This post is a practical, this-week version of the first steps in the business acquisition process — concrete actions you can take right now, before you're deep into the search itself covered in our 7-stage business acquisition process guide.

  • Start with a lender conversation, not a listing site.
  • Browsing listings early is fine as research, not yet as serious evaluation.
  • Narrowing an industry starts with what you already understand, not a blank slate.
  • Contact a broker only after you have a rough budget and criteria ready to share.

This Week: Call a Lender

Before anything else, talk to an SBA lender or take an honest look at your available capital. This single conversation tells you your realistic price ceiling, which shapes every decision that follows. The U.S. Small Business Administration's guide to buying an existing business is a solid starting point for understanding what documentation a lender will want from you at this stage.

This Week: Write Down What You're Actually Looking For

Not a vague idea — an actual written list: target industry, geography, size range measured by SDE, and how involved you want to be day-to-day. Start by listing industries you already understand from work experience or personal interest; a completely unfamiliar industry adds real risk to a first acquisition. This becomes your filter for everything you look at going forward.

This Week: Decide on Broker vs. Independent Search

You don't need to commit yet, but think through whether you want a broker's access to off-market deals and negotiation experience, or prefer to search independently — our guide to buying a business without a broker covers what that path actually involves. If you lean toward a broker, wait until you have a rough budget and criteria ready before reaching out; a broker can't filter opportunities for you until they know what you're actually looking for, and review any broker client agreements carefully before signing.

This Week: Start Browsing, Loosely

It's fine to start looking at listings now, but treat it as market research to calibrate your expectations against real pricing — using rough benchmarks like the IBBA and M&A Source's Q1 2026 Market Pulse survey's reported 2.0x SDE to 4.0x EBITDA multiples — rather than serious evaluation of specific businesses. Serious evaluation starts once your financing and criteria from the steps above are actually locked in.

What Shouldn't You Do in the First Week?

Don't quit your job, don't make an offer on anything, and don't tell a seller you're "ready to move fast" before your financing is actually confirmed — all common first-week mistakes driven by excitement rather than readiness. This stage is about preparation, not commitment, and moving too fast on any of these before your criteria and budget are locked in tends to create pressure that works against you once real negotiations start.

If you've done these first steps and are ready to move into real sourcing, get in touch with Silver Surf — happy to talk through where you're starting from.

FAQ

1. What's the very first thing I should do this week?

Call an SBA lender or review your available capital, so you know your real budget before doing anything else.

2. Should I sign up for listing sites right away?

It doesn't hurt to browse, but treat it as market research rather than serious evaluation until your financing and criteria are locked in.

3. How do I start narrowing down an industry?

List industries you already understand from work or personal experience, then rank them by how much day-to-day involvement you actually want.

4. When should I contact a broker?

Once you have a rough budget and criteria defined — reaching out before that means the broker can't actually filter opportunities for you yet.