Gabe Perez sought a way out of corporate while Kristen sought a way back to working. Buying a $4m business offered both.

Topics in Gabe and Kristen's interview:

• The role Acquiring Minds played in their acquisition
• Acquiring a cold storage manufacturer
• Paying a premium for a growing company
• Buying a business three hours away
• Risks of taking on big projects
• Implementing video conferencing 
• Impact of business ownership on their family
• Keeping business and family time separate
• Getting his lender comfortable with the business’s cyclicality
• Their goal of creating a great workplace

References and how to contact Gabe & Kristen:

• Gabe’s LinkedIn
• Kristen’s LinkedIn
• [email protected]
• Refrigerated Structures of New England
• New Majority Capital
• Christian Bateson’s episode

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

Smithlist is a 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

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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

Will Gano was rewarded for his persistence & vision when he bought an 8-figure, 125-year-old ingredients manufacturer.

Topics in Will Gano’s interview:

• Getting experience in the food industry
• Doing outreach while working full time
• Hiring a buy-side broker to search for him
• Going through years of “search purgatory”
• Writing a personal letter with his LOI
• Buying a food ingredient manufacturer
• The upside of losing a major client before the transaction
• Importance of food safety
• Jumping through hoops for licensing
• Influence from his late grandfather

References and how to contact Will Gano:

• LinkedIn
• Bear Stewart
• Calder Capital

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

• Matthias Smith of Pioneer Capital Advisory

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

• Contact [email protected] or visit Aspen HR

Smithlist is a 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

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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

Rob Carpenter was eager to start operating, so it only took 90 days to start searching then buy a $200k SDE business.

Topics in Rob’s interview:

• His background in AI and software development
• His desire for a lower-stress lifestyle
• Prioritizing speed in his business search
• Changing his mind about franchises
• Buying 3 Merry Maids territories
• Digitizing processes in the business
• How labor turnover affects customer turnover
• Benefits of a negative cash cycle
• Comparing startup culture with running a small business
• Possibilities of bolt-ons in the future

References and how to contact Rob:

• [email protected]
• LinkedIn
• Merry Maids

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

Smithlist is a 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

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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

Years after one venture ended in failure, Jeff Velker bought a $2.5m pen maker with a strong brand & devoted customers.

Topics in Jeff’s interview:

• His experience as a franchisee
• Bankruptcy after the 2008 crash
• The difference between buying a job and owning a business
• Losing his favorite pen led him to a pen company
• Appeal of pens in our digital age
• Acquiring with 2 partners
• Negotiating with a seller who won’t go lower
• Getting buy-in from spouses
• The risks of having his manufacturer in Taiwan
• His goal of $10M in 10 years

References and how to contact Jeff:

• LinkedIn
• [email protected]
• Retro 51

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

Smithlist is a 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

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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

Jordan Evans left tech & bought a tiny, decades-old language services business. 6 years later, revenue is 17x larger.

Topics in Jordan’s interview:

• Acquiring his parents’ language services business
• Spending 2 years preparing the deal
• Overpaying for a 180k SDE business
• Doubling the businesses through organic growth
• Pros and cons of seller notes
• “We’re buying a bucket of people and problems”
• Bolting on language companies as a growth strategy
• How fast they integrate newly acquired businesses
• Opportunities for white-collar rollups
• Growing from 4 to 42 employees

References and how to contact Jordan:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Language Network
• Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!: 4 Keys to Unlock Your Business Potential by Greg Crabtree

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

Smithlist is a 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

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 webinar:

• How (and Why) to Choose a Franchise as an Acquisition Entrepreneur - https://bit.ly/4fa3CKB

Brett Kennedy has doubled & strengthened the sub-$1 million moving business he bought — but it hasn't been without pain.

Topics in Brett’s interview:

• Being raised in an entrepreneurial family
• Buying Furniture Taxi, a moving company
• Driving the truck himself when employees don’t show
• Surprises the seller failed to mention
• Good and bad of buying small
• Daily stressors of running a small business
• Hiring a GM
• Doubling the business despite a shrinking market
• Your employees are your customers
•  The next company he wants to buy

References and how to contact Brett:

• LinkedIn
• Adrian Pinto’s episode
• Atlanta’s Furniture Taxi

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

Smithlist is a 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

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 webinar:

• How (and Why) to Choose a Franchise as an Acquisition Entrepreneur - https://bit.ly/3WwZqNR

When Dustin Carreon reached a ceiling in his first small business, he used the profits to start buying other businesses.

Topics in Dustin’s interview:

• Growing up in his parents’ scrapping business
• Inheriting and growing Freelance Electronics
• Learning the most from a difficult acquisition
• Timing and luck matters
• Key person risk in small-staff businesses
• His mistake of expanding before establishing expectations
• Cross-training employees as part of his holdco vision
• An investor attitude compared with an entrepreneur attitude
• Building a holdco without a college education
• Challenge of writing down processes

References and how to contact Dustin:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• COI Holdings

Smithlist is a 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

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

Register for the webinars:

• Search Investor Roundtable: State of the Market - https://bit.ly/4cvUOwV

• Overcoming Common Deal Sticking Points - https://bit.ly/4cD9z17

• How (and Why) to Choose a Franchise as an Acquisition Entrepreneur - https://bit.ly/3LpQEuK

How Adam Markley evaluated thousands of businesses for sale and bought a handful of his own (6 in his portfolio today).

Topics in Adam’s interview:

• Using online courses to teach business acquisition
• SBA loans vs. seller notes
• Raising your potential with partnerships
• His holdco of 6 diverse companies
• How acquisitions in the UK and US differ
• Power of personalized outreach
• 2 main tracks to business acquisition
• An operating partner who emptied the bank accounts
• Working in a medical staffing agency before buying it
• Looking at both on and off-market businesses

References and how to contact Adam:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• [email protected]
• PROX Capital Group
• Adam’s fractional CFO firm, Veracity CFO
• Tato Corcoran’s episode

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:

• Search Investor Roundtable: State of the Market - https://bit.ly/4cCMyuZ

• Overcoming Common Deal Sticking Points - https://bit.ly/3LkCpr3

• How (and Why) to Choose a Franchise as an Acquisition Entrepreneur - https://bit.ly/4f2hCGc

Nick Haschka & Dillan Ferguson are 5 months and 2 acquisitions into a roll-up targeting $50-60m revenue in 5 years.

Topics in Nick and Dillan interview:

• How Nick and Dillan met on Twitter
• The future of reliance on generators
• Serving both residential and commercial customers
• Separating the business into service and installation teams
• Doubling the number of employees
• Atmospheric river caused a crisis 3 weeks after acquisition
• Being a leader is different than being an employer
• Developing their own software
• Where they find their technicians
• Comparing the risk of an asset purchase and a stock purchase

References and how to contact Nick and Dillan:

• Nick Haschka Twitter
• Nick Haschka LinkedIn
• Dillan Ferguson Twitter
• Dillan Ferguson LinkedIn
• OnPoint Generators

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

Register for the webinars:

• SBA Lender Roundtable: State of the Market - https://bit.ly/4bydwTe

• Due Diligence Office Hours - https://bit.ly/3WbVpxT

• Search Investor Roundtable: State of the Market - https://bit.ly/45SWMEY

• Purchase Agreement Fights: How to Avoid (or Win) Them - https://bit.ly/4eQ7z79

How Dominick Blue bought an air duct cleaning business and took it into HVAC services, all while retaining his W-2.

Topics in Dominick’s interview:

• Keeping his W-2 while acquiring companies
• Mistakes he made during diligence
• Revamping service offerings
• Looking for “diamond in the rough” leaders
• Expanding from air duct cleaning into HVAC
• His fetal position moment
• Being ghosted by his bank
• Buying a business while expecting a baby
• Advantage of selling directly to consumers
• Drawing from his training in the U.S. Marines

References and how to contact Dominick:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Air ASAP
• Winning Moves by Dan Cremons

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