Salary Increases & Stay Bonuses - Advice Please

Member resources:

Frequent asked questions:

What is Searchfunder.com?

Searchfunder.com is an online community of searchers, investors, lenders, brokers and other professionals. Over 80% of those involved in searchfunds maintain a Searchfunder account to help them network, hire, and mentor others.

What are the benefits of membership?

In addition to accessing the most active online network of business buyers, Searchfunder licenses research that is simply not cost effective for individuals. Access over 15,000 industry reports and 50,000 transaction financials. You also get monthly credits for contact information for your company sourcing campaign with the option to purchase more at drastically discounted rates. Searchfunder has pre-purchased access from these data providers in order to empower individual buyers and to help searchers level the playing field versus private equity.

Do you have deals?

While we are primarily a buy-side network, we do have hundreds of brokers that regularly post deals to the community.

Can I find an internship on Searchfunder?

Absolutely! We have the industry's largest intern job board. If you are considering a search, the first step is to help another business buyer so you can hit the ground running.

What does it cost?

Searchfunder is a subscription service. We offer flexible monthly, annual and lifetime memberships.

Monthly

$79 / month

Annual

$19 / month

Lifetime

$432 / once

Those who maintain an account with us for over 4 continuous years are permanently added to the community without the need for a membership.

Do I need an MBA to join?

While a large number of our members come from dedicated programs at Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, Chicago Booth, and other top programs, searching is no longer reserved for the elite. With the current abundance of dry powder in private equity, and an increasing number of business owners reaching retirement age, good deals rarely go unfunded.

Post a question, deal, job, etc...

Make a post...

Complete registration to post.

by a searcher from Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management
in Sammamish, WA, USA

1yr ago

Salary Increases & Stay Bonuses - Advice Please

I'm in the process of acquiring a small business, and the current owner (mis)communicated to the current team (2 FT, 1 PT employees) that they'd be getting a pay increase at close. While I was considering this, it was never formally agreed upon and I had also been thinking about the potential of a stay bonus. I'm in a sticky situation given the expectation set by the current owner. I'd love to hear from others who’ve navigated this and/or have general advice. Did you offer raises right at close? Did you use stay bonuses to support retention? How did you communicate the decision if expectations were already set? Appreciate any insight on what worked (or didn’t) for you!

2 Likes

362 Views

reply by a searcher 1yr ago
from New York University in Connecticut, USA

Stay bonus can be uselfuk if the FTEs are critical to the function of the business. I think the bigger problem is the communication between you and the seller. You should make sure he hasn’t promised other benefits and deals to customers, etc or you might be stepping into a problem.

reply by a searcher 1yr ago
from University of San Diego in San Diego, CA, USA

Absolutely agree that these transitions are delicate—and the way you handle them can make or break early momentum. One of the most overlooked areas in acquisitions is the people infrastructure behind the business: how roles are defined, what motivates the team, and where trust needs to be rebuilt or reinforced. Whether it’s salary increases or stay bonuses, the goal shouldn’t be a quick fix, but a strategic move that aligns with your longer-term vision for team performance, culture, and accountability. A well-designed approach here not only supports retention—it sets the tone for how leadership decisions will be made moving forward. Even if promises were made informally, clarity and a sense of direction now can turn confusion into confidence. When the team feels seen and there’s a clear path forward, that’s when real buy-in starts to happen.