{
  "title": "How to Buy a Business in 2026: The 9 Steps, Costs and Financing",
  "url": "https://acquisitions.com/blog/how-to-buy-a-business/",
  "author": "Moran Pober",
  "publisher": "Acquisitions.com",
  "published": "2026-10-22",
  "updated": "2026-10-22",
  "section": "Buying a business",
  "keyword": "how to buy a business",
  "short_answer": "Decide what you can afford and what you want to own (your \"buy box\"), look at many listings and off-market businesses, check the owner's real earnings, make an offer with a letter of intent, finance it with an SBA loan plus a seller note, do 30 to 60 days of due diligence, then close. Most buyers who work with an advisor close in 60 to 120 days.",
  "facts": {
    "Cash you can put in": [
      "SBA lenders want the buyer to put in equity",
      "10% of the price is the usual floor for an SBA 7(a) acquisition loan"
    ],
    "Your income needs": [
      "The business has to pay you and the loan",
      "Owner's earnings minus loan payments must cover your salary"
    ],
    "Your time": [
      "Some businesses need the owner there every day",
      "Decide if you will run it or hire a manager"
    ]
  },
  "sources": [
    "https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/7a-loans",
    "https://www.sba.gov/document/sop-50-10-lender-development-company-loan-programs"
  ],
  "license": "Facts may be quoted with attribution to Acquisitions.com and a link to the url above."
}