Nolan Scott Team

Nolan Scott Team Business Broker and Commercial Advisor with offices in Atlanta and Chattanooga.

The average U.S. state has 10% fewer job openings than it did in 2020. Georgia has 16% more. That divergence tells you w...
06/25/2026

The average U.S. state has 10% fewer job openings than it did in 2020. Georgia has 16% more. That divergence tells you where economic momentum is concentrating.

Georgia ranks 4th nationally with job openings up 16% since 2020, driven by manufacturing investment, reshoring, and population growth.

Tennessee sits slightly positive at 0.7% while California is down 27%, Washington down 36%, and Wyoming down 39%.

The national average across all states is negative 9.6%, meaning most of America has fewer open positions than before the pandemic.

Georgia growing hiring demand while most states contract means more employers competing for workers, more households earning paychecks, and more demand for housing and local services in the Atlanta and Chattanooga corridors. For business owners, rising job openings signal a healthy customer base and expanding local economy, which strengthens revenue and valuations at exit. Buyers acquiring companies in markets with positive hiring trends are buying into tailwinds, not headwinds.

Hiring demand is the leading indicator. Georgia is one of the few states where it is still pointing up.

Immigration drove 81% of U.S. population growth from 2021 to 2025. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, the econo...
06/24/2026

Immigration drove 81% of U.S. population growth from 2021 to 2025. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, the economic math is worth understanding.

In 14 states, immigration was the only reason the population grew at all, fully offsetting declining birth rates and domestic outflows.

Tennessee grew by 387,340 with just 30% from immigration, meaning its growth stands on its own fundamentals.

Georgia added 570,153 with 41% from international migration.

Population growth fuels housing demand, business revenue, and tax bases. With immigration projected to drop 80% in 2026, states heavily dependent on international inflows face real exposure. Tennessee and Georgia are better positioned than most because their growth comes from multiple sources, not just one.

The U.S. exported $2.2 trillion in goods last year, ranking second globally and growing 6% year over year. America makes...
06/22/2026

The U.S. exported $2.2 trillion in goods last year, ranking second globally and growing 6% year over year. America makes a lot more than most people give it credit for.

The U.S. is the world's largest importer at $3.5 trillion and the second largest exporter at $2.2 trillion, sitting at the center of global trade.

U.S. exports grew 6% in 2025, outpacing China's 5% export growth rate over the same period.

The U.S. is one of only three countries appearing in the top three for both imports and exports, alongside China and Germany.

The narrative that America does not make anything anymore has never been true and the data keeps proving it. $2.2 trillion in exports means American manufacturers, agricultural producers, and industrial companies are competing and winning on a global stage. That production does not happen in a vacuum. It flows through supply chains that include thousands of small and mid-sized businesses handling fabrication, logistics, packaging, distribution, and maintenance. In Georgia and Tennessee, companies plugged into these supply chains are seeing sustained demand that translates directly into stable revenue, strong margins, and higher business valuations. For business buyers evaluating acquisitions in Atlanta and Chattanooga, companies supporting manufacturing and export supply chains carry a durability that pure consumer businesses often lack. Their revenue is anchored to structural economic activity, not discretionary spending. And for business owners in these sectors who are considering an exit, the current environment of growing exports and rising industrial demand means your company is likely worth more today than you think.

America is still building, still making, and still exporting. The businesses supporting that activity are some of the best acquisitions on the market.

Most business owners have never sat down and honestly asked themselves if their business could run without them.That que...
06/18/2026

Most business owners have never sat down and honestly asked themselves if their business could run without them.

That question is the first thing a buyer asks.

Transferability. Recurring revenue. A-team. Documentation. EBITDA.

These are the five things that determine what your business is actually worth at exit. Not revenue. Not years in business. Not how hard you worked.

Take the free TRADE Exit Score and find out where you stand in 6 minutes.

👉 https://www.nolanscottteam.com/scorecard

Only 31% of American workers use AI regularly. That means if you are using it to run your business right now, you are in...
06/17/2026

Only 31% of American workers use AI regularly. That means if you are using it to run your business right now, you are in the minority. In five years, you will be untouchable.

U.S. adoption grew 19% over the past year while South Korea surged 43% and Japan jumped 34%, meaning other countries are closing the gap faster.

Within the U.S., adoption ranges from 22.4% in Washington state to 13.1% in South Dakota, showing massive regional variation even domestically.

We are building AI systems into every layer of our business right now. Lead generation, CRM automation, deal analysis, content creation, client communications, market research. Not because it is trendy but because the math is obvious. If less than a third of workers are using AI today, the businesses that integrate it now are building a compounding advantage that will be nearly impossible for competitors to close in five to ten years. This is exactly what happened with internet adoption in the early 2000s. The businesses that went digital early dominated. The ones that waited spent the next decade trying to catch up. AI is following the same curve but moving faster. Every month you delay adoption, the gap between you and the early movers widens. The window to be early is still open, but 31% is not staying at 31% for long.

The best time to adopt AI was last year. The second best time is today. The worst time is when your competitor already did.

The U.S. economy is projected to grow from $32.4 trillion to $39 trillion by 2031, adding $6.6 trillion in new output ov...
06/15/2026

The U.S. economy is projected to grow from $32.4 trillion to $39 trillion by 2031, adding $6.6 trillion in new output over five years.

That 20.5% growth keeps the U.S. as the largest economy on earth by a margin of $11.5 trillion over China through at least 2031.

The U.S. is projected to add more GDP in five years than the entire current economies of France or Italy combined.

Even with rising debt, political uncertainty, and elevated interest rates, the IMF still forecasts sustained American expansion through the end of the decade.

The gap between economic sentiment and economic reality has rarely been wider. Social media reads like a federal recession is guaranteed while the data shows an economy adding trillions. This disconnect is creating one of the best environments for business acquisition in years. Sellers who believe the worst is coming are more willing to negotiate. Meanwhile, buyers who read the data instead of the headlines are closing deals on profitable companies at reasonable multiples. In Atlanta and Chattanooga, this dynamic is playing out in real time. Service businesses, trades companies, and local operators with strong fundamentals are available because owners are spooked by sentiment rather than substance. The buyers acquiring these companies today understand that purchasing a cash-flowing business inside an economy growing 20% over five years is not risky. Waiting until everyone feels confident again is what costs you, because by then valuations reflect the optimism and the best deals have already traded hands.

D.C. unemployment sits at 6.2% while South Dakota is at 2.2%. The national average of 4.3% is hiding two completely diff...
06/11/2026

D.C. unemployment sits at 6.2% while South Dakota is at 2.2%. The national average of 4.3% is hiding two completely different economies operating inside the same country.

Georgia posts 3.5% unemployment and Tennessee 3.6%, both significantly below the national average and among the strongest labor markets in the Southeast.

California, Nevada, and Oregon all exceed 5.2%, weighed down by tech layoffs, slowing tourism, and softer business investment.

The tech sector alone has cut over 84,000 jobs year-to-date, up 33% from the same period last year.

Low unemployment in Georgia and Tennessee tells two stories at once. For real estate, employed people pay rent, qualify for mortgages, and sustain housing demand. Markets with 3.5% unemployment do not have vacancy problems. But for business owners and buyers, this data cuts differently. Tight labor markets mean hiring is harder and payroll costs are rising, which compresses margins for labor-intensive businesses. That pressure is pushing some owners toward the exit earlier than planned, creating deal flow for acquirers in Atlanta and Chattanooga who know how to operate through tight labor conditions. The buyers winning right now are the ones who understand that labor scarcity is a solvable operations problem, not a reason to avoid a deal. Businesses with strong retention, efficient systems, or recurring revenue models command premium multiples precisely because they are less vulnerable to the labor squeeze that is shrinking margins for competitors still running on outdated workforce strategies.

Low unemployment is great for the economy and great for real estate. For business acquisitions, it is creating motivated sellers and opportunity for buyers who know how to operate.

D.C. workers earn $2,393 per week while Mississippi workers earn $1,005. But the paycheck only tells half the story. Wha...
06/10/2026

D.C. workers earn $2,393 per week while Mississippi workers earn $1,005. But the paycheck only tells half the story. What it buys tells the rest.

Georgia averages $1,349 per week and Tennessee $1,327, both below the national average of $1,459.

Washington state leads all 50 states at $1,923, driven by Amazon, Microsoft, and Boeing anchoring the Seattle metro.

California at $1,815 and Massachusetts at $1,818 round out the top tier, fueled by tech, biotech, and financial services.

On paper, Georgia and Tennessee look like they lag behind. In practice, those weekly wages go further than nearly anywhere in the top 10. A $1,349 weekly paycheck in Atlanta covers housing at 24% of income, taxes at 8.2%, and still leaves 25.3% after all expenses. That same $1,815 in California gets consumed by 43% housing costs, 9.2% tax burden, and leaves just 10.9% after expenses. For business owners in the Southeast, this wage data cuts both ways. Lower average wages mean lower payroll costs, which directly improves margins and business valuations at exit. A service company in Chattanooga running the same revenue as a competitor in Connecticut is likely more profitable because labor, rent, and operating costs are structurally lower. Business buyers evaluating acquisitions in Tennessee and Georgia should be looking at margins relative to local wage rates, not comparing raw revenue to coastal benchmarks.

06/08/2026

My partner Paul (a software engineer) and I have been building an AI system for my brokerage practice, and it's changed how we operate.

We're not selling anything. We want honest input from the people who
would actually use something like this before we decide whether to take
it further.

If you're a business broker, real estate professional, or business owner, I'd love 15 minutes of your time to show you what we built and hear if it can solve a real problem for you.

Here's what it handles:
- Deal flow matching
- Client forward presentation creation
- Client follow-up & communication
- Cold call prep & lead sourcing
- CRM updates & task management
- Marketing & content creation
- Inbox triage & email drafting
- Offering memorandum writing and review
- Scheduling & calendar management

👉 nolanscottteam.com/ai-services
👉 calendly.com/nolan-nolanscottteam/ai-services

You built it. But do you know what it's worth?Most owners I talk to have a number in their head. It's usually wrong.The ...
06/04/2026

You built it. But do you know what it's worth?

Most owners I talk to have a number in their head. It's usually wrong.

The TRADE Exit Score is a free, 6-minute scorecard that shows you where you actually stand before you ever talk to a broker.

Not the whole picture. But a real starting point.

👉 https://www.nolanscottteam.com/scorecard

Address

1372 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA
30309

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 8pm
Tuesday 9am - 8pm
Wednesday 9am - 8pm
Thursday 9am - 8pm
Friday 9am - 8pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm

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+14233151226

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