Long Island Business Broker & Sell-Side M&A

Sell Your Business on Long Island, NY

SMB Exit Partners helps founder and family-owned business owners prepare for and sell their companies.

For Long Island business owners, we combine partner-led execution with targeted nationwide buyer outreach. We help owners understand what their business may be worth, prepare for a sale, confidentially approach qualified buyers, negotiate offers, manage diligence, and move toward closing.

  • $1M to $20M Revenue Focus
  • 100% Partner-Led
  • Confidential Buyer Outreach
  • Nationwide Buyer Reach

Thinking About Selling Your Long Island Business?

For many owners, selling a business is the largest financial transaction they will ever complete.

It can also be difficult to know where to start.

  • What is my business worth?
  • How do I keep the process confidential?
  • Who would actually buy my company?
  • Is now the right time to sell?

SMB Exit Partners helps owners work through those questions and run a structured sale process from the initial valuation through closing.

You do not need to have decided to sell before speaking with us. Starting the conversation early can provide more time to prepare the business and understand your options.

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A Large Business Market Across Nassau and Suffolk

Long Island has a substantial privately owned business economy.

99,000

approximate employer establishments across Nassau and Suffolk Counties combined in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
  • Nassau County48,718
  • Suffolk County50,748

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Nassau County, New York and Suffolk County, New York.

The diversity of Long Island's business economy creates opportunities across professional and business services, healthcare-related services, transportation, industrial businesses, construction and trades, recurring commercial services, distribution, and other established sectors.

But the best buyer for a Long Island business may not already be located on Long Island.

Your Business May Be on Long Island. Your Best Buyer May Not Be.

A local buyer may ultimately be the best fit.

But limiting a sale process to Nassau, Suffolk, or even the New York metropolitan area can unnecessarily restrict the buyer universe.

SMB Exit Partners develops a targeted buyer universe based on the business rather than geography alone.

The goal is to identify buyers with a credible reason to value the company and approach them directly and confidentially.

Depending on the company, potential buyers may include:

  • Local or regional competitors
  • Strategic acquirers elsewhere in the United States
  • Individual buyers
  • Search funds
  • Family offices
  • Independent sponsors
  • Private equity-backed companies

Who We Work With

Our primary focus is founder and family-owned businesses with approximately $1 million to $20 million in annual revenue.

We work across a range of industries, particularly established service, B2B, industrial, technical, and recurring-revenue businesses. Owners of service companies may find our guide on how to sell a service business useful.

Every company is different. Revenue alone does not determine whether a business is a good fit.

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We are particularly interested in established companies with characteristics buyers tend to value:

  • Recurring or repeat customers
  • Strong margins or consistent cash flow
  • Long-standing customer relationships
  • Experienced employees or management
  • Strong market reputation
  • Specialized capabilities or expertise
  • Opportunities for continued growth

How Selling a Business Works

For the full picture, see our overview of how we help owners sell a business.

  1. 01

    Understand What the Business May Be Worth

    We review financial performance, margins, customer concentration, recurring revenue, owner involvement, management, growth, industry dynamics, and the quality of the company's earnings.

    The objective is to establish a reasonable valuation range before deciding whether to go to market.

  2. 02

    Prepare the Business for Buyers

    We organize the information buyers are likely to request, identify questions that may arise during diligence, and determine how the company should be presented.

  3. 03

    Identify the Right Buyers

    We identify the types of buyers most likely to value the business and build a targeted outreach list.

    The goal is not simply to find one interested buyer. It is to create the strongest reasonable buyer universe for the company.

  4. 04

    Conduct Confidential Outreach

    We approach buyers selectively, screen interest, and control when sensitive company information is shared.

  5. 05

    Evaluate and Negotiate Offers

    Purchase price matters, but so do financing, working capital, seller financing, earnouts, transition requirements, contingencies, and the buyer's ability to close.

    We help owners compare offers and negotiate the terms that matter.

  6. 06

    Manage Diligence and Closing

    Signing an LOI is an important milestone, but it is not the end of the transaction.

    We remain involved through financial, legal, operational, and other diligence and work to keep the transaction moving toward closing.

What Is My Long Island Business Worth?

There is no single multiple that accurately values every privately held business.

Two companies with the same revenue can have very different values.

For many smaller owner-operated businesses, buyers focus on Seller's Discretionary Earnings, or SDE.

Larger businesses with established management teams are more commonly evaluated based on EBITDA.

The appropriate multiple depends on the size, industry, quality, growth profile, and risk of the business.

Generic online multiples should usually be treated as a starting point rather than an expected sale price. Read more in How Much Is My Business Worth? or try our directional business valuation estimator.

Buyers may consider:

  • Profitability
  • Revenue growth
  • Recurring revenue
  • Customer concentration
  • Customer retention
  • Management depth
  • Owner dependence
  • Margins
  • Capital requirements
  • Industry outlook
  • Growth opportunities
  • Risk to future earnings

The first step is understanding the business and what matters to you as an owner.

Discuss Your Business Confidentially

Keeping the Sale Confidential

"I don't want my employees, customers, or competitors to know I am considering a sale."

That concern makes sense.

A confidential process controls what information is shared and when.

Potential buyers can initially receive limited information about the opportunity. More sensitive financial, customer, and operating information can be shared later with qualified parties and appropriate confidentiality protections.

No sale process can eliminate every risk of disclosure, but confidentiality should be built into the process from the beginning.

  • Buyer Screening
  • Controlled Information Sharing
  • Confidential Outreach

Selling a Business Across Nassau and Suffolk Counties

Long Island is not one uniform business market.

Nassau County is closely connected to New York City and the broader metropolitan economy, while Suffolk County stretches across a larger and more varied geography.

Buyer interest, customer concentration, real estate considerations, seasonality, workforce dynamics, and local market exposure can vary depending on the business and where it operates.

The sale strategy should reflect the economics of the individual company rather than rely on a generic Long Island approach.

SMB Exit Partners works with owners throughout both Nassau and Suffolk Counties while maintaining a nationwide buyer focus.

Partner-Led From Start to Close

If you are hiring someone to represent the business you spent years building, you should know who will actually handle the transaction.

SMB Exit Partners is 100% Partner-Led.

Senior involvement does not end after the engagement is signed.

We remain directly involved in valuation, preparation, buyer outreach, negotiations, diligence, and the decisions that come up throughout the sale.

  1. First Conversation
  2. Valuation
  3. Preparation
  4. Buyer Outreach
  5. Negotiation
  6. Diligence
  7. Closing

How Much Does a Business Broker Cost?

Business broker and sell-side M&A fees vary based on company size, transaction value, scope of work, and deal structure.

Some firms charge only a success fee. Others use an engagement fee in addition to compensation at closing.

SMB Exit Partners publishes its sell-side fee structure so owners can understand the economics before deciding whether to move forward. Our business broker fee guide explains how broker and M&A advisor fees typically work.

How to Choose a Business Broker on Long Island

Before hiring a business broker or M&A firm, ask:

  • Who will personally manage my transaction?
  • How will my business be valued?
  • How will buyers be identified?
  • Will potential buyers be contacted directly?
  • How will confidentiality be protected?
  • How will buyers be screened?
  • Who will negotiate offers?
  • What happens after an LOI is signed?
  • How is the firm compensated?

The answers should be clear before signing an engagement.

Selling a privately owned company often involves sensitive financial information, employees, customers, family considerations, and personal goals.

Trust matters.

For a deeper checklist, read how to choose a business broker to sell your business.

Business Owners Across Long Island

SMB Exit Partners works with business owners throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties, including companies in and around:

Garden City, Mineola, Great Neck, Manhasset, Roslyn, Hempstead, Hicksville, Plainview, Syosset, Melville, Huntington, Smithtown, Hauppauge, Ronkonkoma, Patchogue, Islip, Riverhead, and surrounding Long Island communities.

We also represent businesses elsewhere in New York and throughout the United States.

Long Island is a geographic focus, not a limitation on the buyer universe.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I sell my business on Long Island?

A sale generally starts with understanding what the business may be worth and whether it is ready for market. From there, the process includes preparing information for buyers, identifying potential acquirers, conducting confidential outreach, evaluating and negotiating offers, completing diligence, and closing the transaction.

How do I choose a Long Island business broker?

Look beyond location alone. Understand who will personally manage the sale, how buyers will be identified, how confidentiality will be protected, how offers will be negotiated, what happens after an LOI, and how the firm is compensated.

Do I need a business broker physically located on Long Island?

Not necessarily. Local market familiarity can be useful, but buyer reach, transaction experience, confidentiality, senior involvement, and the ability to manage the process through closing can be more important than office location.

How much is my Long Island business worth?

Business value depends on earnings and the quality and risk of those earnings. Growth, margins, recurring revenue, customer concentration, management depth, owner dependence, industry conditions, and other factors can materially affect value.

How much does a business broker charge in New York?

Fees vary by firm, company size, transaction value, and scope of work. Compensation may include an engagement fee, success fee, or a combination of the two.

Can I explore a sale without my employees knowing?

Yes. A process can be structured to limit unnecessary disclosure through targeted outreach, buyer screening, confidentiality protections, and staged sharing of information.

Do you work with businesses in both Nassau and Suffolk County?

Yes. SMB Exit Partners works with owners throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties and with businesses nationwide.

Will you only approach buyers in New York?

No. Depending on the business, qualified buyers may be located anywhere in the United States.

What size businesses does SMB Exit Partners work with?

Our primary sell-side focus is founder and family-owned businesses with approximately $1 million to $20 million in annual revenue.

What happens on the first call?

The first conversation is an opportunity to learn about your business, why you are considering a sale, your timing, and what matters to you.

You do not need to have decided to sell.

Thinking About Selling Your Long Island Business?

You do not need to be ready to sell today to start preparing.

If you own a business on Long Island and are considering a sale now or over the next several years, we would be happy to learn about the company and discuss your goals, timing, and potential next steps.

Confidential. No obligation. Partner-led.

Prefer to talk now? Call (914) 200-3388

Request a Confidential Call