of a company they spent years building, I understand the weight of that responsibility.

My role is not simply to put a business for sale on BizBuySell and wait for the phone to ring.

I work with owners to understand the business, normalize the financials, identify SDE or EBITDA, evaluate comparable transactions, determine a realistic business valuation range, prepare the company for market, identify qualified buyers, maintain confidentiality, negotiate offers, coordinate financing and due diligence, and help manage the transaction through closing.

A strong business sale should create a market for the company rather than depend on one buyer making one offer.

That means looking beyond traditional business-for-sale websites when appropriate. Depending on the company, our buyer outreach may include individual owner-operators, existing companies seeking strategic acquisitions, private equity groups, family offices, search funds, independent sponsors, competitors, and SBA-qualified acquisition buyers.

The objective is straightforward: create more qualified buyer interest, improve negotiating leverage, and help the owner achieve the best combination of price, terms, certainty, and fit.

I primarily work with owners of profitable privately held companies, including service businesses, contractors, automotive businesses, healthcare and professional practices, home and commercial service companies, specialty trades, distribution businesses, and other established owner-operated companies.

Some owners contact me because they are ready to sell their business now.

Others are one, three, or even five years away and simply want to understand what their business is worth and what they should improve before eventually going to market.

Both conversations are worthwhile.

A business valuation is not just about applying a multiple to earnings. Buyers look at customer concentration, recurring revenue, management depth, owner dependence, margins, financial documentation, employees, contracts, growth trends, competitive position, capital requirements, and how easily the business can transition to new ownership.

Sometimes the best advice I can give an owner is, “You are ready.”

Sometimes it is, “You can sell today, but I think we can materially improve the outcome if we fix these three things first.”

I would rather have that conversation than tell an owner whatever is necessary to get a listing agreement signed.

Responsiveness is also a major part of how I operate.

Business owners regularly tell me one of their biggest frustrations with professional advisors is simply getting someone to return a call, answer a question, or explain what is happening. I take the opposite approach.

I am extremely attentive to the businesses I represent and highly responsive to my clients. If we are working together, you should know where your transaction stands, what buyers are saying, what the next step is, and what I believe we should do about it.

You are not hiring a listing portal.

You are hiring an advisor.

That distinction matters even more once a serious buyer appears.

The headline purchase price is only one component of a deal. Cash at closing, seller financing, earnouts, working capital, assumed liabilities, transition requirements, employment or consulting agreements, financing contingencies, due diligence conditions, real estate, leases, taxes, and the buyer’s ability to actually close can materially change the quality of an offer.

A $5 million offer is not always better than a $4.7 million offer.

My job is to help the seller understand the difference.

Through Maryland Acquisitions, I provide business brokerage, business valuation, exit planning and sell-side M&A advisory services for owners considering the sale of privately held businesses.

Services may include:

Business valuation and market pricing analysis; confidential business sales; sell-side business brokerage; M&A advisory; exit strategy and preparation; SDE and EBITDA normalization; confidential marketing materials; strategic buyer outreach; private equity and search fund outreach; buyer qualification; proof-of-funds review; SBA acquisition financing coordination; offer and LOI analysis; negotiation support; due diligence preparation; data room organization; and transaction coordination through closing.

My philosophy is simple:

You spent years building the business.

The sale deserves more than a listing.

It deserves a process.

If you are considering selling your business in Maryland or are simply wondering what your company may be worth, I am always happy to have a confidential conversation.

Sometimes the first step toward a better exit is simply understanding your options.