Calhoun Companies Review

Calhoun Companies is a business brokerage firm headquartered in Edina, Minnesota, with a history going back to 1908.

Founded by Nellie Mason, one of the country's first female real estate brokers, the firm has spent over a century connecting buyers and sellers of small to mid-sized businesses across the upper Midwest.

Today, the company operates with a team of 23 brokers, closes an average of 63 deals per year, and charges sellers zero upfront fees.

That combination of longevity, team size, and fee structure makes it worth a closer look for anyone considering buying or selling a business in the region.

Who Calhoun Companies Is For

The firm focuses on small to mid-sized businesses. For sellers with companies generating more than $1,000,000 in profit, the M&A team steps in, working with strategic buyers, financial buyers, and private equity groups.

Below that threshold, the business brokerage team handles the sale. Commercial real estate transactions typically fall in the $1,000,000 to $50,000,000-plus range.

That segmentation matters because it means Calhoun isn't trying to force a mid-market M&A deal through a process designed for a neighborhood diner, or vice versa.

Each deal type has a dedicated team with relevant experience.

The firm's geographic reach is centered on Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and South Dakota, though the company describes its reach as extending worldwide through its professional network.

Each service line involves a free, confidential Business Valuation and Discovery Session as the starting point.

This no-cost entry point reduces the friction for sellers who are still figuring out whether they're ready to go to market.

Calhoun walks sellers through four distinct phases, and the structure is worth understanding before reaching out.

Phase 1: Planning

• Identify seller goals and financial targets
• Gather financial statements and relevant data
• Complete a comprehensive business valuation
• Develop a marketing strategy and sign a listing agreement

Phase 2: Marketing

• Build a Confidential Business Review (CBR) document
• Identify a targeted buyer list with the seller's input
• Go to market and qualify interested buyers
• Require confidentiality agreements before sharing details
• Arrange buyer-seller meetings

Phase 3: Offers

• Solicit and compare multiple offers
• Negotiate the preferred offer
• Execute the offer and begin due diligence

Phase 4: Closing

• Coordinate due diligence and financing
• Draft and review purchase agreements
• Manage closing activities

The confidentiality focus throughout the process is notable. Many business owners fear that word of a potential sale will leak to employees, competitors, or customers before anything is finalized.

Calhoun's process requires signed confidentiality agreements before buyers get meaningful access to business information.

Buyers can search available listings directly on the Calhoun Companies website, filtered by business category, state, price range, and cash flow.

The categories are broad, covering everything from auto-related businesses and food and beverage to technology and veterinary services.

For buyers, the process involves getting qualified and signing a confidentiality agreement before accessing detailed business information.

Calhoun's role is to facilitate introductions and manage the transaction, not to advocate for one side over the other though the firm's primary relationship is typically with the seller.

Calhoun Companies holds membership in several professional associations that set conduct and competency standards in the brokerage industry:

• IBBA (International Business Brokers Association)
• M&A Source (a division of IBBA focused on mid-market transactions)
• BBB (Better Business Bureau, accredited)
• NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business)

The firm carries a 4.9 out of 5.0 rating on Google based on 105 reviews as of the time of this writing.

That's a meaningful sample size for a firm operating in a niche where many clients only go through the process once.

Several verified client reviews appear across the firm's website and Google listing. A few that stand out:

• Angie Decker: "Great to work with from start to finish, answered all of my questions, provided detail as needed, never pushed me to make any decisions, and helped me get the best value for my business."
• Dave Buxengard: "Calhoun Companies was the one that I felt would be able to handle the complexities of the job."
• Seth Carlson: "Don't waste your time trying to go through this alone or with unexperienced brokers, call Calhoun. They will get any motivated seller across the finish line."
• Robin: "They took our interest and made it a top priority. From the first phone call to closing, Calhoun provided us with all the information and documents we needed."

The pattern across reviews is consistent: clients describe a low-pressure experience with clear communication and results that met or exceeded expectations.

No single review claims a perfect process, but the volume and consistency of positive feedback suggests the firm delivers reliably on the basics.

The brokerage team averages more than 10 years of tenure with the company. 

That figure matters in an industry where broker turnover is common and institutional knowledge walks out the door with departing agents.

A broker who has closed dozens of deals in a specific region accumulates contacts, pattern recognition, and negotiating experience that is genuinely difficult to replicate.

Twenty-three brokers is a meaningful headcount for a regional firm. It's large enough to have specialization across industries and deal types, but focused enough that clients aren't lost in a large corporate structure.

• Calhoun is a strong fit for businesses in the upper Midwest; sellers in other regions may find limited buyer networks
• The firm's sweet spot appears to be established businesses with documented cash flow and financial records pre-revenue or early-stage companies may not be a strong match
• Sellers should be prepared to invest time in the planning phase before a business goes to market
• Buyers looking for off-market deals or proprietary deal flow will need to build a direct relationship with a broker rather than relying solely on the public listing search

Calhoun Companies is a well-established regional brokerage with real credentials, a structured process, and a track record that holds up to scrutiny. 

Business owners in the upper Midwest who are considering a sale, acquisition, or exit strategy will find a firm with both the experience and the infrastructure to manage complex transactions from start to finish.