Business Buying Strategies from The Dealmaker's Academy

Welcome to the last Business Buying Strategies episode of 2022. This week we've picked out twelve highlights from the year - one for each month.

So in January, I talked with Richard Bundock, one of my dealmaking clients. Richard had started a successful business, but wasn't able to grow it organically as quickly as wanted to, so he turned to acquisitions instead.

In February, I met Sam Turner, who gave up a lucrative and successful corporate career to become a dealmaker in the heating and ventilation sector.

In March, I caught up with Nick Manuel, who graduated from my programme with the right attitude, determination and most importantly the right strategy to make successful acquisitions.

In April, we met Peter Lidgitt, who bought nine UK businesses in 2020, totalling £20m in revenue – all whilst being locked down for most of the year at his home in France.

In May, I talked with legendary jewellery entrepreneur Gerald Ratner who grew his global business almost entirely through acquisition.

In June, we met John Richardson, whose expertise is in acquiring coffee retail businesses, and establishing a chain a coffee shops.

In July, I spoke with Graeme Carling, who spent a decade building a substantial property portfolio, before buying a well known Scottish construction company out of administration.

In August, we met Aled Davies, who runs a printing and textile printing family business. Aled had been trying to grow this business organically - but having listened to this podcast, and joining me on the Fasttrack Program, has now made his first acquisition.

In September, I was joined by Phil Hunt, one of my private clients. Although Phil has a full-time job as an HR director of a city bank in London, this hasn't stopped him from making his first two acquisitions.

In October, Jo Bell joined us to talk about her first five business acquisitions and the lessons that she has learnt along the way.

In November, I met James Gardner, for whom a chance meeting led to the acquisition of a funeral care business, and has now become a group through acquisition.

Finally, earlier in December, I caught up with Andy Doyle, who joined my very first business acquisition mastermind program nearly five years ago, back in 2018. Five years on and he has made several acquisitions, and has ambitious plans for the years ahead.

Resources

If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my guy, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at [email protected].

If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at: https://www.dealmakersvideo.co.uk

Watch my Webinar Training Video: https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk

You can also request a free copy of my book at: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/

If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast

Connect with Jonathan Jay at: Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy

This week Jonathan talks with Adam Wills, who had tried a number of start ups, none of which really took off. After listening to the podcast, and then meeting Jonathan in person, he concluded that acquisitions represented a much better opportunity for him.

Resources

If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my guy, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at [email protected].

If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at: https://www.dealmakersvideo.co.uk

Watch my Webinar Training Video: https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk

You can also request a free copy of my book at: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/

If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast

Connect with Jonathan Jay at: Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy

This week we hear the second part of Jonathan's discussion with Andy Doyle, who joined Jonathan's first business acquisition mastermind program nearly five years ago, back in 2018. We heard him on the podcast in 2021, when he spoke at one of Jonathan's live events.

This time, however, Jonathan invited him in to the studio for an in-depth discussion about the acquisitions he has made over five years, and his ambitious plans for the next few years. Andy Doyle talks about the the people and company culture challenges he faced when he merged two seemingly similar businesses.

Resources

If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my guy, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at [email protected].

If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at: https://www.dealmakersvideo.co.uk

Watch my Webinar Training Video: https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk

You can also request a free copy of my book at: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/

If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast

Connect with Jonathan Jay at: Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy

This week we hear from Andy Doyle, who joined Jonathan's first business acquisition mastermind program nearly five years ago, back in 2018. We heard him on the podcast in 2021, when he spoke at one of Jonathan's live events.

This time, however, Jonathan invited him in to the studio for an in-depth discussion about the acquisitions he has made over five years, and his ambitious plans for the next few years.

It's a two-parter, this week and next, so grab a coffee and a pen, and I hope you enjoy it.

Resources

If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my guy, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at [email protected].

If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at: https://www.dealmakersvideo.co.uk

Watch my Webinar Training Video: https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk

You can also request a free copy of my book at: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/

If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast

Connect with Jonathan Jay at: Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy

For some reason, female deal makers seem to be in the minority, so it makes a refreshing change to be talking this week with Alison, who has just completed her first. As you'll hear, it took Alison longer than she expected to get going, and she very nearly invested her own capital into the deal. I started by asking Alison about her background, and about how the opportunity for that first acquisition eventually came about.

Resources

If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my guy, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at [email protected].

If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at: https://www.dealmakersvideo.co.uk

Watch my Webinar Training Video: https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk

You can also request a free copy of my book at: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/

If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast

Connect with Jonathan Jay at: Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy

In this short, bonus episode Jonathan talks about his upcoming zoom fast-track program, mastermind program, inner circle, and also about the first ever Dealmakers Live weekend. 

The Business Acquisition FastTrack Programme
https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast/

Dealmakers Live
https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/live/

Buying a business is something that many people dream of doing. You can buy your own business and be the boss of your own life, but how do you know how to find profitable businesses? On this episode, I'm joined by Daniel Hill, who bought over a dozen lettings agents in the UK and combined them into one regional group he sold. He tells us how he did it and talks about mergers and acquisitions, the challenges business buyers face with existing employees after acquisition, and the opportunities available for people interested in buying a business.

[00:47] What Daniel Hill does

[01:46] Some interesting things Daniel has done in the world of merges

[03:48] Challenges business buyers experience with existing employees

[06:00] Why is it a challenge for people to accept change

[06:51] How Daniel found letting agents and how he consolidated them

[09:23] Structuring and financing deals

[14:20] Daniel's primary and secondary objectives

[17:13] With private schools, are you buying from charity?

[21:27] Opportunities available for people interested in buying a business

[23:59] The best sellers who guarantee the best deals

[26:23] How to connect with Daniel

• You have to be able to understand all of the things that are going on from the emotional side of things. The strategic part In things, people are going from adult mode to parent mode to child mode. To get the deal done, you're playing that back game, which has to do need to be really well-rounded to get it done.
• We're talking about politics and saying that everybody votes for change, but nobody wants it. Everyone says everyone speaks like they want to change. And then when it comes in, actually, the majority will don't like change, even if it's for the better.
• So what we do quite often what we find is that sometimes it's easier for the existing operating business to raise the debt it is, and it is the common buyer.
• I suppose my primary opinion is I'm looking for, so I've made my sort of money if you like, and then go into work thing is I've completed that, and I'm happy with that.
• The motivation to sell is retirement.
• There was a logic that during periods of uncertainty, not necessarily recession, because that's not always the case. But economic uncertainty, like the pandemic, was, organizations would prefer to buy revenue than build it.
• We talk about being bold and brave. But don't be foolish, like bold and brave is if somebody rings you up at nine in the morning and says the proverbial is about to hit the fan and they need to get a deal done, and you can roll up and get a deal done.
• Don't be foolish if you don't know what you're doing. Don't try and catch a falling knife. There are plenty of businesses for sale, but a lot of them are falling knives, and you don't cut your fingers.

Resources

If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my guy, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at [email protected].

If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at: https://www.dealmakersvideo.co.uk

Watch my Webinar Training Video: https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk

You can also request a free copy of my book at: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/

If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast

Connect with Jonathan Jay at: Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy

Are you looking to buy a business and want some advice on how to do it, you've come to the right place. In this episode, I'm joined by James Gardner, who has been on the podcast before. I want to catch up with him to find out what he's been doing and whether he's made further acquisitions. We discuss his plans for scaling up his acquisitions and the benefits of getting the right management structure in place.

[01:38] Should one start a business or buy an existing business?

[03:00] Why it is hard to find books on buying businesses

[04:17] Advantages of buying a business

[07:06] Background of James's first acquisition and how it shaped his second acquisition

[10:11] Sectors that James has invested in

[14:12] How James financed his acquisitions

[15:51] Some of the advantages of the monthly payment

[16:30] Goals and how he plans to scale up the business

[19:14] Why people say they don't have time to buy a business

[25:45] Benefits of building a management structure and delegation of duties

[30:18] Setting goals around business and life

• Investing in people and helping them learn and grow and develop themselves is just a wonderful thing to do.
• The acquisition of businesses is so much easier and simpler in the long run and a lot easier to do once you've got it over the line.
• So going into an already-made business that's been established for many years is extremely easy. Because all of that is taken care of.
• The joy and the benefit of having a deferred consideration within the acquisition deal are that if anything comes up that it has done, that actually you can then either negotiate that take it off at the end of the day or beginning of the deferred consideration.
• In hindsight, good timing, we could spend time and focus on that was growing as well, but an interesting time for what we did.
• As with most things in life, the first time is always the most terrifying and difficult, and nerve-wracking.
• One is easier than two, yes. And three or four or five is easier than one or two because you've built that team around you and all the other things that come with that.
• You've got to free yourself from the day-to-day.
• I have no problem doing any things; not saying I'm better than anybody because I'm not; however, my skill set is different from other people's; everyone has different roles, don't you? My skill set will be meeting with the previous owners.

Resources

If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my guy, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at [email protected].

If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at: https://www.dealmakersvideo.co.uk

Watch my Webinar Training Video: https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk

You can also request a free copy of my book at: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/

If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast

Connect with Jonathan Jay at: Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy

This week we meet up again with Rob Goddard, this time about his experience of buying a business, rather than brokering sales.

Key Highlights

[01:48] Rob's first acquisition

[05:38] Buying a distressed business

[06:48] Six failed attempts to acquire a business!

[10:20] Why the business couldn't adapt during Covid

[11:50] Discovering unprofitable customers

[17:00] Turnaround in seven months

[18:35] Managing change and getting people on side

[22:40] Recommendations for people sitting on the fence

• It's a bit like football. I may support Arsenal, but I can admire Chelsea.
• So, if you're a top buyer, a tip for any buyers listening to this is to understand what the hot buttons are for the person you're in front of and what matters to them most.
• I just put the owner's name and the word 'scam' into a Google search.
• How can you help them get what they want by buying their business?

Resources

If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my guy, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at [email protected].

If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at: https://www.dealmakersvideo.co.uk

Watch my Webinar Training Video: https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk

You can also request a free copy of my book at: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/

If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast

Connect with Jonathan Jay at: Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy

When making a business acquisition, you need an HR specialist who can guide you through the people aspects. Kelly Bater, one of my Human Resource experts, joins me on the show to share with us what has changed in HR when it came to buying a business. She shares some of the challenges people saw in businesses during the pandemic, and also talks about the essential elements business buyers should know regarding people.

[01:48] Challenges encountered by people buying business during the pandemic

[03:54] What one should know when making acquisitions

[04:42] Why we should let professionals carry out the entire process of business acquisition

[05:16] Challenges posed by the Furlough government directive

[10:17] Key essentials business buyers should know when it comes to people aspects

[14:40] What do business buyers do after obtaining all the necessary data from the seller

[17:00] how the world of employment has changed

[18:28] How small business owners can implement understanding culture with no huge costs

[19:50] Why hybrid is going to be the way forward for businesses

[24:29] Psychology behind the failure of the no-limit of holiday strategy.

[26:56] Advice to potential business buyers

[27:54] How to connect with Kelly

• I think people like that flexibility in their lives. But it doesn't always suit the company.
• I think you can do one-to-one conversations on the screen. That's fine. But when it's the group interactions and communications, it's it's far more trickier.
• I think generally we look at when we're buying a business, we look at the financial structures, the business structures, and quite often forget about how do the people fit in that.
• No matter how much money you give somebody, if they're mentally not interested, you could pay them for that time, and not get the most out of them.
• As long as you've got the data, as long as it's upfront, and as long as you prepare your communication, you should be good to go.
• Look into it, do your research, make sure it's a business for you and look at yourself.

Resources

If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my guy, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at [email protected].

If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at: https://www.dealmakersvideo.co.uk

Watch my Webinar Training Video: https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk

You can also request a free copy of my book at: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/

If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast

Connect with Jonathan Jay at: Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy