What if you could skip the 3-year startup grind and scale your business… by buying one instead?

In this episode, I sit down with Jeremy Harbour—Wall Street Journal bestselling author, mergers & acquisitions maestro, and founder of the Harbour Club—to crack open the real playbook for buying, scaling, and exiting businesses.

With 30+ years and 300+ deals under his belt (including taking a company public on NASDAQ), Jeremy shares why acquisitions—not startups—are the secret weapon for entrepreneurs craving freedom.

We dissect how to avoid costly mistakes, structure “no money down” deals, and turn volatile small businesses into exit-ready assets.  

5 Takeaways You’ll Steal

1. Stop chasing profits. Freedom comes from selling businesses—not grinding day-to-day ops.  

2. Set-and-forget is a myth. Markets evolve—stay hands-on or lose your shirt.  

3. Buy for the exit. Document systems, track buyer-friendly metrics (recurring revenue, margins).  

4. Replace outdated tactics FAST. Fax blasts worked in the 90s… today’s buyers want modern growth engines.  

5. Win-win deals exist. Use “work-in-buyout” strategies to acquire businesses while they pay for themselves.  

If you could acquire one competitor tomorrow with £0 down… would you know where to start?

Learn how to scale and exit faster by applying to join our waitlist for our next cohort to the game changers inner circle business mastermind go to https://bit.ly/business-mastermind-waitlist for more info

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Mergers and Acquisitions

03:29 The Reality of Buying Businesses with No Money Down

06:14 The Startup vs. Acquisition Debate

09:15 Understanding the Risks of Small Business Acquisitions

11:56 Creating Asymmetric Opportunities in Acquisitions

15:01 The Importance of Exit Strategies

17:34 Researching Potential Acquisitions

20:30 Navigating Employee Relationships Post-Acquisition

29:28 Transforming Obstacles into Opportunities

31:09 The Challenges of Selling Baby Boomer Businesses

32:41 Understanding Business Valuations

34:52 The Risk-Weighted Return on Capital

36:24 Structuring Win-Win Deals

39:52 The Wibo: A New Acquisition Strategy

41:52 Valuation: The Art of Justifying Numbers

46:12 When is the Right Time to Buy a Business?

47:30 The Harbour Club: A Pathway to Acquisition Success

🙏 How To Support The Business Strategist 🎙️

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ABOUT THE GUEST

Website: https://www.jeremyharbour.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyharbour

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harbour.jeremy

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theharbourclub9544

21 day email course: https://www.harbourclubevents.com/email-course

ABOUT THE HOST

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong

Learn how to scale fast by taking the business growth quiz: https://howtogrowabusiness.scoreapp.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong

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