Introduction: What It Means to Buy and Sell a Business

Welcome to the first session! An introduction to what it means to buy and sell a business. We'll illustrate this further using a real life example; a Western North Carolina furniture business changed hands. Hear the story from the seller and the buyer who made it happen. 

Curious how a local business actually gets bought and sold? Start here. In this 45-minute moderated conversation, we'll open with a plain-language look at what business acquisition means, then hear one real deal from both sides of the table. Doug Worrell ran High Country Furniture & Design, the family furniture and design business his parents founded in 1996, before selling it to retire. Jake Ballard bought it in 2025 and now runs it with his partner, Kyle. They'll share how they found each other, what it took to finance and close the deal, and what they'd tell anyone considering the same path. No experience needed.

Moderated by Sarah Petersen, Founder, Tendwell HoldCo, an Asheville-based search for local businesses to acquire.

Who should attend:

• Business owners considering a future sale, succession, or transition
• Entrepreneurs and searchers actively looking to acquire a business or investing
• Anyone curious about what their business is worth or what it takes to buy one

Asheville Business Marketplace is a community series for anyone curious about buying, selling, or investing in local businesses, whether you're ready to act or just starting to wonder. Each event brings you closer to how local business ownership really works, through real deals, the people who made them happen, and the experts who support them, so you can ask questions and meet others shaping Asheville's next generation of local businesses.