How do you sell a minority share in an unprofitable small business?
Selling a business share when you went in blind requires navigating an unfamiliar process and timeline with little guidance. Without knowing the steps or how to approach the existing owner, owners can feel stuck when trying to exit and move on from life changes.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
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How do you sell a minority share in an unprofitable small business?
- 1Listing the business on regular broker websites like BizBuySellDid this help you?
- 2Directly searching for adjacent brands or competitorsDid this help you?
- 3Seeing if existing employees would be interested in buying itDid this help you?
- 4Offering a discount for independent local buyersDid this help you?
- 5Waiting to be approached by regional firmsDid this help you?
- 6Reaching out to mid-size or local firms directlyDid this help you?
- 7Using a broker or accounting groupsDid this help you?
- 8Using a capital share redemption strategy where employees acquire equity tranches over time out of operational earnings.Did this help you?
- 9Setting up a long-term profit-sharing arrangement to help employees save enough for an SBA loan deposit.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I'm looking to exit my small business, would be great if someone who has done it before could give me some tips.”source ↗
“if anyone has any tips on how I would go about selling the business to an owner who could take it to a new level it would be appreaciated.”source ↗
“With retirement in mind, we want to offer 2 of our employees (they're related with similar work ethics) an option to buy the business and real estate. We are thinking of a very easy way for them to step in and take over.”source ↗
“Has any owners set up a lease with an option to buy?”source ↗
“Thinking about selling my firm at some point and have not had anyone approach me yet. How do regionals typically approach? Would I reach out to them?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 13How do I know if I should sell my business?
- 8How do technical founders actually sell their product?
- 3How do you sell two businesses at the same time without losing momentum?
- 2How to negotiate a retention bonus without equity
- 2How to sell fractional quantities at checkout
- 3How to price a business with no revenue