George Vallone unpacks how he used cold outreach to find an off-market cleaning biz doing $1m and buy it for 2x EBITDA. 

Themes from George’s interview:

• Prioritizing recurring revenue in the search criteria
• The importance of messaging when approaching business owners
• Using a funnel approach in the search
• The differences between residential cleaning and commercial cleaning
• The economics of apartment turnover
• Using customer service as a marketing tool
• Getting a good deal by betting big
• How to avoid cash flow crunch during transition

Reach George at:

• george at george vallone dot com
• Nuveldy’s Apartment Turnover Services

Before embarking on his search, Alex Glasner interviewed 50 searchers & uncovered 2 key attitudes necessary for success. 

Themes from Alex’s interview:

• Wanting to run a business, but not knowing where to start
• Learning from people whose searches failed
• The importance of moving quickly with sellers
• Buying a mission and not just a job
• The value of being decisive in a search
• Merging proprietary and brokered search styles
• Pausing to understand the business before making another acquisition

Reach Alex at:

• alex at workpays dot co dot uk

Looking to buy a part-time online biz as he neared retirement, Dave Bramlett found it in a resume service doing $1.5m. 

Themes from Dave's interview:

• Making a career of buying small businesses
• Buying a functioning business allows for immediate cash flow
• Finding businesses on BizBuySell
• Bring in the experts for due diligence
• Maintaining a positive relationship with the seller
• Know your strengths as a buyer
• Always be open to new businesses for sale

Reach Dave at:

• dave at resume writing group dot com

Brandon Adams bought a $850k EBITDA ice delivery company only to discover he'd be doing deliveries himself for 6 months. 

Themes from Brandon's interview:

• Doing a local proprietary search
• Identifying brokers you can trust
• Managing purchase price after an anomalous year
• The silver lining of a due diligence oversight
• Being a great leader as a new owner
• The appeal of owning businesses in various industries

Reach Brandon at:

• brandon at k4inv dot com

Damon Chlarson had 3 key criteria, and he found them in an insulation supplier doing $380k EBITDA and selling for $1.1m. 

Themes from Damon’s interview:

• Defining your acquisition criteria 
• Finding your niche in the market
• Imagining yourself doing the job before buying the business
• Tapping into people’s talents
• Mental health and business success
• Finding opportunities in times of crisis
• Looking back and growing ambition

Reach Damon at:

• @LumberyardDamon

Frustrated after losing 3 jobs, Bruce Vann used savings to acquire a 25-employee, 7-figure curtain manufacturer for 2x. 

Themes from Bruce’s interview:

• Paying 2x for a growing 70-year-old business
• Buying a business to pull out of a career rut
• Why finding a business is like a full court shot
• The need for persistence
• Abandoning a proprietary search because of seller overvaluations
• Chasing down leads and not becoming complacent
• The importance of documenting business processes in case of sudden staff departures
• Dealing with uneasy staff during the transition period
• The experience of acquiring a business as a Black man in the U.S.

Reach Bruce at:

• bvann at luxout dot com

After seeing 9-figure businesses built through acquisition, Adrian Pinto bought a landscaping biz to build one himself. 

Themes from Adrian’s interview:

• Buying a $3-5M landscaping business with 15-20% margins
• Paying 3x, but rapid growth making it more like 2x
• What a buy-side advisor is and when it might make sense to work with one
• How COVID helped his search process
• Why doing his own search was less stressful than a traditional search would have been
• The excitement versus the reality of acquiring bolt-ons to your platform business
• Beginning with the idea of building a strong base for future growth (chassis concept)
• Waiting & observing for months before introducing changes to company processes

Reach Adrian at:

• adrian at georgia scapes dot com
• @Adrian_Pinto2
• LinkedIn

The 3 founders of Chenmark left promising corporate careers to pursue a multi-decade path of acquiring small businesses. 

Themes from the interview with James & Palmer Higgins:

• Why the Chenmark founders decided to do this
• Lessons learned from 30+ acquisitions
• How the founding thesis is performing 7 years in
• The value of an "extreme delayed gratification muscle"
• Intellectual stimulation in corporate life vs. small business
• Buying big vs. buying small
• How has competition in search evolved over the last 5 years
• Chenmark’s diversification strategy

Other recommend podcasts where Chenmark has appeared:

• Invest Like the Best: Trish and James Higgins of Chenmark Capital - Permanent Equity
• Think Like An Owner: Trish Higgins, Chenmark Capital
• Think Like An Owner: Trish Higgins – Chenmark Five Years Later
• Think Like An Owner: Palmer Higgins – Moving to the Operating Side – Ep. 43
• Think Like An Owner: Palmer Higgins – Removing Sales Roles at Mainely Grass – Ep. 61
• The Commercial Landscaper: James Higgins - Reinforcing Areas to Create a More Scalable Platform
• The ThriveTime Show: What’s Your Business Worth? Buying Small and Mid-sized Businesses with Chenmark Capital

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With 4 acquisitions since starting in 2018, Justin Turner explains how his team is building a permanent equity holdco. 

Themes from Justin’s interview:

• The appeal of holding on to companies for a longer period
• Why buying a $4-5M business might be easier than buying a $1M one
• Letting the seller relationship develop naturally
• Why paving companies make great acquisitions
• Waiting to finalize the equity until after the deal is in hand
• Setting acquisitions up in a holdco structure

Reach Justin at:

• j turner at traction cp dot com

@Fundof1 was searching for a business in a tight geography, and found a great fit in a $760k appliance repair company. 

Themes from John’s interview:

• Buying a $760k appliance repair company
• How to balance very specific search criteria
• Choosing a steady industry
• Walking into a business with an established sense of community
• Deciding between using investors or not
• Focusing on improving the business rather than day-to-day operations
• Remembering to have fun
• Building trust with employees who don’t work in the office

Reach John at:

• @Fundof1