Depends on the size of the company. I have a friend (an EE with an MBA) who paid $20k for a tiny sensor manufacturing business that he turned around and sold for about $200k two years later. Got that through a broker.
My wife used to have a small housecleaning business that she had to abandon after she became very ill. Had we thought of it at the time, the customer list would have been valuable to someone looking to startup. For less than $1,000 in equipment + the cost of the list, they could have walked into an immediately cash-flowing business. Actually, I'm surprised none of her employess thought about doing that.
None of these are free, but they're cheap enough that they may as well be.
My wife used to have a small housecleaning business that she had to abandon after she became very ill. Had we thought of it at the time, the customer list would have been valuable to someone looking to startup. For less than $1,000 in equipment + the cost of the list, they could have walked into an immediately cash-flowing business. Actually, I'm surprised none of her employess thought about doing that.
None of these are free, but they're cheap enough that they may as well be.