The 2025 small business transaction market didn’t surge — and it didn’t crash. It stabilized.

Deal volume held steady at 9,586 transactions, total enterprise value reached $7.95B, and median sale prices climbed to $350,000. Multiples ticked up, buyer demand remained strong in key states, and profitable service businesses continued to command attention.

Here’s what actually happened — and what it means if you’re thinking about selling your business in today’s market.

A month ago, someone in my office building mentioned that a six-year-old boy had been beaten to death three doors down from where I work. I started looking for somewhere else. The best the market could offer was a 10x10 office with burgundy walls and a shared bathroom: $900 a month, two-year commitment. I stayed. This is a story about the economics of why.

How long it takes to sell a business in California – RLC Business Brokers

Wondering "how much is my business worth in California?" Most small businesses sell for 2-4x SDE. Learn the 7 factors that determine your business value and how to maximize it before selling.

Jack in the Box just sold Del Taco for $115 million after buying it for $575 million three years ago, a $460 million haircut on a brand people still love. But this isn’t a story about bad tacos. It’s a story about how rising labor, rent, and insurance costs are reshaping the business landscape and why small, scrappy operators are suddenly back in the driver’s seat.

I'm not a Democrat. I'm not a Republican. I think both parties suck. The only party I belong to is the Party of Actually Reading the Thing Before I Vote On It. Democracy isn't a subscription service; it's a company we all co-own. And this level of neglect is poor management.

We've confused consumption with creation, brand loyalty with community, and efficiency with virtue. This essay explores why I work exclusively with service businesses that solve actual problems instead of participating in the expensive, exhausting theater modern capitalism has become.