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PODCAST

Acquiring Minds

Buying a business is an amazing path for many successful entrepreneurs. Learn how to buy a business from the entrepreneurs who have already done it. 2x per week: stories, insights, & valuable advice about acquisition entrepreneurship. Hosted by Will Smith, who is on his own path to acquire a business. Also on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AcquiringMinds Sign up for episode summaries at: https://acquiringminds.co

business entrepreneurship

All Episodes

101:13

How to Move the Needle in a $600k SDE Trades Business

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/02/03

Register for the webinars:5 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu Feb 6 - https://bit.ly/3En1vFuLegal Aspects of Debt Financing - Thu Feb 13 - https://bit.ly/3EjjOex7 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 retireBuying a business for a total life upgradeNegotiating with very difficult sellersStructuring real estate into the

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101:35

Awakening to Entrepreneurship to Buy a Not-Boring...

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/01/30

Register for the webinars: Legal Preparation for Your Search - Thu Jan 30 - https://bit.ly/4hlhlic5 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu Feb 6 - https://bit.ly/3QautetWhen 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 businessOvercoming key-person riskGoing from a regional company to a national companyAvoiding “boring businesses”Paying over asking price for the

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76:36

How a Couple Left Tech to Buy a Business Together

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/01/27

Register for the webinars: Legal Preparation for Your Search - Thu Jan 30 - https://bit.ly/4heHi355 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu Feb 6 - https://bit.ly/4h7HOQjRay & 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 businessHow they beat out 50 other buyersMoving from the finance world to manufacturingBuying a portable sink manufacturerHow Ray

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123:37

How to Survive Buying into a Terrible Industry

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/01/23

Register for the webinar: •Legal Preparation for Your Search - Thu Jan 30 - https://bit.ly/3CbswuPMonths 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 officeBuying a declining business in a competitive industryUnethical practices within his industryBeing honest about your motivation to buy a businessLosing 19 employees who became competitorsTreating his business

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105:20

The $50m Lifestyle Holdco

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/01/20

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/3CbswuPAbhi 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 buyerStarting a holdco with 3 friendsTheir primary and secondary partner modelSetting up contingency plans in

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93:37

How to 4x a Contracting Business in 3 Years

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/01/16

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 businessAcquiring a garage door business with silent partnersInstalling an operator on day oneMessy, unkempt books from the sellerHitting a cashflow crisisBringing in a consultant and keeping her on full-timePaying off the SBA loan earlyDoubling their gross marginSplitting revenue across 3 partnersAcquiring 2

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87:32

How to Buy a $13m Business with No PG, No Investors

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/01/13

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 inLeaving a finance career to buy a businessWhy he only buys proprietary, not through brokersMaintaining deal momentum when a seller is very busyThe power of asset-based lendingThe power of a successful sale leasebackBeing comfortable learning as you goHow he thinks about riskClosing on 4 businesses this

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114:33

Bullseye: Buying a $1m SDE Business in a Hot Industry

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/01/09

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 searchingUsing a buy-side advisorFunding less than 5% of the deal himselfTransitioning the seller’s family out of the businessBuying a company with 65 employees, $12M in revenueAdvantages of buying a bigger companyBalancing commercial and residential HVACImpact of seasonality on revenueWhy private equity

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110:21

Taking a Flower Shop from $600k to $9 Million

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/01/06

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 shopReplacing the overpriced phone systemBuilding custom software for the floral industryWhy flower shops are hard to runHow “wire services” like 1-800 Flowers workSwitching to Google Ads for better ROIDoubling revenue with a new websiteOperating as a digital-first brand with physical locationsBecoming the French Florist

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84:26

The Path to Becoming a Better Operator & Strategist

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/01/02

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 CookLooking for a “dusty, not rusty” businessPartnering with an M&A firm to searchAcquiring a home technology companyGetting bitten on a cashflow crunchHandling customer complaints as the ownerCulture of small businessesChanging too much too fastListening for what customers wantChallenges of buying smallReferences and how

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91:10

First-Timer Buys 8-Figure Business 4 Hours Away

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/12/30

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 1998His unwillingness to retireThe tremendous cost of start-upsWhich state he won’t do business inBuying a business he doesn’t have to operateImportance of listening in salesLiving in Miami while owning a business in MinneapolisWhat makes a good property management businessUsing a loan broker Appeal of

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70:36

How to Buy Franchise Businesses, Then Sell to PE

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/12/26

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 franchiseAcquiring a portfolio of Sylvan Learning CentersTurning around unprofitable locationsHer tips for negotiating an acquisitionHow private equity has impacted franchisingAcquiring existing franchise locations vs. de novo developmentWhich brands attract private equity and whyNew brands that are

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83:26

From Frustrated Searcher to $3.5m Owner to Holdco...

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/12/23

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 AustraliaBuying a manufacturing businessDifficulty of acquisition in AustraliaRunning the machines himself for 18 monthsLearning from his cashflow mistakesLaunching their brand in the UK, US, and CanadaHow a bricklaying YouTuber skyrocketed salesFinding and hiring a CEOAnxiety of owning a small businessBuilding a

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91:23

Perils in Partnership: Plumbing Acquisition Gone Wrong

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/12/19

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 partnerQuitting his job to go all-inInadequate due diligence on his partnerHis partner’s wife getting involved in the businessEmotional outbursts and threats from his partnerEmployees and clients leaving due to the partnerClosing the business and filing for bankruptcyWhat he learned about due diligenceHow his

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95:19

Adjusting to Life in a Nocturnal Business (with $525k...

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/12/16

Tom & Dawson Matter bought a vent cleaning business operating out of a parking lot. The transition has been interesting.Topics in Tom and Dawson’s interview:Teaming up to acquire Pro Duct CleaningThe nocturnal, detailed, messy nature of the workTom keeping his W-2 while Dawson runs operationsMaintaining a 42% marginLearning to deal with angry customersUpgrading the equipment and facilitiesHiring Dawson’s wife to help with operationsSwitching from Google Calendar to a real CRMTrouble

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95:24

How (and Why) to Buy an Electrical Business

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/12/12

Register for the webinar:Where Searchers Go Wrong, Part 2 - Thu Dec 12 - https://bit.ly/3VtCvC1Fred McGill liked the trades and zeroed in on electrical. The $3.2m business he bought is likely to grow 25% in year 1.Topics in Fred’s interview:Founding a real estate start-upComparing rental income to small businessAcquiring an electrical companyReassuring employees during transitionLearning how to hire electriciansCompensation in the electrical industryGrowth through digital

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104:26

First Acquisition in March, $200m by Year End

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/12/09

Register for the webinar:Where Searchers Go Wrong, Part 2 - Thu Dec 12 - https://bit.ly/4igqBVQJordan Dubin and his partners are rolling up a home services industry. They blew by their 5-year goal in the first year.Topics in Jordan’s interview:Partnering with his 2 friendsHand writing 200 letters to potential sellersBuilding a platform of garage door businessesMaintaining local brandsWhy private equity hasn’t picked over the industry yetHow they chose the garage door marketBuilding trust

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80:43

Buying in a Huge but Overlooked Market

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/12/05

Register for the webinar:Where Searchers Go Wrong, Part 2 - Thu Dec 12 - https://bit.ly/41ivxUlFragmentation & an enormous TAM drew Jonathon Tupper to buy a 30-year-old business in the asset-based lending industry.Topics in Jonathon’s interview:Moving from politics to investment managementImportance of liquidityFactoring: a form of asset-based lendingWhat kinds of businesses benefit from factoringBuying a factoring businessAcquiring without an SBA loanPaying 2x EBITDACompeting with

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94:31

The Thrill & Validation of Becoming an Owner

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/12/02

Register for the webinar: • Where Searchers Go Wrong, Part 2 - Thu Dec 12 - https://bit.ly/4f0320CMichael Johnson started searching in April. Today he's having the time of his life as owner of a $1.2m printing business.Topics in Michael’s interview:Marine Corps experience in IraqAcquiring a vending machineFrustration with his W-2 jobAcquiring a SpeedPro locationUps and downs of negotiation and fundingFrustrating first day as ownerHigh demand for printing car wrapsEmpowering employees to be

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86:33

Micro-Acquiring to $300k SDE on 5 Hours Per Week

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/11/27

Link Moser built a nearly-passive business portfolio by acquiring tiny web design & hosting shops on favorable terms.Topics in Link’s interview:Learning to build websites in the 90’sStarting a web design/hosting businessSending out letters to target businessesAcquiring other digital marketing agencies nearbyIntegrating the businesses he boughtCustomer attrition rates during transitionGetting bored with passive incomeConsidering buying a traditional, non-digital business Willingness to

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427 results

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