How to Sell a Sawmill Without a Broker (and When You Shouldn't)

What a Broker Actually Does

A business broker does four things: prices the business, packages it, finds buyers, and manages the process through close. For that they typically take 8 to 12 percent of the sale price. On a two million dollar mill, that is one hundred sixty to two hundred forty thousand dollars.

Here is the honest part: for straightforward operations with clean books and a natural buyer pool, an owner with the right process can do the first three themselves and hire a transaction attorney for the fourth. For operations with messy numbers, no obvious buyers, or an owner who cannot be two places at once during a sale process, the broker earns their fee.

The For-Sale-By-Owner Path

Step one: run your valuation honestly, using comps, not hope. Step two: assemble the package, three years of tax returns and financials, an equipment list with ages, a customer concentration summary (no names), and a one-page story of the business that a buyer can fall in love with. Step three: list confidentially. Your employees, customers, and bank should not learn about the sale from a public listing. Use a blind profile and an NDA gate. Step four: qualify buyers before they see anything sensitive. Proof of funds first, always.

The mistake most FSBO sellers make is timing: they start the process when they are tired, which is when they accept the first offer. Start when you still have two good years left, and you negotiate from strength.

When You Shouldn't Go It Alone

Four moments: when the sale includes real estate with environmental history, when your customer concentration is above thirty percent for any single account, when family members are involved on either side, and when SBA financing is in play and the bank wants a licensed intermediary's package. In those cases, the fee buys more than it costs.