Guides for owners
thinking about a sale.
Direct, practical answers to the questions we hear most from founders and business owners on advisors, process, valuation, and buyers in the lower middle market.
Coming Home: Family, the Midwest, and This Fourth of July
A personal note from Jack Pitts on leaving private equity in New York, coming home, and building something with his brother.
Read the Note → Thought Leadership · July 1, 2026Community, the Midwest, and What It Means to Sell a Family Business
Connor Pitts on Midwest community, growing up around a family business, and what actually changes for a town when one gets sold.
Read the Note → Thought Leadership · July 3, 2026Why We Built Salt Creek Around Relationships, Not Transactions
Jack Pitts on why community and real relationships are a better foundation for this business than treating deals as pure transactions.
Read the Note → Choosing an Advisor · March 10, 2026Best M&A Advisors for Selling a $20 Million Company in 2026
What to actually look for in an advisor at this deal size, and the questions that separate a strong fit from a mismatch.
Read the Guide → Choosing an Advisor · March 24, 2026Top Lower Middle Market Investment Banks in 2026
How lower middle market investment banks differ from bulge-bracket firms and business brokers, and how to evaluate one.
Read the Guide → Choosing an Advisor · April 7, 2026How to Choose an M&A Advisor for a Founder-Led Business
A practical framework for evaluating advisors when the business is your biggest asset and your life's work.
Read the Guide → Choosing an Advisor · April 21, 2026Sell-Side Advisor vs. Business Broker: What’s the Difference?
Where brokers and investment banks overlap, where they diverge, and which one fits your size and situation.
Read the Guide → The Sale Process · May 5, 2026What Is the Lower Middle Market M&A Process?
A step-by-step walkthrough of how a sell-side process actually runs, from preparation to close.
Read the Guide → The Sale Process · May 19, 2026How Long Does It Take to Sell a Business in the Lower Middle Market?
Realistic timelines for each phase of a sale, and the factors that most often speed up or stall a deal.
Read the Guide → Preparing to Sell · June 9, 2026What Buyers Look for in an Acquisition Target
The operational, financial, and management factors that shape how buyers evaluate and price a business.
Read the Guide → The Sale Process · June 23, 2026Strategic Buyer vs. Private Equity Buyer: Which Is Better for Sellers?
How the two buyer types differ on price, terms, speed, and what happens to the business after close.
Read the Guide → Thought Leadership · July 6, 2026How AI Is Actually Changing Business (Not the Hype Version)
A grounded look at where AI helps, where it falls short, and how we use it at Salt Creek.
Read the Guide → Valuation Basics · July 8, 2026EBITDA and Business Valuation Basics: What Every Owner Should Know
What EBITDA actually measures, why buyers use multiples, and the common adjustments owners should understand.
Read the Guide → M&A Trends · July 10, 2026Why Roll-Ups Are Heating Up in Legal Services and Pet Care
Why two fragmented, owner-heavy industries are attracting active roll-up interest, and what it means if you're in one.
Read the Guide → Sector Focus · July 5, 2026M&A Advisor for Early Childhood Education Companies
What makes ECE M&A distinctive, who is actively buying preschools right now, and what a Salt Creek-run process looks like.
Read the Guide → Sector Focus · July 5, 2026M&A Advisor for Business Services Companies
What buyers underwrite in a business services sale, who is actively acquiring, and how to position your company.
Read the Guide → Sector Focus · July 5, 2026M&A Advisor for Manufacturing & Industrial Companies
Why industrial M&A is different, who is actively acquiring, and why Midwest roots matter for this sector.
Read the Guide → Reference Guide · July 5, 2026M&A Glossary: Lower Middle Market Terms Explained
Plain-language definitions of IOI, LOI, EBITDA, rollover equity, earnouts, and the other terms you'll hear during a sale.
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