A detailed, defensible valuation of your company — prepared privately, for you. Not a number from a buyer trying to talk it down.
Private by default · NDA-protected · Never listed, never shared
You built the business over decades. When you finally think about selling, the first real number usually comes from a buyer — and a buyer is paid to make it small.
Lodestar works the other side of the table. We prepare an independent, detailed valuation that belongs to you — so you walk into any conversation already knowing what you’re holding, and what it could be worth with the right moves.
No obligation to sell. No pressure. Most owners are years from a decision — that’s exactly when knowing the number matters most.
The kind of analysis a business owner would normally pay five figures for — built quickly, reviewed by a human, and written in plain language. Here’s what’s inside.
Your true owner earnings — with add-backs normalized the way a buyer’s analyst would, so the baseline is defensible.
Conservative, most-likely, and high — each tied to the multiple it implies, not a single optimistic guess.
What’s lifting your value and what’s holding it back — recurring revenue, customer concentration, owner dependence.
Specific moves that could raise the number before a sale, each with an estimated uplift you can weigh.
Who actually buys businesses like yours — strategics, platforms, individual searchers — and what each pays for.
Where your sector and region sit right now, and why timing moves the multiple in your favor — or against it.
What to do with the number — whether that’s preparing to sell, fixing a value gap, or revisiting in a year.
Every figure is computed from your actuals against current market multiples — then reviewed by a human advisor before it ever reaches you.
The moment you begin, we generate a confidentiality agreement that binds us — not you. It’s our written promise that what you share stays between us, full stop.
This isn’t a marketplace. Your business is never posted, never auctioned, and never quietly passed to buyers. Nothing happens without your say-so.
The report is yours. If you’re years from selling, keep it and revisit. If you’re ready, we move only when and how you tell us to.
We earn the detail step by step — you never hand over financials to a stranger. Light information first, confidentiality in place, then the deep work.
A few minutes: your trade, your region, rough revenue. No financials yet.
We confirm you own the business and send your confidentiality agreement automatically.
Now — and only now — you provide financials through a private, encrypted intake.
We recast the numbers, run the multiples, and a human advisor reviews every figure.
We walk you through it. No obligation, no pressure — just the number and what it means.
Free · Confidential · No obligation to sell
We focus where the analysis has to be precise — essential, owner-operated trades across New Jersey and the tri-state. Depth in a few sectors beats a shallow read across all of them.
Plain-language guides on what your business is worth, what moves the number, and how to explore a sale without anyone finding out — starting with HVAC.
The handful of factors that actually move what an HVAC business sells for — and the moves that buy that value back.
GuideLearn exactly what your business is worth without your team, customers, or competitors ever knowing you looked.
AnswerRun a confidential, off-market process — keep the circle small, disclose in stages, and never post a public listing.
Start with a few basics. We’ll handle confidentiality before you share a single number.
Get your confidential valuationFree · NDA-protected · We never list or shop your business