United States · United Arab Emirates
I'm Joseph Coello. I built a construction company in New York, exited it, and made millions buying, fixing, and selling property. After that I moved to Dubai and found a market full of great businesses being sold badly. I live and work between New York and Dubai, and I work with owners in the United States and the UAE.
If you've built a business that makes real money and you want out at a real number, or you're sitting on capital and want to own one, message me on WhatsApp. One conversation, and I'll tell you exactly what I'd do in your position.
Every conversation is confidential from the first message.
The story
I built a construction and renovation company in New York from nothing, exited it, and made millions more buying, fixing, and selling property. That was my first exit. The second company I built in New York, a licensed retail, lounge and delivery group, passed USD 10 million a year before I sold the company that held its license. I know what it is to sign the front of the check, make payroll in a bad month, and finally hand over the keys.
Nobody tells you what selling actually feels like. The relief of not being the answer to every problem anymore. The second-guessing about whether you left money on the table. The strange quiet of a Tuesday with nothing burning. I went through all of it, on my company and on every property I let go of, and it taught me more about what a seller needs from an advisor than any course ever could.
After the sale I moved to Dubai. What I found there was a market full of real, profitable SMEs, run by owners exactly like I used to be, with almost nobody advising them properly on the way out. Portal listings with fake asking prices. Brokers who have never read a P&L, let alone written one. Buyers who show up with no proof of funds and waste three months of everyone's time.
So I started doing this properly. In the UAE I broker sales for owners who are ready to exit, and I selectively acquire businesses myself when I understand the sector and the numbers work. In the United States I do M&A advisory and exit planning for owner-operated businesses: valuation, sale preparation, buyer search and qualification, and deal negotiation. I'm not a lifetime advisor with a framework to sell you. I'm someone who has done exactly what you're about to do, sitting on the other side of the table now.
What I do
In the UAE I run the sale of your business start to finish: a real valuation, a confidential process, qualified buyers only, and a negotiated deal you can live with. One mandate, one advisor, and I'm in the room when it closes. I get paid on completion, not on hours billed. In the United States the same work is M&A advisory and exit planning, covered below.
Before you decide anything, you should know what your business is actually worth, not what you hope it's worth. I build the number from your real figures: seller's discretionary earnings, contracted and recurring revenue, and the multiple this market actually pays. Turnaround is two to three days once I have the numbers.
I buy a small number of businesses a year myself, in sectors I understand, at prices that make sense. If you're closer to walking away than testing the market publicly, that's a different and quieter conversation. I'll tell you upfront which side of the table I'm on before we go further.
I work with owner-operated US businesses of roughly USD 1 to 10 million on M&A advisory and exit planning: valuation, sale preparation, buyer search and qualification, and deal negotiation. The markets I focus on:
More on the US work at coelloadvisory.com/us. From the US, text me: Text: +1 646 945 7875. SMS or iMessage. Texts get the fastest reply.
How it works
We talk on WhatsApp, on a call, or over coffee about your business, your numbers, and what you actually want out of an exit. No commitment and no fee at this stage.
I go through your SDE, your contracts, and your recurring revenue, and tell you what this market will pay, not what a spreadsheet template says. You get the range and the reasoning behind it, in writing.
If we move forward, you sign with me alone for a set period. Nothing goes out with your name on it. Buyers see an anonymized profile first, and nobody learns your identity until they have signed an NDA and I have qualified them.
Every buyer proves funds and answers real questions before they get a meeting with you. You are not doing screening calls with tire-kickers. That is my job, and it is most of the work.
We negotiate terms, your lawyer and mine document the deal, diligence happens on a real timeline, and I'm in the room at completion. In the UAE the typical structure is cash at completion with a holdback and a short transition period. In the US, structure depends more on how the buyer is paying, and I walk you through the trade-offs before you agree to anything.
Your staff, your landlord, your competitors, and your customers do not need to know you're exploring a sale unless and until you decide to tell them. I run every mandate that way by default, from the first message onward.
How I work
I exited my own company and my own properties, for millions, with my own money on the line. I know the seller's side of the table, including the parts nobody puts in a pitch deck.
Your business does not go up on a marketplace with a made-up asking price. Buyers are approached directly and individually, and they see an anonymized profile before they see anything else.
I get paid when your deal closes. If it does not close, I do not get paid. That aligns me with completion rather than activity, and it is why I turn down mandates I do not think will sell.
Every mandate is exclusive and confidential from the first conversation. You are not one of forty listings being blasted to the same tired buyer list.
If your business is worth less than you think, I will tell you before you sign anything, and I will tell you what would need to change to move the number. That conversation is uncomfortable once and useful forever.
In the UAE I work SME transactions in the AED 2 to 10 million range, mostly over WhatsApp. In the United States I advise owner-operated businesses of roughly USD 1 to 10 million, in New York, Washington DC, Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, California and Arizona. I know what these businesses trade for because I am in the market every week, not reading about it.
Questions I get asked first
Not through me. Your name and your company's name do not go out. Buyers receive an anonymized profile with the sector, the size, and the shape of the numbers, and nothing that identifies you. Your identity is released only after an NDA is signed and I've verified who the buyer is and that they have the funds. You decide when your team is told, and in my experience that is usually much later in the process than owners expect.
Then I tell you, before you sign anything, and I show you the arithmetic. Most owners in this market carry a value in their head that is thirty to a hundred percent above what a buyer will fund. Sometimes that gap is fixable in twelve months with cleaner books, a customer contract, or reduced dependence on you personally. Sometimes it isn't, and you should know that before you spend a year on a process. Either way you get an honest number rather than a flattering one to win the mandate.
A properly prepared UAE SME sale in this range typically runs six to nine months from mandate to completion, with the valuation and preparation taking the first few weeks and buyer qualification taking most of the middle. Anyone promising you thirty days is selling you something. If it does not close, my success fee is not earned. That is exactly why I turn down businesses I do not believe will sell rather than taking the mandate and letting it sit.
The first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. A standalone valuation is a fixed fee, quoted before I start. A full sell-side mandate is a modest retainer that covers preparation and buyer work, plus a success fee on completion which is the bulk of what I earn. You see both numbers in writing before you sign anything, and I would rather lose the engagement than have you find out about a fee later.
Yes, if you're serious. I work with residency-driven buyers, operators looking for a business to run, consolidators, and family offices. The gate is the same for everyone: identity, an NDA, and proof of funds before you see a name or meet an owner. If you clear that, you see real businesses with real numbers rather than portal listings that went stale two years ago. Message me with what you're looking for and what you can deploy.
Contact
Message me directly on WhatsApp. Tell me what you've got or what you're looking for, and I'll tell you honestly whether it's worth a real conversation. No forms, no funnels, no assistant calling you back in 24 hours. Just me.
Worst case, you walk away knowing exactly what your business is worth. Best case, you exit at a number you're proud of.
US line: SMS or iMessage. Texts get the fastest reply. UAE line: WhatsApp.
Or email [email protected]