Start with geography, industry, estimated seller’s discretionary earnings (SDE), and employee count. Then decide which businesses deserve closer research.
Approach businesses directly.
Proprietary search means building your own target list and starting conversations with owners. It does not mean these records are exclusive or that the owners have decided to sell.
Screen, then investigate.
Public records and modeled financials help narrow the field. Confirm the business is still operating and verify its identity, ownership, and financial performance before relying on them.
THE SEARCH ATLAS
Find businesses with the earning potential you’re looking for.
Narrow 4.4 million U.S. business records by location, industry,
size, and estimated economics. Build a universe worth your
attention.
ILLUSTRATIVE SEARCH · COLUMBUS, OH
4.4 million becomes 1,842.
A hypothetical buyer narrows the universe to commercial service
businesses with 8–50 employees and modeled SDE between $500K and
$1.5M.
1,842 matching size + economics
· Illustrative distribution, not to scale
SEARCH NARROWINGLIVE EXAMPLE
01
UNIVERSE
U.S. operating businesses
4.4M
02
TERRITORY
100 miles from Columbus
42,610
03
INDUSTRY
Commercial services
8,412
04
SIZE + ECONOMICS
8–50 people · $500K–$1.5M SDE
1,842
HOW TO READ THE DATA Revenue and seller’s discretionary
earnings are modeled estimates calculated from public
operating-business data. They are directional screening tools—not
reported or verified company financials. Records are not necessarily
businesses for sale.
A RECORD IS A STARTING POINT
Know what you have. Know what to check.
Representative fields below use fictional values. Estimated earnings are a screening input, not verified seller financials.
NORTHSTAR · PROPRIETARY RECORDFICTIONAL EXAMPLE
Business
Northstar Commercial Services
Location
Charlotte, North Carolina
Industry
Facilities support services
Employees
24 · illustrative
Estimated SDE
$480,000 · modeled example
Saved because
Commercial work in my territory
Next action: confirm current operating status and research the owner before preparing outreach.
Keep the company and your reason together. Use the research skill to examine public evidence, then review what remains uncertain.
The proprietary universe is drawn from PPP and public business data. Approximately 4.4M is a record count, not a verified count of active sellers.
How current is the data?
Public records reflect their source periods. Do not treat the full universe as recently verified. Check current company information during research; no dataset-wide refresh interval is promised here.
Are owner contact details included for every company?
Do not assume every record contains a verified owner or direct contact. Research availability varies; confirm identity and contact details before outreach.
Can I download the entire database?
Free target-list access does not mean an unrestricted bulk download. Operational limits protect the dataset and reliability. This preview does not establish a bulk-export entitlement.
Is it the largest free database?
SoloSearcher provides access to approximately 4.4 million U.S. business records for proprietary search. We are using that specific scale rather than an unverified market ranking.