#127: Rich Jordan - A Masterclass in Buying, Leading, & Operating a SMB Service Business

Rich Jordan is the Owner of Strongpoint Management Group and is a Marine Corps veteran. Strongpoint owns and operates real estate assets and buys small businesses to scale. This episode highlights Garon T Plumbing, an SMB in the Northeast that Rich has grown substantially over the past year.

On this episode, Rich discusses his experience in the Marines and doing his first real estate deal before diving deep into his acquisition of Garon T Plumbing. Rich and Chris talk about the most nuanced parts of Rich's journey, including the buying experience, dealing with sellers and brokers, meeting his new team for the first time, implementing incentive programs for his employees, and the decisions made to radically grow the business. Enjoy! 

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris

Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

Follow Rich on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/StrongPointRich

Check out Strongpoint Management: www.RealStrongPoint.com

(02:53) - Rich’s Background in the Marine Corps and What Led Him to His Current Position

(08:49) - Did you always want to be a Marine?

(10:59) - How many Marines do we have in the Middle East?

(11:23) - What did you do with your first RE deal to make it double in value?

(15:30) - What was it like being married for several years but living long distance?

(17:30) - Was it always the plan to buy a small business?

(20:15) - How did you source this deal and how many deals were you looking at?

(32:35) - Was there anything you needed to prove to the broker before they got serious with finding you deals?

(33:22) - What deal terms mattered to the seller in the LOI that was surprising?

(35:12) - How long was it from LOI to closing?

(35:50) - What mattered to you during Due Diligence to get you comfortable with the deal?

(37:58) - How long does it take to get an SBA loan approved?

(39:27) - What was the agreement with the seller in terms of them staying on after the sale?

(41:47) - What was their motivation for selling?

(42:58) - Looking back, is there anything you wish you had done during due diligence?

Gusto Payroll Processing

(48:15) - What was the conversation like meeting your employees as the new owner?

(51:50) - What was the team’s reaction to the sale?

(59:12) - How did you start making your impact on the business? 

(1:04:16) - How did you go through the exercise for setting fixed price changes?

(1:07:24) - Have you implemented any incentives for employees?

Service Titan

(1:19:13) - What’s your ultimate goal for this business?

(1:23:57) - Is this unique to your area or is this something that can be done everywhere?

(1:27:22) - How do we get more people into the blue-collar industry and make it sexy again?

(1:33:00) -  What did the Marines teach you that you couldn’t have learned anywhere else?

(1:35:54) - Do you have a morning routine?

(1:37:31) - How can people reach you?

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/strongpointrich

The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts