Blueprint Finance the acquisition. Close the deal.
You’ve spent years working in your industry. Now you’re trying to buy the business — the one you know well enough to run better than the current owner. The deal isn’t the hard part. Getting financed is the challenge.
Blueprint is a full service advisory engagement that produces a bank-ready plan a lender can underwrite
cleanly and carries you through to the closing. This engagement is primarily built for loans of $500,000 - $2,000,000.
Why does the business plan decide whether an acquisition gets financed?
Because it’s one of the few variables you control — and lenders fund fewer than half of applicants in full. In a recent Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey, only 42% of applicants received the full amount they sought, 36% received some or most, and 22% received none. Would you bet those odds?
Source: Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey, 2025 data (2026 Report on Employer Firms).
Your credit, the deal, and the lender’s appetite in your sector are largely set by the time you apply. The quality of your plan is what you can still move. On an acquisition loan with your personal guarantee and investment behind it, a weak plan doesn’t just risk a “no” — you may end up with poor terms, a smaller advance, or your guarantee exposed on a deal that is bad for you.
How the engagement works
Blueprint has two distinct parts.
The plan-building phase — up to six working sessions.
Six is the ceiling on sessions, not the product. These are working sessions where the bank-ready plan gets built — around your deal, the target’s numbers, and your lender’s requirements. If the plan is built before six sessions, the rest are banked for advisory support through the loan process.
Financing support — carried through to closing.
Once the plan is built, support continues through the financing process: responding to lender requests, and working with you until the deal closes. This is an outcome, not a meeting count — it isn’t capped at a fixed number of calls. Once you buy the business and settle in, Paul is available for an additional, separate advisory engagement.
You know the business.
Paul works with you to get funded.
You’ve run the numbers in your head for years. What a lender needs is numbers in the format an underwriting committee will approve: pro formas built on the target’s actuals, industry forecasts, debt-service coverage a bank can verify, a defensible purchase price, and a clean sources-and-uses.
Running the operation and knowing what underwrites are two different skills. Blueprint turns the first into the second.
Investment
$4,997
One payment to start, one at the end.
The first $2,500 kicks off the engagement. The second payment of $2,497 is due just before the finalized bank-ready plan is delivered. $4,997 in perspective: on a $500,000 to $2,000,000 acquisition loan, that's 0.25% to 1% of the financing you're working to secure — the smallest number in the deal, attached to the one variable that most affects whether it gets funded. This Founders Rate is available for a limited time.
GUARANTEE
The bank-ready standard.
Paul will revise your business plan until it meets Small Biz Works internal “bank-ready” quality checklist. This pledge covers the quality and completeness of the business plan only. On average Paul puts in 20 - 25 hours of writing and revising time. Loan approval is not guaranteed — that depends on your credit, your down payment, and your lender’s underwriting criteria, which no advisor controls.
Book a Discovery CallThe sessions — built around the deal. Meeting structure may vary based on client needs
Month 1
Foundation
Session 1
The Deal and the Target. What you’re actually buying. The opportunity, the target’s financials, the seller’s story versus what the numbers show, and where the risk sits.
Session 2
Valuation and Deal Structure. The price rationale a lender will accept, deal structure, seller financing and its role, and clean sources-and-uses.
Month 2
Structure and Planning
Session 3
The Financing Plan. SBA 7(a) and/or 504 assessment for your deal, sizing the loan, the equity injection, and the personal-guarantee realities — so nothing surprises you in underwriting.
Session 4
The Numbers That Underwrite. Pro formas built on the target’s actual performance, debt-service coverage the lender will test and trust, working capital, and a sensitivity case that survives scrutiny.
Month 3
Takeover Preparation
Session 5
Operations and Transition. The post-close plan lenders want to see — transition, retention, management continuity, and your readiness as the buyer to manage AND own what you’re acquiring.
Session 6
Lender-Ready Walkthrough. Final walkthrough of the completed plan, packaging it for submission, and preparing you for the lender conversation and underwriting questions.
Deliverable: a completed, bank-ready business plan built to underwrite — then financing support through the lender process to closing. Plan may be delivered earlier depending on advisory progress.
YOUR ADVISOR
Paul Zacharias
Paul started and grew a small business from scratch to over 10 locations before a successful exit — working through every possible challenge an owner faces, from launch through staffing, marketing, making payroll, and the day-to-day of running a company that scales.
As a small business advisor, Paul has written business plans that have been successfully financed in the range of $5,000 to $2 million. These plans are built to meet what lenders actually require to approve a deal. Financial forecasts based on conservative, real world projections and industry benchmarks.
He has taught business courses at several colleges including Columbia College, Stephens College and at Central Methodist University since 2014, and works today as a small business advisor. Financing a business acquisition or startup is a distinct skill. As a Small Biz Works client, you know your industry cold — this is the time where an experienced advisor dramatically improves the odds of getting it funded, making this deal one you and the bank will bet on.
What’s included
- Up to six working sessions with Paul, built around your deal
- A bank-ready business plan engineered to underwrite — executive summary, market and competitive analysis, pro formas built on the target’s actuals, debt-service coverage, and the buyer narrative lenders expect
- Financing support carried through the lender process to closing.
- Pre-engagement intake and deal-discovery process
- Written summary and action items after each session
- Email access to Paul between sessions for time-sensitive questions
- Resource library: acquisition due-diligence checklist, sources-and-uses worksheet, debt-service-coverage model, lender-package checklist
What is a bank-ready plan for a business loan?
It’s a plan a lender can underwrite with minimal revision. That means pro formas built on the target’s actual financials rather than overly optimistic projections, debt-service coverage the lender is comfortable with, a defensible purchase price, a clear sources-and-uses, and a credible transition plan. It answers the lender’s questions before they’re asked.
Is the Blueprint Right for You?
Blueprint is built for an experienced industry insider or business buyer financing an acquisition of an established business — not a first-time founder validating an untested idea. This is the right fit if you have 7 - 10+ years in your industry, buying the business you manage or acquiring one in a sector you know, and you’re pursuing SBA 7(a), SBA 504, or standard bank financing (in the $500K–$2M range) with a personal guarantee at stake. A 10 year manager who wants to buy the restaurant from the retiring owner. The 15 year HVAC General Manager who has an opportunity to buy the company. An investor interested in buying a stable, profitable business. If you’re still deciding whether to buy, the Small Biz Works Launchpad is the better starting point.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you finance buying an existing business?
Most acquisitions in the low-seven-figure range are financed with an SBA 7(a) and/or SBA 504 loan, often combined with a buyer equity injection and sometimes seller financing. The loan is underwritten against the target’s cash flow and your ability to run it — which is exactly what a bank-ready plan has to demonstrate.
Can Blueprint help me buy the business I currently manage?
Yes — an experienced management buyout is one of the strongest cases for Blueprint. As the insider, you know the operation better than anyone. What the deal needs is a plan that turns your operational knowledge into terms a lender will fund, and a guide to help you navigate the transition process, which is usually a marathon and not a sprint. Paul's previous acquisition deals have taken on average 8 - 12 months. Typically a Blueprint advisory will be a marathon, not a sprint.
How hard is it to get SBA financing to buy a business?
Harder than most buyers expect — fewer than half of applicants are fully funded, according to the Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey. Plan quality is the variable we can control, and it’s where the Blueprint engagement is concentrated and most valuable.
What makes this different from a business-plan writing service?
A writing service sells you a document and then adios. Usually one size fits all. Blueprint works with you, to personalize a step by step process toward a funded deal and the future of the business after you take over. The Small Biz Works value is advisory judgment — how the deal is structured, how the numbers are framed for underwriting, and having someone who understands lender expectations with you through to closing. The plan is the artifact; the funded deal is the goal.
Do you guarantee the loan will be approved?
No — and steer clear of anyone who does. The Small Biz Works guarantee attaches to plan quality: Blueprint commits to create a high quality, fundable plans, with advisor support through the process, which can often take up to one year or more. Approval depends on your credit, your deal, and your lender.
About The Founder
Written by Paul Zacharias, small business advisor and founder of Small Biz Works. Paul has 15 years of experience as a small business owner, and has helped many entrepreneurs start, plan, and launch through consulting, coaching, and advisory work. Learn more at smallbizworks.co.
Step-down offer
Not ready for Blueprint yet? Start with the Launchpad — a startup course plus a personal 90-minute strategy session for $497.
Human-centered small business consulting, coaching, and courses for
entrepreneurs who are serious about building something real.
Founded by Paul Zacharias
15 years small business owner | Small business advisor| Adjunct Faculty at Central Methodist University
1400 Forum Blvd Ste 7A #391, Columbia MO 65203
smallbizworks.co | [email protected]
Programs: Starter — $197 | Launchpad — $497 | Blueprint — $4,997
Partners: CorpNet (LLC Formation) | VARC Solutions (QuickBooks) | LivePlan (Business Plans)
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