Posted by Jennifer M. Settles, Esq. | October 8, 2026 Signing vs. Closing: Why Deals Don’t Always Happen in One Day In the movies, a business deal ends with everyone signing a contract, shaking hands, and celebrating, all in…
Posted by Jennifer M. Settles, Esq. | September 30, 2026 How to Read a Quality of Earnings Report (and Why Buyers Order One) When someone gets serious about buying a business, they often order something called a “quality of…
Posted by Jennifer M. Settles, Esq. | September 28, 2026 Subordination Agreements: Why Your Lender Cares Who Gets Paid First When a business borrows money from more than one source (i.e., a bank, an equipment financier, the seller in…
If you’ve been researching an SBA 7(a) loan to finance a business purchase, be aware that the rulebook is about to change again. On October 1, 2026, a new version of the SBA’s Standard Operating Procedure, SOP 50 10 8.1,…
Posted by Jennifer M. Settles, Esq. September 7, 2026 Non-Compete and Non-Solicit Clauses in a Business Sale: How Far Is Too Far? When someone buys a business, they’re buying its customers, its goodwill, and its momentum—and the last thing…
Posted by Jennifer M. Settles, Esq. | August 28, 2026 Drag-Along and Tag-Along Rights: What They Mean for LLC Members If you own a minority stake in a company, or if you’re negotiating to obtain one, two provisions in…
Posted by Jennifer M. Settles, Esq. | August 24, 2026 Disclosure Schedules: The Unsexy Document That Protects Sellers Most In any business sale, the purchase agreement gets all the attention. But attached to that agreement is a document most sellers…
Posted by Jennifer M. Settles, Esq. | July 24, 2026 Owner Financing a Business Sale: Protecting Yourself as the Seller When you sell your business, the ideal scenario is simple: the buyer pays the full price in cash at closing,…
Posted by Jennifer M. Settles, Esq. | July 15, 2026 Looking Under the Hood: The Due Diligence Red Flags That Kill Deals Due diligence is the part of a deal where the buyer looks under the hood. After…
Posted by Jennifer M. Settles, Esq. | June 29, 2026 Distressed Asset Sales: Buying Opportunity or Liability Trap? When a business is struggling, its assets often go up for sale at prices that look too good to pass…