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Acquiring Minds

Will Smith

Buying a business is an amazing path for many successful entrepreneurs.

  • 2 hours 3 minutes
    How to Survive Buying into a Terrible Industry

    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:

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

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

    Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    Credits:
    Edited by Anton Rohozov
    Produced by Pam Cameron

    23 January 2025, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 45 minutes
    The $50m Lifestyle Holdco

    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:

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

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

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

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    20 January 2025, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 33 minutes
    How to 4x a Contracting Business in 3 Years

    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:

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

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

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

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    16 January 2025, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 27 minutes
    How to Buy a $13m Business with No PG, No Investors

    Sale-leaseback and asset-based lending enabled Carlo Santelli to acquire and own 100% of a $3.5m EBITDA manufacturer.

    Topics in Carlo’s interview:

    • Applying 3x to Columbia before getting in
    • Leaving a finance career to buy a business
    • Why he only buys proprietary, not through brokers
    • Maintaining deal momentum when a seller is very busy
    • The power of asset-based lending
    • The power of a successful sale leaseback
    • Being comfortable learning as you go
    • How he thinks about risk
    • Closing on 4 businesses this year
    • His ambitious goal for next year

    References and how to contact Carlo:

    Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

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

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

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    13 January 2025, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 54 minutes
    Bullseye: Buying a $1m SDE Business in a Hot Industry

    Pete Ciaverilla bought a $12m HVAC business, then grew earnings 50% in 3 years. His timing couldn't have been better.

    Topics in Peter’s interview:

    • Combining households with his parents while searching
    • Using a buy-side advisor
    • Funding less than 5% of the deal himself
    • Transitioning the seller’s family out of the business
    • Buying a company with 65 employees, $12M in revenue
    • Advantages of buying a bigger company
    • Balancing commercial and residential HVAC
    • Impact of seasonality on revenue
    • Why private equity likes HVAC
    • Feeling comfortable with taking on a large loan

    References and how to contact Peter:

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

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

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

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    9 January 2025, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 50 minutes
    Taking a Flower Shop from $600k to $9 Million

    Michael Jacobson bought his uncle's barely-profitable 45-year-old flower shop in LA. In 4 years he's grown it 16x.

    Topics in Michael’s interview:

    • Revamping his uncle’s flower shop
    • Replacing the overpriced phone system
    • Building custom software for the floral industry
    • Why flower shops are hard to run
    • How “wire services” like 1-800 Flowers work
    • Switching to Google Ads for better ROI
    • Doubling revenue with a new website
    • Operating as a digital-first brand with physical locations
    • Becoming the French Florist franchise
    • Why he’s not interested in private equity money

    References and how to contact Michael:

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

    Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

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

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    6 January 2025, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 24 minutes
    The Path to Becoming a Better Operator & Strategist

    Tim Lahey has doubled the $1.6m company he bought, and buying small has prepared him well for the next phase of growth.

    Topics in Tim’s interview:

    • Being inspired by Doug Cook
    • Looking for a “dusty, not rusty” business
    • Partnering with an M&A firm to search
    • Acquiring a home technology company
    • Getting bitten on a cashflow crunch
    • Handling customer complaints as the owner
    • Culture of small businesses
    • Changing too much too fast
    • Listening for what customers want
    • Challenges of buying small

    References and how to contact Tim:

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

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

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

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    2 January 2025, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 31 minutes
    First-Timer Buys 8-Figure Business 4 Hours Away

    Nick Molina on how he found, acquired, & plans to manage a 275-employee business in Minneapolis from his home in Miami.

    Topics in Nick’s interview:

    • Taking his first company public in 1998
    • His unwillingness to retire
    • The tremendous cost of start-ups
    • Which state he won’t do business in
    • Buying a business he doesn’t have to operate
    • Importance of listening in sales
    • Living in Miami while owning a business in Minneapolis
    • What makes a good property management business
    • Using a loan broker 
    • Appeal of keeping a business in his family

    References and how to contact Nick:

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

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

    Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    30 December 2024, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 10 minutes
    How to Buy Franchise Businesses, Then Sell to PE

    After buying then exiting a 12-unit franchise portfolio, Alicia Miller became expert on how to attract private equity.

    Topics in Alicia’s interview:

    • Leaving her corporate career to buy a franchise
    • Acquiring a portfolio of Sylvan Learning Centers
    • Turning around unprofitable locations
    • Her tips for negotiating an acquisition
    • How private equity has impacted franchising
    • Acquiring existing franchise locations vs. de novo development
    • Which brands attract private equity and why
    • New brands that are disrupting their industries
    • Why Subway has value despite closing locations
    • How emerging franchise brands change as they grow

    References and how to contact Alicia:

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

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

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

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    26 December 2024, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 23 minutes
    From Frustrated Searcher to $3.5m Owner to Holdco Builder

    Dismissed by brokers, Simon Plummer bought & grew a manufacturer 75% in 3 years. Today he's building a long-term holdco.

    Topics in Simon’s interview:

    • Creating the “BizBuySell” of Australia
    • Buying a manufacturing business
    • Difficulty of acquisition in Australia
    • Running the machines himself for 18 months
    • Learning from his cashflow mistakes
    • Launching their brand in the UK, US, and Canada
    • How a bricklaying YouTuber skyrocketed sales
    • Finding and hiring a CEO
    • Anxiety of owning a small business
    • Building a long-term holding company

    References and how to contact Simon:

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

    Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

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

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    23 December 2024, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 31 minutes
    Perils in Partnership: Plumbing Acquisition Gone Wrong

    Josh Key partnered with a master plumber from his church to acquire a plumbing business doing $1.25m. It ended badly.

    Topics in Josh’s interview:

    • Buying a plumbing business with a partner
    • Quitting his job to go all-in
    • Inadequate due diligence on his partner
    • His partner’s wife getting involved in the business
    • Emotional outbursts and threats from his partner
    • Employees and clients leaving due to the partner
    • Closing the business and filing for bankruptcy
    • What he learned about due diligence
    • How his mindset is guided by his faith
    • What he wants to do next

    References and how to contact Josh:

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

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

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

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    19 December 2024, 8:00 am
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