Acquiring Minds

Jeff Homer bought a small local music school as a fun side hustle. It turned out to be the opportunity of a lifetime.

Topics in Jeff interview:

• Switching from high finance to music schools
• Buying his first music school as a side project
• Raising growth equity after first 2 acquisitions
• Acquiring a music school every month
• Artists’ negative predisposition toward selling
• Comparing profitability of music vs. dance
• Importance of general managers in scaling
• Implementing apps to streamline operations
• Other industries with roll-up potential
• Rolling up 60+ music/dance schools nationwide

References and how to contact Jeff:

• LinkedIn
• Ensemble Performing Arts

Smithlist is a new job board for leadership roles at small businesses. If you're not ready to buy a business but want to lead one:

• Smithlist - Operate & Lead a Business

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

• The Acquisition Lab

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

• Contact [email protected] or visit Aspen HR

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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

Jarett Berke told his intermediary "no restaurants" but changed his tune when he saw what a great business Lou's was.

Topics in Jarett’s interview:

• Finding a business through an accountant
• Why restaurants are a tough business
• Comparing military service to running a restaurant
• Buying a restaurant with exceptional margins
• Learning every job in the restaurant
• Pivoting to delivery during Covid
• Doing a stock deal instead of an asset purchase
• Reinvesting by adding tables and renovating
• 60% growth in 6 years
• What he likes about the restaurant business

References and how to contact Jarett:

• LinkedIn
• Lou’s Restaurant
• [email protected]

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

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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

Scott Walton bought 2 barely-profitable blue collar companies, changed the culture, unlocked growth & hired a president.

Topics in Scott’s interview:

• Acquiring with a partner
• Solving their recruitment problem
• Doubling revenue in 18 months
• His 3-step LOI strategy
• Incentivizing good customer service
• Improving their company culture
• Challenges after acquisition
• Financing without the SBA
• Creative deal structuring
• His thoughts on buying small

References and how to contact Scott:

• LinkedIn
• [email protected]
• Home Service Expert Podcast

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

• Contact [email protected] or visit Aspen HR

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

4 acquisitions, 3 years after the first deal, and 2 dishonest sellers before Chandra Rao went full-time in his holdco.

Topics in Chandra’s interview:

• Learning from due diligence mistakes
• Losing $300k in the first year
• Challenges with payment terms and working capital
• True value of a seller note
• One of his partners embezzled from the companyFppp
• Choosing a conventional loan over SBA
• The electrical contracting and fiber optic cabling businesses
• 6x growth in 4 years
• Juggling a roll-up and a W-2
• A seller who committed fraud

References and how to contact Guest:

• LinkedIn
• [email protected]
• Miller Utilities

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

• Contact [email protected] or visit Aspen HR

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

Zach Smith bought a 30-year-old membership business that connects patients with dentists to return it to former glory.

Topics in Zach’s interview:

• His exit from Uber
• Difficulty of starting a marketplace business
• When spreadsheets meet reality
• Buying a shrinking business
• Going with a stock sale instead of asset sale
• Current problems with dental insurance plans
• How American Dental Care differs from insurance
• The view from the bottom of the J curve
• His plan to grow all sides of the marketplace
• Forgoing an SBA/bank loan

References and how to contact Zach:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• American Dental Care

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

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

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

Most first-timers shy away from buying across borders. Not Christi Loucks, whose Canadian acquisition did $550k of SDE.

Topics in Christi’s interview:

• Buying a business for personal fulfillment
• Painful broken deals
• Challenges of buying a cross-border business in Canada
• The positive role emotions play in dealmaking
• Losing (and regaining) 55% of her clients after transition
• The line between cold outreach and spam
• Constant change in the tech industry
• Unexpected expenses after transition
• Planning for her maternity leave
• Her husband’s return to a corporate job

References and how to contact Christi:

• LinkedIn
• Revenue Accelerator
• Neil Bearden

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

• Contact [email protected] or visit Aspen HR

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

Get $200 off your ticket to the M&A Launchpad Conference in Houston on May 11th:

• https://www.malaunchpad.com & enter code ACQUIRINGMINDS

Garth Fasano searched part time for 5 years before finding a target with very sticky revenue & great business-buyer fit.

Topics in Garth’s interview:

• Searching for 5 years
• Benefiting from the SBA looking at calendar-year financials (not TTM)
• Top Dog’s unique business model
• Why this business should be bought, not built
• His relationship to a dog training franchise
• Impact of outcome-based pricing  
• Purposely hiring less-experienced sales people
• How Top Dog differs from online marketing
• Expanding to industries outside of dog training
• His passion project: ski huts

References and how to contact Garth:

• [email protected]
• LinkedIn
• Top Dog Sales Center

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

Robert Graham & Aaron Blick's first acquisition did $1.2m SDE. Four years later, their roll-up generates $15m in EBITDA.

Topics in Robert & Aaron’s interview:

• Going from lifelong friends to business partners
• Impact of private equity on industry roll-ups
• Running their companies remotely
• A competing business poaching employees
• Financial shocks after taking ownership
• Why they believe in buying big
• Necessity of hiring presidents to operate their businesses
• Company presidents guaranteeing the SBA loan
• Blending SBA loans with a roll-up model
• How buyer-seller power dynamics shift after purchase

References and how to contact Robert & Aaron:

• Episode #149 Home Care Business: How to Buy and 2x an Agency
• Episode #218 Taking the Plunge into Extreme Ownership
• Robert Graham LinkedIn
• Aaron Blick LinkedIn
• Robert Graham Twitter
• Pillar Health Group
• SIG Partners

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

• Contact [email protected] or visit Aspen HR

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

Get $200 off your ticket to the M&A Launchpad Conference in Houston on May 11th:

• https://www.malaunchpad.com & enter code ACQUIRINGMINDS

John Murphy pushed through divorce, $500k debt, and a bad broken deal to finally buy a 60-year-old business doing $8m.

Topics in John’s interview:

• Losing a deal one week before closing
• Value of peer groups
• How real estate compares to business ownership
• Taking over a company before the deal closed
• Unforseen transition expenses
• Carl Allen’s business buying course
• Leaving his W-2 to search for a business
• Value of joining industry associations
• Restructuring his workforce to increase margins
• Buying a company with a management layer

References and how to contact John:

• LinkedIn
• Dave Cole Decorators
• [email protected]

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

• The Acquisition Lab

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

Reid Tileston bought a business that relied on $800k trucks, capex he came to love for the fat margins they produced.

Topics in Reid’s interview:

• Working on the business instead of in it
• Writing a book about acquisition
• People are the worst and best part of business
• Power of feedback and relationships for business owners
• The company’s slow temp-to-hire process
• Getting his CDL to be hands-on 
• Moving paper processes to the cloud
• Pros and cons of an Employee Stock Ownership Program
• Personally testing field service management tech
• Risks of informing employees of a business sale

References and how to contact Reid:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Grit It Done by Reid Tileston

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