After his family's HVAC business deal fell apart at Christmas 2021, 20-year trade veteran Corey Mullins started Cool by Design from scratch in Oakland Park, FL — and simultaneously bought McConnell Air Conditioning for $100K via SBA 7(a) ($15K down) for one reason: a phone number that had been on stickers for nearly 50 years across South Florida. Three years later, the combined business was doing $2M+ in revenue. Under four years from the SBA application, he sold for $3.2M.

Jordan walks through a real BizBuySell listing: a residential and commercial HVAC service business in Oklahoma City, OK, operating since 1996 as a franchised location of a national heating and cooling brand. Asking $725,000 against $268,600 SDE — a 2.70x multiple. Full SBA 7(a) math at 10% down, 9.3%, 10 years. Three due diligence priorities (franchise terms, technician retention, customer mix), one yellow flag on margin sustainability, and a binary verdict.

Mike Fagan bought Ten Pins and More, a bowling alley in Rio Rancho, NM, for $2.05M including real estate via SBA 7(a). One year later he owns two locations, has a third in motion, and runs both from Dallas — 600 miles away. The lesson: the boring categories with intimidating equipment lists are where the real spread is.

Jordan walks through a real BizBuySell listing — a 30-plus-year independent auto repair shop in St. Louis County, MO. Asking $465K against $200K SDE puts the multiple at 2.33x, in comp range for established shops. Full SBA 7(a) math at 10% down, 9.3%, 10 years. Three due diligence priorities, one yellow flag, binary verdict.