Commercial Services Business Owner | Sharing how to acquire, grow, and invest in cash-flowing SMBs | Father(x4) | Subscribe to my newsletter
@aquisitionave
@GoracleOfDelphi
Those experiences molded you into the person you are today. It's all a part of your unique journey.
It sounds like he wanted a different path for you or was just trying to get free labor; either way, it worked out.
Day One of Acquisition:
Feeling Good about how the day went.
No one quit!
That is a good sign.
"There is a new Sheriff in town," said the seller. π€£
There is so much untapped potential, but I need to stay focused on the now.
Today's task; was employee onboarding and payment
@jasrifootball
Ok, let's not talk about the defense that gave up 40+; sure, Dak didn't have his best, but that D was Swiss cheese, let's call out Micah as well.
Be Careful what you Post:π¨
Because it's open for the world to see.
Iβve been off Twitter for a few weeks due to my involvement in an acquisition.
Transitioning a company is challenging, filled with endless administrative tasks.
My excitement got the best of me, and I wanted
Do you remember this Game?
It seemed to be in every classroom growing up.
I played it ambitiously, with the thought of glory and triumph to come at the end.
But I always died.
And my friends always died.
And I never had enough food.
What is dysentery anyway?
Things I
Being a business owner changes your view on Sundays.
You go from dreading the next day to come, to thinking about the millions of tasks waiting for you on Monday.
I look forward to the week ahead, to the challenges I might face, and to the progress I will make.
Family,
A great thing about our move to Florida and the fact that thereβs a fully stocked pond off my back patio is the fishing.
When itβs been a grind of a day, I walk outback to snag a few of these.
Lifeβs good.
My oldest son (7) had his first bite today. Still trying to get him on
Money Management for Kids:
I've started this new system with my 8 and 7-year-olds to teach them about money, and it's kinda genius.
Basically, I've set up a little chore system where they earn cash for doing stuff around the house. This is nothing new; it is basic parenting
Yesterday was a great day.
I usually work a few hours on Sunday, knocking out random tasks.
But not this Sunday.
It was Father's Day.
And after losing my father just two years ago, this day has been different.
My kids woke up early, excited to give me their school-made and
Submitting an IOI
When purchasing a company through a broker, some require you to first start with an IOI.
But what is it, and why?
IOI or Indication of Interest is just that, a letter outlining your interest as a buyer.
The purpose is to ensure the buyer and seller have a
Do you bookmark posts?
If you are like me, you smash the bookmark button when you see a Tweet that adds value.
And if you do this over time, you'll have a treasure trove of great insight and content.
But have you ever tried to dig them up?
It can be challenging once your
@gas_biz
Wait, you are telling me gas trucks deliver that often?
I never would have guessed that, maybe once a week.
Several times a day, though, my mind is blown.
@trentjhughes
Just moved to Tampa last summer. This is our move to create roots.
So far so good, we are happy with the choice and grateful we had the opportunity to make the move.
Endless summer!
#tampalong
One-week update:
I've been able to increase my impression by 419%
Followers are up 23%
Replies are up 114%
All this in just 7 days
This train is just getting started; more to come.
Next stop: 1k followers
These are two of the worst things you can do as a service provider when selling to a new customer.
1) Not listening
2) Not providing a quote
I am literally trying to hand you my money.
And yet, you try to solve a problem I didn't ask you to solve.
But you never provided a
Best way to grow on X and in life?
Connect with people.
Be vulnerable and talk to strangers.
Know their story.
And learn from them.
"Your network is your net worth"
What connections have you made in the last month?
@chrisxmunn
I think it's tight. If someone is rolling this into an existing business, it looks better.
If a single operator buys this, the DSCR gets tight when including the operator's salary.
Also, what does 2023 look like? The one-pager only shows 2022.
I like it better at a 3x
The
#SBA
#ETA
space is going to become crowded in 2024.
I see new talking heads posting on all platforms daily.
SBA Loans have become the new Amazon FBA.
Soon, it will become unbearable and just noise.
The ones who got in early and have an established base will be fine.
I
What is a searcher?
It is defined as "people who are looking for someone or something."
In the world of ETA, it means a person searching for a business to acquire.
Almost forgot; what is the ETA?
Enterpurnership Through Acquisition or "The Silver Tsunami"
When you see the
We had an excellent local meet-up today down in Tampa. It was great to talk shop and all things
#ETA
.
Thanks,
@TonyNTate
, for putting it together.
I had great conversations with
@drew_eckman
about his
#ETA
journey, and
@therealrobbiep
was dropping knowledge about
#SBA
Lending.
@SAOliver_Atty
I think most miss the point. It's about placing your kids within a community that shares your values.
If that's public, then great; if it's private, that's fine too.
Those adults and kids will have more influence than most parents.
I feel like I've been MIA on Twitter for the last few weeks.
And that's because I have been.
I've missed interacting with everyone.
It's like I've been on travel on an important trip.
Based on a quick scroll through my timeline, everyone is crashing it.
Love to see it!
What are Detail Expands?
And did you know Twitter values them? Like a lot!
But most people who are growing content on Twitter have never heard of the term and do not know how to utilize this key matrix.
It's a simple concept and will help with your engagement.
Detail
@meetmikehiggins
The possibilities are endless if you are ok with taking on debt and PGing a loan using the SBA 7a Program.
It's about the right deal, not the right industry.
If you find a business with a retiring owner and a GM or office manager who is in place running the day-to-day, then
This will forever change the landscape for years to come.
Part of the push can be attributed to the overuse of non-competes.
In some industries and professions, having non-competes doesn't make sense. You are telling people they can only work for you.
They can not leave for a
BREAKING: The FTC just banned non-compete agreements.
The Federal Trade Commission has issued a final rule making it illegal for bosses to make workers sign noncompetes in any scenario, and voiding nearly all existing noncompetes.
This is a game changer for American workers.
I love Friday Mornings
Not for reasons you might think
And not because it's the last day of the "work week"
But because I get to relive my glory days shooting hoops with the neighborhood old guys. (35+)
Find something that gives you relief from the grind of life.
What are
Always keep the pipeline full while searching for that perfect business to buy.
So many things can happen between LOI and closing.
Anything and everything imaginable.
Murphy's law states that "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong"... before you close!
Entrepreneurship will ππ«π£π’π¦π all your personal flaws and weaknesses.
In order to grow profits, you must grow personally or be humble enough to seek assistance.
Whatβs stopping the growth?
10/10 itβs the person in the mirror.
Check yourself before you wrecked yourself.
Stop consuming and start producing.
It's that simple.
Find the knowledge, then apply it.
Only seek additional knowledge once you need to improve or solve a problem.
How do you climb a mountain? One step at a time.
Take the first step and stop reading about how to walk.
Update: Proud Dad Moment π
We decided to take the kids to the beach this afternoon as itβs their last day of spring break.
We got home just in time to sneak in a little fishing before sundown.
I equipped my son with a jitterbug on his rod, the fish were active on the surface.
A great thing about our move to Florida and the fact that thereβs a fully stocked pond off my back patio is the fishing.
When itβs been a grind of a day, I walk outback to snag a few of these.
Lifeβs good.
My oldest son (7) had his first bite today. Still trying to get him on
@samuelsachss
Numbers matter.
Now, you can work backward. How many leads do you need to hit 287? Say 30% close. That is 956 leads. How do you get 956 leads? There are many ways, but let's use a single source: FB ads. Let's use 9% conversation on FB ads. Now, you can calculate your ad spend
Go into the SBA process with this expectation. It will be a hell of a bumpy ride.
Steps to make it easier.
Find a suitable lender
Get cash equity ready
Create a new entity
Start life insurance early
Know SBA rules about collateral and PG
Get your house in order
In Business
The first $25k is the hardest
The first $100k is the hardest
The first $1M is the hardest
The first $5M is the hardest
Once you get it, the second comes much easier.
It's all relative, so get started. Or you'll never get the first 25k.
I just spent the last hour trying to recover months worth of notes that I took using NotePad.
I should know better.
Do not make the same mistake.
If you restart without saving your NotePad files, chances are you will lose them.
NotePad files are saved to PC memory, which
Let's beat the X Algo in 2024
And by beat, I mean increase our engagement.
As of today, my lonely account has <500 followers and averages 2.9K impressions.
I am no expert at growing a social media brand or account. (proof is in the pudding)
But, with a bit of research and
Transition Update:
Walking into a new business that you just purchased on day one can be intimidating.
Do not get overwhelmed.
And don't feel the need to make changes on day one, two, or three.
It ran just fine before you, which is part of the reason you bought it.
Create
Something you read a year ago might not designate, but it provides a light bulb moment when you reread it today.
That's why I reread my favorite books.
Because good advice doesn't change, but how you receive it does.
As your life evolves, so do the problems you are solving.
@mhp_guy
Sometimes, you need to hit rock bottom before you are willing to make a change.
Before that happens, I suggest removing oneself from all situations where alcohol might be present.
Also, eliminate friends who can influence you. You are the sum of the 5 people you spend the
@trentjhughes
Newsletter.
SaaS monthly fee is fairly cheap. Save 6-9 months for that.
The rest of the $$ is used to run ads to get subs.
Once you have over 1k subs, you should be able to generate your own ad revenue. Small but some positive cash flow.
Then, recycle the money to increase
Working towards closing a deal for a local B2B service business.
It's been a challenge to get closed for numerous reasons.
The brokers have been.... well, as you might expect.
The latest head-smacking moment was when they tried to sneak in a 25k non-refundable deposit on an
I learned something new today.
About X and building a following.
It's so simple.
And I feel late to the party.
But I am giving it a shot because why not?
Built on a concept of "who" you follow is just as important.
It's the 60% rule.
This means your Following count should
Posting the wins and losses.
I gained several followers on the road to 1k, crossing 600 this week.
Profile views are way down, as should be; my activity has been down for the last two weeks.
Shout out to
@trentjhughes
for the post.
Getting back into the lab this week.
This week's progress report.
I was accused of engagement farming?! I had no idea that was a thing. (trolls....)
Regardless, I was able to connect with some really amazing people on this platform. Which was the goal. β
Mr. Stearling stopped in, and I also met a Waffle...
What
I had the pleasure of sitting down with
@CoFoundersNik
to talk about my recent acquisition.
I could talk shop for hours, take a listen and give me a follow for more great content.
I appreciate the support π
There are 2.4M STABLE, CASH FLOWING businesses for sale!
It's easy math: ππ¨
- 10k boomers retire daily
- 8-10% own an SMB
- 800-1k business come on the market DAILY
YOU can be a millionaire if you BUY NOW!
You've seen a version of this on here. You might even believe it. BUT
Some days, you just don't have it.
That is ok.
As an SMB owner, this is why you need to surround yourself with people who can carry the energy when you feel drained.
And you will have this feeling at some point, more than once.
It starts with hiring the right people who
Wasn't expecting to talk about this quite yet but word has gotten out...
I would love to get your feedback/interest levels!
We are building a peer community for earlier stage entrepreneurs and are pretty excited about it.
Think Hampton or Vistage but for earlier stage founders
Founders and Execs - how to positively impact culture in 30 seconds:
Once a week, email someone on your team thanking them for their hard work. Give an example of something youβve observed them doing and let them know it doesnβt go unnoticed.
Not all gratitude needs to be
Thereβs nothing like finding out a sub didnβt show up for a job (b/c they forgot to put it in their calendar) and then didnβt show up for the rescheduled time for that job either.
Best part is getting an email from the customer telling me how βdisturbedβ they are
Fuck my life
When I see a post within my "social circle" that has yet to receive a comment, I can't help but swoop in and drop a line.
Likes are nice, but comments, which create engagement, are much better.
We are a community, so let's help each other. Inspire each other, agree,
Additional tip
To end part of your post right at the cutoff "..." it happens at 275 characters, on average, 43-48 words.
If you craft your long-form post correctly, you will end just before you get to the juice. π
What are Detail Expands?
And did you know Twitter values them? Like a lot!
But most people who are growing content on Twitter have never heard of the term and do not know how to utilize this key matrix.
It's a simple concept and will help with your engagement.
Detail
@ElliottEHolland
It depends on the price, what would be left over for debt service, plus how much of my time is required.
$650k Asking Price
107k In debt service each year
142k year leftover
20 hours a week of my time
Potential to scale
Sure, I'd take a look
@ChaiAndCabin
I am 100% with you on this. In fact, I felt my hands getting clammy as I read. (hot towel anyone?!)
I've flown countless times and still haven't overcome my anxiety about it. For me, it's about being in control and fearing heights.
No matter the stats, I do not know that I
This is another excellent post by Bruce Marks.
He is 100% correct.
If you the buyer, take the same benefits as the seller, those benefits can not be counted as cash flow to cover the debt.
And you as the buyer, should clearly understand the cash flow a business produces.
Point to self: Seller βaddbacksβ like, insurance, cell phone, auto, fuel, their payroll tax, T&E, food etc will NOT be used when looking at the DSC.
We are not disputing that these are addbacks, simply put, you will take the same benefits.
Headed to Florida next week for a few days off. Retiree life!
But before then, pumped to host another Tampa SMB HH at Salt Shack on 3/12. We had over 60 attendees last time - letβs get to triple digits!
Should be a bit warmerβ¦
Finding a small business to buy on BizBuySell is kind of like finding a partner in a bar at 2 AM. It might look good now, but you're definitely going to find some surprises in the morning.
Happy Tax Day!
Big thanks to all the accountants, CPAs, and tax prep industry professionals. Your sprint is finally coming to a close. You folks are the real MVPs as you quietly work behind the scenes sorting through every "tax write-off" proposed by your clients.
There is
@collin_ruth89
Yes, every morning, my wife and I drink coffee together after the kiddos get on the bus.
Sometimes, we switch to tea, but it doesn't hit the same.
I love connecting with people on this platform.
I've made many connections just like this one in a short time.
@X
>
@LinkedIn
My DMs and Calendar link are in my BIO. Open to connect anytime!
Great conversation with
@bseeling
yesterday. You can never have too many great business minds to bounce ideas off of. Brian definitely offered some different angles to think about the businesses Iβm looking at. Super helpful!
I learn something new every day from all types of sources.
People, podcasts, social media, and even my kids sometimes surprise me.
My wife is constantly teaching me about patience and empathy. (don't tell her I said that)
I love to learn and am curious about all things.
Met and reconnected with some great people last night at the Tampa Bay ETA SMB Event hosted by
@CTW_SMB
of
@systemsixbooks
Tampa is a growing community, and the acquisition niche is one of the strongest in the country.
I had conversations with:
@johnplumstead
@Mikethelummox
There are great brokers out there, and Clint is one of them.
If you want to sell your business, it might be wise to seek advice or representation from someone in the biz.
Do research before you commit, but at least have a conversation with someone.
Oof. Friend and client was about to buy an off-market auto shop whose owner hadnβt engaged a broker to sell and was gonna close down if they didnβt find a buyer themselves.
While under LOI with my buyer the owner tells all the employees if he doesnβt sell by end of June heβs
Show me your setup.
I could use a few upgrades, but I swing what I bring.
No standing desk.
But the one I have is L-Shaped.
And I have two cameras, the Logitech C920 and a GoPro Black 8.
The OG Logitech Blue Yeti Microphone.
And a 32in monitor with 2 24s, one mounted
This is the spot. Where it all started.
Every Friday morning for the past 3 months.
A group of middle age men gather.
To show that they still βGot itβ
Connecting with others outside in the βreal worldβ can be impactful.
It was a walk around the neighborhood one evening with
@ryanraysr
There are gems in the lower parts. 500k-1MIL is an excellent place to play.
You need to have a vision for it and be ready to roll up your sleeves.
When you get below 500k, it starts to be a one-person show.
DMV Nightmare or Daydream?!
2 Weeks in, I was still waiting for the title transfers on my newly acquired fleet of service vehicles.
Since they were part of the acquisition, the bank needed to place liens on them.
They handle the title transfer and I am responsible for the
@SMB_Attorney
It's a crazy ask, especially for a CIM. We can not just sign NDAs without reading them; they are not created equal.
It's a shame; it's the Wild West out there. Be diligent!
@SBA_Matthias
@MicrosoftTeams
@Zoom
Teams is far more than just a meeting tool, itβs apart of a collaborative suite of tools that work well within the M$ ecosystem.
M$>Zoom+Slack+Dropbox+(what replaces office?)β¦
If you aren't exhausted when your head hits the pillow, and you aren't waking up excited for the day ahead, it's time for self-reflection.
Hit the gym and rediscover your passion.
Remember, a body at rest stays at rest. A body in motion stays in motion.
@SMB_Attorney
What if you don't like the seller and want them out the door after working with them for 2 weeks.
And it becomes an internal power struggle between you and the "old owner."
What does Leadership Mean to you?
Are you a servant or a dictator?
As a servant leader, you support your team with relentless conviction.
It's about them more than it is about you. That is crucial.
Guiding, providing a roadmap, and being consistent with your support and
I just lost 52 followers while I was sleeping.
The p0rn bots must have been on me, like PE groups on Plunger Bro's Plumbing of Idaho.
That is a 13% hit in one day.
Thank you,
@XSecurity
, for making my account even smaller.
Guess I need to drop more π₯ content about
The first time you tried to ride your bike, did you do it without falling off?
Or
Like most, it took several attempts, with a few crashes and close calls.
Over and over, you kept trying until you got it right.
But, you had help, dad\mom chasing behind you while you were
If you want to grow on X and do not know where to begin, what to write about, or what to offer, start here: π
ππΆπΏππ: Ignore how it will be received; don't do it for them; do it for you.
π¦π²π°πΌπ»π±: Write to your former self. It provides reflection and content.
Weekly Update:
It's a day late, but here nonetheless.
But it was a less than stellar week stat wise.
And it's due to my inactivity as I took the Blue Bill this week and focused on things happening outside of Twitter.
But it was much needed.
Positively, stats aside, I made
@mhp_guy
Most times, they own the tanks as well.
If it's underground, you can't swap it.
Leaving you stuck with that provider.
You are supposed to call the company that owns the tank to refill it.
Turns into a π° as they can charge whatever price per pound they want.
Anyone in Nashville who wants to connect with Craig should reach out.
Great connection and an even better human.
You can ask him in person what a "bridge" is. And no, not the type you drive across.
Short trip to Nashville from 3-17 to 3-19 for meetings.
First visit for me so shoot me a DM if you're out that way and want to connect for a coffee or beer.
@brianbeers
Give me the clock watcher.
I can potentially remedy that.
The stealer is a trait that I can't fix and will not spend time trying to change.
π¨ MEGA SEO GIVEAWAYπ¨
@irentdumpsters
and I are giving away everything a business needs to start getting organic leads for their small business.
Bodhi and his team will be building a brand new website for the winner + doing 1 hour of GBP optimization.
My team will be