What It Earns

📈 Real small businesses for sale, broken down: price, profit, loan payment, what you'd keep. Education only. Not financial advice. Figures are seller-reported.

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

A commercial cleaning company near Syracuse, NY (since 1987) is listed for $525K.
Seller says it's on track to make $185K in 2026.
10% down, SBA loan: ~$75K/yr. You keep ~$110K.
Seller asks $75K down.
Verdict: BUY, if the books back up that $185K.
Would you own a janitor company?

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

The listing: https://t.co/0Xsnr4iZC2

$575K price, 10% down = $57.5K
$517.5K SBA 7(a) loan, 10 yrs at 10%
= $6,839/mo, $82,066/yr
$93.4K - $82.1K = ~$11K to you

Catch: loan eats ~88% of it.
Ask for: utility bills.
Not counted: fees, repairs.

Want a listing run? Drop it below.

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

Laundromat clearing $93K a year, per the seller. You'd keep ~$11K.

I ran the numbers. Houston, TX.
Loan: ~$82K/yr
You keep: ~$11K/yr (~20% on cash)
Staffed daily, owners absentee

Deal score: 🔴 1/10. 6.2x earnings, median 3.5x.

Seller's numbers. Not advice. Do your diligence.

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

Myth: the asking price is what it sells for.

Math: landscaping listings on BizBuySell ask a median 2.77x cash flow. Sold ones (2021-25): 2.30x.

On the median ~$188K earner, that's ~$88K.

Ask what comps sold for.

Public data. Not advice. Do your diligence.

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

The listing: https://t.co/Ury2jL0ucp

$148.5K loan at 13% over 10 yrs = $2,217/mo. The $75,460 adjusted net income covers it 2.8x.
Opened 2022. Rent is $5,925/mo, lease to 2027 with options to 2035.

Seller's numbers. Not advice. Do your diligence.

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

People pay money to break things.

A rage room and axe-throwing spot in Middle Tennessee is listed for $165K. It makes $75K a year.

10% down ($16.5K), SBA loan the rest: ~$26.6K/yr. You keep ~$49K.

Catch: hire a manager and you're down ~$16K.

Would you run it yourself?

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

@001Dude_ Having a boss

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

@daniicomunica Not the solar panels 💀💀💀

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

@_provisionalll Seller financing

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

Might fck around n buy a mobile dental drill repair business. You?

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

What a hair salon really earns.

Median salon/barbershop sold in 2025: $165K price, $92K cash flow.

10% down: $16.5K
Loan: ~$26.6K/yr (10 yrs at 13%)
You run it: keep ~$65K
Hire a manager (~$65K): ~$0

Source: BizBuySell 2025.

Public data. Not advice. Do your diligence.

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

The listing: https://t.co/uOgu8Cz3eM

$399K w/ truck, 10% down = $39.9K
$359.1K SBA 7(a) loan, 10 yrs at 10%
= $4,746/mo, $56,946/yr
$100K - $56.9K = ~$43K to you

Catch: ~4x earnings.
Ask for: route records.
Not counted: truck upkeep.

Want a listing run? Drop it below.

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

Pepperidge Farm route, $100K/yr per the seller. You keep ~$43K.

I ran the numbers. East Islip, NY.
Loan: ~$57K/yr
You keep: ~$43K/yr (~108% on cash)
Hire a manager (~$65K): you lose ~$22K

Deal score: 🔴 3/10. 4x earnings, a job.

Seller's numbers. Not advice. Do your diligence.

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

SMB deal factors by tier

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

The listing: https://t.co/fkByZR32EC

$600K price, 10% down = $60K
$540K SBA 7(a) loan, 10 yrs at 10%
= $7,136/mo, $85,634/yr
$205.1K - $85.6K = ~$119K to you

Catch: 2024 is N/A, no lease term.
Ask for: 2024 P&L, lease.
Not counted: fees.

Want a listing run? Drop it below.

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

Wellness studio, $205K in 2025 per the seller. You keep ~$119K.

I ran the numbers. Sarasota Co., FL.
Loan: ~$86K/yr
You keep: ~$119K/yr (~199% on cash)
Hire a manager (~$65K): you keep ~$54K

Deal score: 🟡 6/10. One year shown.

Seller's numbers. Not advice. Do your diligence.

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

@moseskagan Love that line. SBA business buyouts have their own twist on when the seller gets paid. Earnouts are banned, so no extra payout later for how the business does. And a seller note that counts toward the down payment gets no payments for the full 10 year loan.

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

@Orvannis Yeah, and the contracts are the other big one. The listing says those 47 make up nearly the whole customer base, so I'd want to know if they actually transfer to a new owner or each client has to sign off. That's basically the whole $124K.

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

An HVAC company in Snohomish County, WA is listed for $299K.

It makes $124K a year.

10% down ($29.9K), SBA loan the rest: ~$45K/yr. You keep ~$78K.

Catch: the owner does all service calls.

Verdict: Not a buy unless you can do them yourself.

Would you fix HVAC for $78K a year?

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

@acquiredotcom Fun one to run the SBA math on. With 10% down the loan is about $672K, and over 10 years at 10% that's roughly $106.6K a year in payments. So about 35% of the $305K in revenue is spoken for before payroll, hosting or paying yourself.

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

Listing (Transworld #17441-126233): https://t.co/GSSRWcGGPH

Math: $639,000 / $282,951 SDE = 2.26x. $575,100 loan, 10 yrs @ 10% = $7,600/mo. Debt coverage 3.10x. Not financial advice.

[What It Earns @WhatItEarns]

A cleaning company in the Twin Cities, MN is listed for $639K.

It makes $283K a year.

10% down ($63.9K), SBA loan the rest: ~$91K/yr in payments. You keep ~$192K.

Catch: 50% of profit is one partner.

Verdict: Not a buy unless they stay.

Would you bid jobs for $192K a year?