11 businesses in Charlotte you can buy for less than $500,000

More than 200 businesses in the city were listed on the broker site BuyBizSell.com at the end of the third quarter, with a median asking price of $299,000, median annual revenue of $570,613 and median cash flow of about $110,000.

What’s driving it? In many cases, these businesses are from long-time owners looking to retire. Social scientists sometimes refer to it as the “Silver Tsunami” — millions of baby boomers across the country are reaching retirement age. Many of them have spent their years building up small businesses and are now looking for liquidity. 

Here are 11 small businesses up for sale currently. A lot of them are up for sale because the owner is retiring, but some are just from younger people looking for a change.

All info comes from listings on BuyBizSell.com. Most of the listings don’t include the actual name of the business, but sometimes they’re easy to figure out.

Lake Norman-area wine shop and restaurant

Asking price: $469,000
Revenue: $850,000
Cash flow: Undisclosed, but they report the business is profitable
Employees: 7

The name of the shop isn’t listed, but based on the pictures it appears to be Wine Maestro in Mooresville. It’s got about 3,200 square feet decorated like a mountain lodge, plus a patio. The wine shop has about $100,000 in current inventory, included in the asking price.

Photo by Wine Maestro via Facebook

Children’s store

Asking price: $337,035
Revenue: $1.6 million
Cash flow: $260,110
Employees: 5

This location currently has absentee ownership and is located in a high-traffic area. 7,600 square feet of retail plus 9,000 square feet of warehouse space.

Paint party business

Asking price: $39,000
Revenue: $35,000
Cash flow: Undisclosed, but they report the business is profitable
Employees: 1

This listing is for The Createry, a three-year-old pop-up art and wine-drinking business that operates primarily in the Charlotte suburbs. You’re essentially buying their $5,000 in paint supply inventory, email list and the 878 likes they have on Facebook. Could be a solid choice for a solopreneur interested in getting started. The current owner is leaving town.

Photo by The Createry via Facebook

Newspaper publishing company

Asking price: Accepting reasonable offers
Revenue: $770,435
Cash flow: $175,253
Employees: 7

This community weekly newspaper has been around since 2009 and has a circulation of about 26,000.

Plus-sized women’s boutique

Asking price: $149,000
Revenue: $364,000
Cash flow: $81,455
Employees: 3

This appears to be Scarlett Plus Size Boutique in Sharon Corners. They report having 6,000 clients. The $50,000 in inventory is not included in the asking price.

Photo by Scarlett Plus Size Boutique via Facebook

Italian restaurant 

Asking price: $295,000
Revenue: $588,513
Cash flow: $141,976
Employees: Undisclosed

Sit-down restaurant in east Charlotte that opened in 2007. Has a robust pizza take-out business, too.

Day care

Asking price: $269,900
Revenue: $160,510
Cash flow: $18,324
Employees: Undisclosed

They report being a five-star licensed facility, but I can’t verify this. They also say they’re at half capacity, so the revenue potential is greater. The owner is retiring after 50 years.

Hair salon

Asking price: $45,000
Revenue: $73,200
Cash flow: $35,000
Employees: 3

This is described as a multicultural hair salon in the Mountain Island Lake area.

Wine bar

Asking price: $225,000
Revenue: $224,000
Cash flow: Undisclosed
Employees: 5

This is reported to be in an upscale shopping area in a Charlotte suburb. 1,200 square feet.

Lawn and landscape company

Asking price: $275,000
Revenue: $464,184
Cash flow: $78,947
Employees: 6

Primarily residential customers. Price includes three trucks and a bunch of lawn equipment. The company has been around since 2002 and has a sizable customer base.

Screen printing business

Asking price: $140,000
Revenue: $160,000
Cash flow: $28,500
Employees: Undisclosed

The owner is moving into a retirement home in South Carolina.