INSIGHTS

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The Size Standards Question Everyone Is Asking Me, and Two Things I Would Watch

September 10, 2026

Since SBA published its proposed size standards in August, the question I get most often is some version of: what does this do to what my company is worth?

I do not know. Nobody does. These are proposals, not final rules. Comments close September 21st, and a final rule may be a year or more away. SBA has walked back its own proposed rules before. So, anything anyone tells you today is speculation, not a fact.

News & Insights

September 18, 2026

Comments on SBA Proposed Rule “Small Business Size Standards” & Methodology

sbLiftOff appreciates the opportunity to comment on the Small Business Administration's proposed rule revising small business size standards. sbLiftOff is a mergers and acquisitions advisory firm that works with founder-owned government contracting businesses preparing for or executing a sale. sbLiftOff (www.sbliftoff.com) works daily with the companies this rule is meant to serve, and we are submitting comments on both the proposed standards addressed here and the companion methodology in Docket No. SBA-2026-0265, since the methodology largely determines the result.

August 26, 2026

SBA Proposed Size Standards Will Affect M&A, and Everything Else

The future for successful GovCon business owners has always meant facing the existential crisis of the “size-out cliff” followed by what people in the industry have coined the “Valley of Death.” This proposed rule pushes those challenges far into the future.

April 20, 2026

Paula Smithers Named sbLiftOff Director

"As a CPA and GovCon entrepreneur, Paula brings deep industry expertise to sbLiftOff, along with a track record of knowing how to grow companies serving the Department of Defense and the IC," said Sharon Heaton, the firm's CEO. "Paula will be providing support to business owners who are seeking a transition or sale of their company so they can lift off to their next adventure in life."