40: Buying and Growing a Small Business With Little to No Risk With Brit Foshee

Have you ever considered buying a business but were terrified of paying more than the business is worth? Have you ever wondered what you can do to help ensure that a business you buy today will generate the numbers promised by the previous owner?

Well, today’s guest answers both those questions, helping us to minimize our financial risk when buying a small business!

Brit Foshee—real estate investor and small business owner—walks us through the process he used to buy his first five landscaping companies, how he consolidated them into one big company to increase their value, and how he did it all with minimal financial risk. And he tells us how we can do the same thing if we decide we want to go the route of buying a small business.

Brit tells us how he finds the businesses he buys, how he evaluates them, how he recruits partners to run them, and most importantly, how he gets the owners to all but guarantee their financial success. And for you real estate investors out there, you’ll be amazed at how similar buying a business is to buying real estate!

And make sure you listen for Brit’s recommendations on using “claw backs”—a way to literally guarantee that a business owner doesn’t misrepresent the numbers when selling you a business.

Check him out, and subscribe to the BiggerPockets Business Podcast so you won’t miss our next show!

In This Episode We Cover:

Brit's story from buying a property to buying businesses

How people underestimate what it takes to get a business off the ground

How he finds available businesses on the market

Similarities between his business model and buying real estate

How a business with $1M in revenue is likely sustainable without the owner

Why he made a partner a part-owner

Come work "with me" vs. come work "for me"

Why he recommends the owner financing route when buying a business

How he reduces expenses and increases income right after buying

Why he thinks employees are #1

The top mistake owners make

And SO much more!

Links from the Show

BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast

BRRRR Strategy

BizBuySell

Craigslist

BiggerPockets Business Podcast 37: Choosing the Right Niche—Follow a Business Startup Journey From Day 1 with J Scott

Check the full show notes here: http://biggerpockets.com/bizshow40

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