Check-in
$450 / month
For early searchers who want structure and accountability.
- 1 session a month
- Complete ETA Buyer Suite included
- Kickoff on readiness and buy box
- Short email follow-up after each session
ETA coaching · Deal analysis · Buyer tools
Buying a small business? Get an experienced second set of eyes on the deal.
One-on-one coaching and flat-fee deal analysis from someone who spent 17 years on the sell side of M&A and then bought a business himself. We test your numbers together, from add-backs and valuation to SBA debt coverage and seller notes, so you can decide with clear eyes.
Apply for a free fit call20 minutes, no obligation. Flat fees, never tied to a deal closing. Not ready yet? Take the free readiness assessment.
- 17 yearssell-side M&A, partner since 2009
- Business ownerbought and operates a retail business
- Asst. Professor of FinanceAsbury University
- Duke MBAPh.D. candidate, ESCP
Who it's for
Business acquisition coaching for serious first-time buyers
Built for corporate professionals buying a Main Street or lower middle market company, usually with an SBA 7(a) loan and some seller financing.
Deciding
You've done the readiness work and want to move from "should I?" to "how do I do this well?"
Searching
You're building deal flow and want a second set of eyes on your criteria, listings and first-pass numbers.
Under LOI
You have a CIM, an LOI or diligence under way and want to pressure-test your own analysis before you commit.
Not a fit if you want someone to find deals for you, raise money for you, or tell you whether to buy.
Coaching plans and pricing
Choose the rhythm that fits your search
All sessions are 1:1 by video, 60 minutes, with a written recap. Every plan includes the Complete ETA Buyer Suite ($697 on its own). Billed monthly in advance with a 3-month minimum, then month to month.
Steady Search
$850 / month
For active searchers reviewing deal flow and CIMs.
- 2 sessions a month
- Complete ETA Buyer Suite included
- Deal screens and first-pass valuation reviews
- Email questions answered within 3 business days
Active Deal
$1,500 / month
For buyers with an LOI or diligence under way.
- 4 sessions a month
- Complete ETA Buyer Suite included
- One written workbook review each week
- Email questions answered within 2 business days
One-time
Small business deal analysis
Have one specific deal and want a careful, independent read of the numbers without monthly coaching? Send the listing or CIM, the financials, the add-back schedule and the proposed terms.
- Your deal built into the ETA Valuation Toolkit, yours to keep
- A written analysis of about 5 to 8 pages: add-backs, value ranges four ways, SBA debt coverage with downside cases, structure, risks and diligence questions
- Delivered within 5 business days of complete materials, then a 60-minute session
- Analysis only: no buy, walk-away or offer-price recommendation
$1,250 flat
One deal. Same fee whatever you decide. Credited in full toward coaching if you enroll within 30 days.
Request a Deal Analysis →Students and recent grads: 10% off any plan or the Deal Analysis while your .edu email is active.
Already own toolkits? What you paid, up to $697, is credited against your first coaching invoice.
No success fees, ever. Your fee never depends on whether, when or at what price you buy.
How it works
What happens in a coaching session
Send a pre-read
Two days ahead, share the workbook tabs, a listing or CIM summary, and your questions.
Work the numbers together
We test earnings quality, valuation, debt coverage and deal terms, and look at them the way a seller's advisor and a lender would.
Leave with next steps
A written recap, the questions to take to your attorney, CPA or lender, and three to five actions for your own work.
About Michael Keck
I've sat on both sides of the table.
I'm Michael Keck. Since 2009 I've been a partner at Five Talents Financial Group, where I've spent 17 years on sell-side M&A, helping owners prepare and sell their companies. Then I crossed the table and bought one myself.
Today I'm an Assistant Professor of Finance at Asbury University and an official Ph.D. candidate in Management at ESCP Business School. I earned my MBA at Duke. My working paper on entrepreneurship through acquisition is on SSRN. I also own and operate several local businesses.
I see ownership as stewardship: of the people who work there, of a seller's life's work, and of the capital you're trusted with. Coaching is how I help buyers take that seriously from the first spreadsheet.
The lesson from my own deal. On my own acquisition, the seller note terms looked fine at signing but strained cash flow afterward. Testing that before you close is a big part of what we do.
Buyer tools
Excel toolkits for every stage of buying a business
Each toolkit is an Excel workbook with a companion guide, sold on Gumroad. Coaching clients receive the full suite on day one, and our sessions are built around what these workbooks produce.
The Complete ETA Buyer Suite
All six paid toolkits: decide, search, value, verify, lead your first 100 days and build your team through year one. Included with every coaching plan.
Corporate to CEO/Owner Transition Blueprint
Whether, when and how to buy a business, with a decision workbook.
From $79View →
ETA Search Playbook & Deal Flow
A 14-tab workbook, a 29-page guide and a template pack to set criteria, build deal flow and reach a signed LOI.
$197View →
The ETA Valuation Toolkit
Value a company four ways (SDE, EBITDA, comps, DCF), model SBA 7(a) financing and test debt coverage.
$197View →
The ETA Due Diligence Toolkit
Verify what the seller told you, adjust the price and recheck SBA coverage.
$197View →
The ETA 100-Day Roadmap
Keep your people, protect your cash and take over from the seller.
$197View →
ETA Year One Organization Builder
Roles, decision rights, pay and your first leadership hires, from Day 100.
$197View →
Prefer two to start? The ETA Buyer Bundle (Blueprint + Valuation Toolkit) is $297. Prices as listed on Gumroad, Oct 20, 2026.
Free lead magnet
Not sure you're ready to buy a business?
Start with the free ETA Readiness Self-Assessment. It takes about 30 to 45 minutes and looks at the questions that come before "what kind of business?"
- Your real runway, counting what your employer quietly pays for
- Your risk tolerance and your household's support
- Your lowest-scoring area, which matters more than your average
ETA Readiness Self-Assessment
Free PDF on Gumroad, plus The Owner's Seat, a short four-week email series. Unsubscribe anytime.
Get the free assessmentClear boundaries
What coaching is, and what it isn't
Coaching and the Deal Analysis are analysis and education only. Every decision is yours.
What coaching is
- Education on frameworks and how small deals are typically structured
- Review and questioning of your own workbook outputs
- A one-time written analysis of a single deal you bring
- Help preparing questions for brokers, sellers, lenders and advisors
- Lessons from the sell side and from running my own businesses
What coaching is not
- No buy or sell recommendations on any business or security
- No capital raising, investor outreach or arranging of financing
- No paid introductions to sellers, brokers or lenders, and no referral fees
- No success fees, equity or fees tied to a deal closing
- Not legal, tax, accounting or investment advice
- No coaching on or analysis of any deal Five Talents Financial Group is running
FAQ
Questions buyers ask before they apply
Will you tell me whether to buy a particular business?
No. I'll help you understand the numbers, test your assumptions and see the risks clearly, but I don't make buy or sell recommendations. The decision is always yours, made with your own attorney, CPA and lender.
Why pay for coaching instead of just buying the toolkits?
The toolkits give you the structure. Coaching gives you a second set of eyes on what you put into them: which add-backs hold up, whether the debt coverage survives a bad year, and what a seller's advisor or lender will notice first. Every coaching tier includes the full toolkit suite.
Does my fee change if I close a deal?
Never. Fees are flat. I receive nothing tied to whether, when or at what price you buy a business, so I have no reason to push you toward or away from any deal.
Can you help me raise money or introduce me to lenders or sellers?
No. I don't raise capital, arrange financing or make paid introductions, and I don't take referral fees. Coaching helps you prepare for those conversations so you can run them well yourself.
Do I need a finance background?
No. Buyers come to ETA from many backgrounds. I teach finance for a living, and part of every session is making sure you understand the numbers well enough to explain them to a lender.
Is there a minimum commitment?
Coaching has a 3-month minimum term. During those 3 months you can move up a tier at any time, but not down. After that it continues month to month, and you can move up, move down or stop at the end of any month. The Deal Analysis is a one-time fee with no commitment.
What is your refund policy?
Coaching is billed monthly in advance. If you cancel before your first session, you get a full refund minus a $50 administrative fee. Fees for sessions already held are not refundable. For a Deal Analysis, you get a full refund until I begin work on your materials; once work has started there is no refund, and one round of factual corrections is included instead.
I already own some of the toolkits. Do I get credit?
Yes. Whatever you paid for any of my Gumroad toolkits, up to the $697 value of the Complete ETA Buyer Suite, is credited against your first coaching invoice. Forward your Gumroad receipt when you apply. Any credit left over carries to the next invoices within your first 3 months. The toolkit credit applies to coaching, not to the Deal Analysis.
Can a Deal Analysis count toward coaching?
Yes. If you enroll in any coaching tier within 30 days of your Deal Analysis session, the full fee you paid is credited against your first coaching invoices. The credit depends only on enrolling, never on a deal.
Is there a student or recent-grad discount?
Yes. Students and recent graduates get 10% off any coaching tier or the Deal Analysis while their .edu email address is still active. Apply with that address, which we'll also use for billing.
You're a partner at a sell-side firm. Is that a conflict?
I take it seriously. I recuse myself from any deal Five Talents Financial Group is running: I won't coach on it or analyze it. If a deal you bring is one of them, I'll tell you I need to step aside from that deal.
What if I'm not sure I'm ready?
Start with the free ETA Readiness Self-Assessment. If coaching isn't the right next step yet, I'll tell you on our fit call.
Apply
Apply for a free 20-minute fit call
Tell me a little about where you are. If it looks like a fit, we'll talk through your goals and the right plan. If coaching isn't the right step yet, I'll say so.
- No obligation and no sales pressure
- Flat fees, never tied to a deal closing
- Conflict check before we start
Prefer email? Write to [email protected].