Register for:

• Employee Issues & Non-Competes When Buying a Business - Thu March 13th - https://bit.ly/41vg9SL

• The live Q&A with Harley on March 27th - https://bit.ly/43vYX24

Harley Sitner bought a struggling VW van repair shop for $100k in 2013. Today it's an 8-figure business and brand.

Topics in Harley’s interview:

• His career in software
• First business acquisition: West Coast Nurseries
• Sean buys a VW Camper Van
• "I'd rather hug 100 people than serve a billion"
• Irrational passion of VW van owners
• Overpaying for a failing auto repair shop
• VW Van culture
• The value of the brand
• Building 6 different lines of business
• The app he's developing for VW owners

References and how to contact Harley:

• LinkedIn
• PeaceVans
• harley@peacevans.com
• Instagram

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact mark@aspenhr.com

Attend SMBash in Dallas, April 2-4, to meet fellow business buyers, operators, and investors:

• SMBash.com

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Register for:

• Employee Issues & Non-Competes When Buying a Business - Thu March 13 - https://bit.ly/3F6dasG

• The live Q&A with Nick on March 25th: https://bit.ly/3DoZfgD

Industry outsider Nick Munsee bought a traffic engineering firm for a good price, carefully de-risking the acquisition.

Topics in Nick's interview:

• Managing from out of state
• The white whale: a deal that almost happened
• Lessons from a failed acquisition
• Finding Hales Engineering
• Understanding the traffic consulting business
• Navigating lender challenges
• Incentivizing key employees
• Challenges in consulting business growth
• Project-based revenue insights
• The abrupt customer hand-off

References and how to contact Nick:

• LinkedIn
• Hales Engineering
• nick@saltbros.co

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Matthias Smith of Pioneer Capital Advisory

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds

Get $200 off your ticket to the M&A Launchpad Conference in Houston on May 3rd:

• https://www.malaunchpad.com & enter code ACQUIRINGMINDS

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Register for the webinars:

• 5 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu March 6 - https://bit.ly/3QEgIoA
• Employee Issues & Non-Competes When Buying a Business - Thu March 13 - https://bit.ly/4koXrFb
• Live Q&A with Sean Daly - Tue March 18 - https://bit.ly/41yzjZ7

Day 1 changes? Yes please. Sean Daly brought a spirit of experimentation, iteration, and speed to a small HVAC business.

Topics in Sean’s interview:

• Founding and exiting his own company
• Going hard with cold outreach
• Hiring an offshore assistant to source deals
• Entrepreneurs are risk reducers
• Building an offshore back of house team
• Paying mostly in cash for the business
• His decisive leadership style
• ETA is sales
• Treating his low-SDE business like a start-up
• Failed experiment with outbound marketing

References and how to contact Sean:

• LinkedIn
• Ice C Cool

Attend SMBash in Dallas, April 2-4, to meet fellow business buyers, operators, and investors:

• SMBash.com

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Matthias Smith of Pioneer Capital Advisory

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Register for:

• Live Q&A with Jonathan Bournigal - Thu March 19 - https://bit.ly/41lwPwc

• Webinar: 5 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu March 6 - https://bit.ly/41m0o0i

Jonathan Bournigal returned to his native Dominican Republic to buy a business. He found a small one and has 6x'd it.

Topics in Jonathan’s interview:

• Boomer-owned businesses vs family-run businesses
• Avoiding the label of “tire kicker”
• Searching in a country the size of Rhode Island
• Why multiples are higher in the Dominican Republic
• Selling when your life depends on it
• Real estate: own or rent?
• Venture capital vs. growth equity vs. LBO
• Growing the business without debt
• Pros and cons of dominating the market in a small country
• How to structure investor terms in markets where exits are rare

References and how to contact Jonathan:

• LinkedIn
• BUNKER
• Carabela Search and Management

Get $200 off your ticket to the M&A Launchpad Conference in Houston on May 3rd:

• https://www.malaunchpad.com & enter code ACQUIRINGMINDS

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact mark@aspenhr.com

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Register for the webinar:

• 5 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu March 6 - https://bit.ly/435spfe

Barker Squire has grown his crane servicing business gradually over 6 years. Now he turns his attention to what's next.

Topics in Barker’s interview:

• Leading teams in the Marine Corps
• Getting a conventional loan instead of SBA
• Keeping his ears open in seller meetings
• Pros and cons of government contracts
• Employees walking out
• Staying safe in a dangerous job
• The owner staying as an employee
• Growing revenue 3x in 6 years
• His vision to build a holdco
• Promoting an employee to CEO

References and how to contact Barker:

• LinkedIn
• Barker's album on Spotify
• Craneworks, Inc.
• John Gilson

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact mark@aspenhr.com

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Matthias Smith of Pioneer Capital Advisory

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Register for the webinar:

• First 100 Days: Survive & Thrive as a New Business Owner - Wed Feb 26 - https://bit.ly/4hFqGle

24 hours into Jack Carr's ownership of a tiny HVAC business, disaster struck. Just 2.5 years later, it did $3m in sales.

Topics in Jack’s interview:

• All HVAC techs quit on the first day
• Buying an HVAC business with no physical location
• Why he feels like his 2x multiple was too high
• Teaching himself HVAC skills via YouTube
• How he prices a book of business
• His process for retaining customers after acquisition
• Value of a business owner community
• How Google reviews keep the phone ringing
• Understanding the risk of buying small
• Listening to your employees without being held hostage

References and how to contact Jack:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Owned and Operated
• Pete Ciaverilla on Acquiring Minds: Bullseye: Buying a $1m SDE Business in a Hot Industry

Get $200 off your ticket to the M&A Launchpad Conference in Houston on May 3rd:

• https://www.malaunchpad.com & enter code ACQUIRINGMINDS

Listen to Meeting of the Minds, our new sister podcast about independent sponsors and deal-by-deal private equity:

• YouTube, Spotify, Apple

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Register for the webinars:

• Using a Sale-Leaseback to Buy a Business - Thu Feb 20 - https://bit.ly/3QjGZYR

• First 100 Days: Survive & Thrive as a New Business Owner - Wed Feb 26 - https://bit.ly/4hCxC2G

Subscribe to the new podcast, Meeting of the Minds:

• On YouTube
• Spotify & Apple links coming soon!

Lucas Philips bought a niche manufacturer with $200k SDE, aiming to make it an ecommerce/DTC business. It's working.

Topics in Lucas’s interview:

• How his startup mindset influenced his acquisition
• Buying a super-niche manufacturer at age 23
• Motivating staff (or not) with $3/hr raises
• Learning to fire and trust his instincts
• Modernizing the business
• Advantages of buying a business young
• Anxiety issues post-acquisition
• How bolt-ons have lengthened the J curve
• Expanding into the Porsche market
• Looking ahead to using AI

References and how to contact Lucas:

• LinkedIn
• lucas@newarkauto.com
• Newark Auto
• Benjamin Ross Group
• Ben Jasper on Acquiring Minds: Factory Life: Buying a Manufacturer with $1m SDE
• The Founder's Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Matthias Smith of Pioneer Capital Advisory

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Register for the webinars:

• Using a Sale-Leaseback to Buy a Business - Thu Feb 20 - https://bit.ly/3X1BqSQ

Subscribe to the new podcast, Meeting of the Minds:

• On YouTube
• Spotify & Apple links coming soon!

Cliff & Christine Nelson navigated him buying a big but remote business while she was pregnant, then a first-time mom.

Topics in Cliff and Christine’s interview:

• Highs and lows of the 2-year search
• Cliff quitting his job right before Covid
• Becoming parents and closing on a business the same week
• What Cliff liked about the traditional search model
• Acquiring a business with 100 employees
• Being alone in an unfamiliar city as a new mom
• Christine getting very sick during the move
• Feeling like a bad father and a bad CEO at the same time
• Experiencing the J curve
• “I wouldn’t live through it again, but I’m glad we did it.”

References and how to contact Cliff and Christine:

• Cliff LinkedIn
• Christine LinkedIn
• PsychoGeriatric Services

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact mark@aspenhr.com

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron