Register for the webinars:

• Legal Aspects of Debt Financing - Thu Feb 13 - https://bit.ly/414vOtc

• Using a Sale-Leaseback to Buy a Business - Thu Feb 20 - https://bit.ly/42I4dPY

Former guest Chris Edwards has sold the $1.7m flooring business he bought with $200k of his own money and an SBA loan.

Topics in Chris’s interview:

• Why he chose to sell his flooring business
• Deciding not to rebrand
• Owning and operating in a small, isolated town
• A countertop acquisition that went south
• How a holdco is different from running one business
• Fetal positions and sleepless nights
• Improving their customer service
• Why he might build his next business from scratch
• Losing clients to a former employee
• Growing EBITDA from $500k to $1.1M

References and how to contact Chris:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• chris@sanitasequity.com
• Chris’s first appearance on Acquiring Minds: How to Survive Acquiring a $3.5m Flooring Business
• Chris’s second appearance on Acquiring Minds: Would They Do It Again? 1 Year Later with 5 Early Guests

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact mark@aspenhr.com

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Matthias Smith of Pioneer Capital Advisory

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Credits:

• Produced by Pam Cameron
• Edited by Anton Rohozov

Register for the webinars:

• 5 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu Feb 6 - https://bit.ly/4aNHmEz

• Legal Aspects of Debt Financing - Thu Feb 13 - https://bit.ly/3PXBEX6

Industry-agnostic Trip Biesanz brought his sales skills to a glass fabrication & install business doing $3m in revenue.

Topics in Trip’s interview:

• Being a franchisee for 7 years
• Networking through MBBI and XPX
• Working with Calder Capital to find a business
• Narrowing down his search to construction
• Value he saw in long-term employees
• Managing cashflow in construction
• Relying on his team in an unfamiliar trades business
• Competitive nature of construction
• Highs and lows of running a business
• Franchising compared to owning an independent shop

References and how to contact Trip:

• LinkedIn
• G&C Glass, Mirror & Construction
• MBBI
• XPX

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Matthias Smith of Pioneer Capital Advisory

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Register for the webinars:

• 5 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu Feb 6 - https://bit.ly/3En1vFu
• Legal Aspects of Debt Financing - Thu Feb 13 - https://bit.ly/3EjjOex

7 months into ownership of a $2m fencing business, Kirk Olson is learning how to manage culture, tech, and cash flow.

Topics in Kirk’s interview:

• Achieving financial independence, but deciding not to retire
• Buying a business for a total life upgrade
• Negotiating with very difficult sellers
• Structuring real estate into the deal
• Returning after the first deal died
• Sales dropping after the transition
• Learning to calculate the cost of a job
• Introducing a CRM and ditching the fax
• Making Mike’s Fencing a great place to work
• Turning on digital marketing

References and how to contact Kirk:

• kolson@mikesfencing.com
• Mike’s Fencing
• John Murphy’s episode: The Double Life of Owning a Business 2.5 Hours Away

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact mark@aspenhr.com

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Register for the webinars:

• Legal Preparation for Your Search - Thu Jan 30 - https://bit.ly/4hlhlic
• 5 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu Feb 6 - https://bit.ly/3Qautet

When Shell Zhang recognized her own tolerance for risk she stepped off a linear path to buy a $600k SDE travel business.

Topics in Shell’s interview:

• Buying a group tour business
• Overcoming key-person risk
• Going from a regional company to a national company
• Avoiding “boring businesses”
• Paying over asking price for the business
• Why payment processors consider her business “high risk”
• Starting from zero with online marketing
• What her clients love about the business
• Possible areas for growth
• Her goal of redoing the website

References and how to contact Shell:

• LinkedIn
• Nada’s Italy

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact mark@aspenhr.com

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Register for the webinars:

• Legal Preparation for Your Search - Thu Jan 30 - https://bit.ly/4heHi35
• 5 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu Feb 6 - https://bit.ly/4h7HOQj

Ray & Dana Chery sensed a need for change in their careers. A 26-year-old portable sink manufacturer was the answer.

Topics in Dana and Ray’s interview:

• Going all-in as a couple buying a business
• How they beat out 50 other buyers
• Moving from the finance world to manufacturing
• Buying a portable sink manufacturer
• How Ray applies his banking skills
• Revamping the website and logo
• Opportunities to sell to more school districts
• Challenge of prioritizing tasks at the business
• Their vision to grow the company to 8 figures
• Wide variety of use cases for portable sinks

References and how to contact Dana and Ray:

• Ray’s LinkedIn
• Dana’s LinkedIn
• Monsam Portable Sinks
• Will Gano on Acquiring Minds: After 4 Years of Part-Time Searching, Success

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Matthias Smith of Pioneer Capital Advisory

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Register for the webinar:

•Legal Preparation for Your Search - Thu Jan 30 - https://bit.ly/3CbswuP

Months into his ownership, Ayo Phillips realized his industry was fatally flawed. He survived and 5 years later, exited.

Topics in Ayo’s interview:

• Acquiring with funding from a family office
• Buying a declining business in a competitive industry
• Unethical practices within his industry
• Being honest about your motivation to buy a business
• Losing 19 employees who became competitors
• Treating his business like a startup
• Pivoting from countertops to driveways
• The toll the business took on his family
• Successfully exiting the business
• His 16 Commandments of Search

References and how to contact Ayo:

• The 16 Commandments of Acquisition Entrepreneurship
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Operators Coach
• Twitter thread
• LP First Capital
• Thomas Ince

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

• Contact mark@aspenhr.com or visit Aspen HR

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or email hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Credits:
Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Register for the webinars:

•Is It a Fair Multiple? The Art of Making Your Offer - Wed Jan 22 - https://bit.ly/4asGoxw
•Legal Preparation for Your Search - Thu Jan 30 - https://bit.ly/3CbswuP

Abhi Ravishankar & 3 partners devised a novel holdco structure to prioritize flexibility, cash flow, and the long term.

Topics in Abhi’s interview:

• Going from BCG partner to small business buyer
• Starting a holdco with 3 friends
• Their primary and secondary partner model
• Setting up contingency plans in their operating agreement
• Goal of spending more time with family
• Not taking on investors
• Quickly learning about potential industries
• Closing on a pool business in 6 weeks
• 4 add-ons in 18 months
• Acquiring 2 ShelfGenie franchise locations

References and how to contact Abhi:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Marc Nzojibwami’s episode: The Model for a 3-way Longterm Holdco

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Matthias Smith of Pioneer Capital Advisory

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Mike Heath bought a garage door installer from owners who didn't use email. He grew sales fast, but profits came harder.

Topics in Michael’s interview:

• Passing on a commercial cleaning business
• Acquiring a garage door business with silent partners
• Installing an operator on day one
• Messy, unkempt books from the seller
• Hitting a cashflow crisis
• Bringing in a consultant and keeping her on full-time
• Paying off the SBA loan early
• Doubling their gross margin
• Splitting revenue across 3 partners
• Acquiring 2 pool businesses

References and how to contact Michael:

• LinkedIn
• Stateline Products of Missouri
• Florida Pool and Spa
• Pool King Recreation

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or email hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Matthias Smith of Pioneer Capital Advisory

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter