Business Buying Strategies from The Dealmaker's Academy

In this episode, Jonathan talks with Richard Bundock, a successful entrepreneur who shares his journey of buying and growing businesses. Richard's story begins with his early entrepreneurial ventures, when he sold stick-on tattoos at school. He recounts his experience making three successful acquisitions, detailing the differences between asset and share purchases. Inspired by his success, Richard plans to make around 18 more acquisitions to become one of the top five independent agency groups by 2026. He encourages listeners to take risks and push forward in their acquisitions, reminding them that time is precious and that they should seize opportunities to create positive change. Key Highlights [00:44] Richard's background [01:21] How Richard got into entrepreneurship [02:53] The nature of organic growth [04:46] The sector that Richard specializes in [06:24] The most stressful deal for Richard [09:46] The difference between asset and share purchase [11:36] Richard's plan for the future [15:30] The commonalities learned from fellow entrepreneurs [16:18] Advice to people interested in buying a business but have not made the first step Notable Quotes I think the main thing is that you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince, which is the classic thing. You got to put the work in to get the result. And we've done that. And we've made three acquisitions this year; that has been something that has turned things around. I think sitting around and talking in a group appears with others that have made acquisitions as well. You start to realize that the only thing holding you back is yourself. Doing a good acquisition is feasible. It's just how hard you are prepared to push and work to get that done. I think they need to get an uncomfortable fence because they're too comfortable sitting on that fence. They put cushions on it and everything, and they need to get a little bit uncomfortable. And they need to realize that if they're sitting on the fence, stuff is just happening around them, and they're not going to move forward, they're not going to get anywhere because they're going to stay on that fence. Resources Buying a business is only the start, which is why we are now teaching what happens next on the Mastermind program. Now, if you've already bought a business, you should be part of my Inner Circle group where we discuss raising capital, integration management, and exiting. Email Maria on hello@thedealmakersacademy.com for more information.  If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my own lawyer, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at johnandrews.deallawyer@jmw.co.uk. If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at: www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk Watch my Webinar Training Video: https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk You can also request a free copy of my book at: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/ If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast  Connect with Jonathan Jay at: Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy

Former insurance broker, Akram Abdullah, shares his journey of selling his insurance brokerage and acquiring a commercial cleaning business. He emphasizes the importance of seller's motivation and highlights the benefits of buying an existing business rather than starting from scratch. Akram discusses the negotiations, fixing the acquired business, and ultimately selling it. He provides valuable tips and advice for aspiring business buyers.

In this episode, Jonathan Jay interviews Aled Davies, who runs a clothing and textiles printing business. Aled shares his journey of seeking organic growth for his family business, facing challenges such as a fire and the pandemic. Inspired by the podcast, Aled explores the acquisition route and becomes one of Jonathan's clients. He shares how he completed his first acquisition of a smaller business and seamlessly integrated it into his existing company, leveraging the acquired website, customer base, and sales opportunities. He also shares some of the tips he has acquired along the way. Key Highlights [00:45] About Aled Davies [01:21] How Aled got into business [04:16] How the Podcast motivated Aled [05:00] Lessons learned after joining the fast-track program [06:09] How Aled handled his first call [08:09] How the negotiations for the deal went through [15:05] The kind of due diligence one can do when buying a digital marketing company [19:11] Tips learned by Aled along the way Notable Quotes I had feedback and stopped because I didn't add for whatever you guys didn't fully commit to. But once you fully commit to it, there's no reason why if a deal doesn't feel right or it doesn't look, it will not be right for you. You can always walk away if you don't want to do it anyway. Get started and give it a go. But you never know what's going to come upon it. Resources Buying a business is only the start, which is why we are now teaching what happens next on the Mastermind program. Now, if you've already bought a business, you should be part of my Inner Circle group where we discuss raising capital, integration management, and exiting. Email Maria on hello@thedealmakersacademy.com for more information.  If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my own lawyer, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at johnandrews.deallawyer@jmw.co.uk. If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at: www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk Watch my Webinar Training Video: https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk You can also request a free copy of my book at: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/ If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast  Connect with Jonathan Jay at: Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy

This week Jonathan talks to Chris Stone, a hearing healthcare specialist based in Glasgow. Chris is a client of Jonathan’s, and having already bought one competitor, he is now on the hunt for further acquisitions. In fact, right now he is the fastest growing hearing healthcare provider in Scotland. The conversation begins with how COVID has affected the business.  Key Highlights [01:14] The effects of the pandemic [02:40] Setting turnover targets [03:36] The first acquisition [12:00] The role that peer groups can play [14:54] Possible additional acquisitions [19:10] Structuring the next potential acquisition [22:52] The strategy moving forward [24:05] Advive for new business buyers Notable Quotes Very quickly after we had hit heads of terms with that first acquisition, we got approached by another two or three businesses to sell to buy them out So we took that business on eight years ago. We got it to a million turnover. It took us four and a half, five, four and a half years to get 10 million turnover And I think if things keep going the way that they're going, we've probably got a strong enough management team now structure offering that we can start growing organically very quickly With five years of history behind it, management team in place, And I just thought, if they can do it, I can do it Resources Buying a business is only the start, which is why we are now teaching what happens next on the Mastermind program. Now, if you've already bought a business, you should be part of my Inner Circle group where we discuss raising capital, integration management, and exiting. Email Maria on hello@thedealmakersacademy.com for more information.  If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my own lawyer, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at johnandrews.deallawyer@jmw.co.uk. If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at: www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk Watch my Webinar Training Video: https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk You can also request a free copy of my book at: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/ If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast  Connect with Jonathan Jay at: Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy

This week Jonathan talks with Ray Burke, who started a business in the transport and haulage sector which he grew to a £500,000 turnover operation after six years. However, after three acquisitions in eighteen months, he has increased his group business turnover to £3.4 million. Key Highlights [01:26] Ray Burke's business background [04:21] How Ray looked for and shortlisted potential business to buy [05:05] Ray's first acquisition [12:01] What has changed for Ray since the first acquisition? [13:10] The second acquisition [18:20] The third acquisition [20:58] The mindset of running a group rather than a single business [27:05] What advice would Ray give to new business buyers? Notable Quotes So I structured a deal that I could use invoice, finance and cash in the bank to make that completion payment. If you want to buy a business you need to try and buy five, and then you might end up with two or three maybe if you're lucky. So the benefit of being the owner of a larger group is that you've now got a bigger team to do the strategy and operational stuff. So I suppose with growing the businesses and adding locations, sometime next year I'll be at 5 million turnover.  Resources Buying a business is only the start, which is why we are now teaching what happens next on the Mastermind program. Now, if you've already bought a business, you should be part of my Inner Circle group where we discuss raising capital, integration management, and exiting. Email Maria on hello@thedealmakersacademy.com for more information.  If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my own lawyer, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at johnandrews.deallawyer@jmw.co.uk. If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at: www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk Watch my Webinar Training Video: https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk You can also request a free copy of my book at: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/ If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast  Connect with Jonathan Jay at: Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy

In this episode, Jonathan Jay is interviewed by Greg of the Empire Flippers Podcast, and they talk about the complexities of structuring deals and provide valuable insights into the world of acquisitions. Jonathan and Greg discuss the importance of looking for the right characteristics in an acquisition target. They talk about ensuring a smooth transition by having a management team in place. They recommend targeting larger, established businesses with positive cash flows for greater profitability and financing ease. They also discuss ways to increase business valuation by making oneself redundant, making it more attractive to potential buyers. They explain the no-money-down approach, particularly in situations with limited funds, and shed light on leveraged buyout strategies. Mitigating financing risks is addressed, with Jonathan advocating for acquiring businesses with positive cash flows to support debt and cautioning against distressed businesses. Key Highlights [01:46] How Greg met Jonathan Jay [03:36] A brief background of Jonathan and what he does [05:59] Structures and systems Jonathan would put in place if he was to buy 48 businesses again [08:16] Characteristics to look out for in a business [09:00] The importance of having the right management team [11:11] How Jonathan’s strategy is different from others [14:29] How Jonathan structures LBOs [15:25] Why buying distressed businesses is a trap for newbies [23:55] How Jonathan exited the nursery schools [29:31] The letter system for finding retiring business owners [32:29] Common mistakes that people make while buying businesses [35:50] Businesses that are hard to finance [38:30] Best advice ever received by Jonathan [40:16] How to connect with Jonathan Notable Quotes The ideal business to buy always has management in place already. I always tell people to go for the bigger businesses because you'll make more money, they're easier to finance, they're easier to buy, and they run themselves better. They don't need you. Making yourself redundant in your business is the fastest way to increase value. And it just makes your business easier for someone to buy from you. A beginner should be looking for a business that has made money day in and day out for the past five years, has predictable cash flows, can support any debt you put into the business, and still has enough profit to take money out. Buying a business is not about the business you will own but the person you become. Resources Buying a business is only the start, which is why we are now teaching what happens next on the Mastermind program. Now, if you've already bought a business, you should be part of my Inner Circle group where we discuss raising capital, integration management, and exiting. Email Maria on hello@thedealmakersacademy.com for more information.  If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my own lawyer, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at johnandrews.deallawyer@jmw.co.uk. If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at: www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk Watch my Webinar Training Video: https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk You can also request a free copy of my book at: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/ If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast  Connect with Jonathan Jay at: Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy

This week Jonathan talks with entrepreneur, Phil, about the extraordinary story of his first major business deal. He recounts how his life transformed following the deal, sharing the personal and professional growth accompanying this monumental achievement. Phil reveals people's common mistakes during the early days after an acquisition, and offers valuable insights to help aspiring entrepreneurs navigate those challenging initial stages. Key Highlights [02:30] How Phil got his first deal [05:51] The scope of the business bought [06:33] What Phil was doing before the deal [10:37] The origin of the deal [14:02] Deals lined up for Phil [19:13] How Phil’s life changed [20:56] Mistakes that people make in the early days [24:43] Phil’s attitude to getting deals done [26:20] The benefits of being personable to people Notable Quotes You've just got to realize that you only get one life. Nobody knows how long you've got left. So you've got to love your life the way that you want. Be a doer and not a thinker. You've got to be personable to people. You can email them offers and stuff like that because when you think about it, these people have been in these businesses for all these years. You've got to make it personal for them. You cannot take shortcuts. Invest in yourself, guys. Whether it's personal development whether it'd be doing these courses, you will get so much more value. Resources Buying a business is only the start, which is why we are now teaching what happens next on the Mastermind program. Now, if you've already bought a business, you should be part of my Inner Circle group where we discuss raising capital, integration management, and exiting. Email Maria on hello@thedealmakersacademy.com for more information.  If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my own lawyer, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at johnandrews.deallawyer@jmw.co.uk. If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at: www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk Watch my Webinar Training Video: https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk You can also request a free copy of my book at: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/ If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast  Connect with Jonathan Jay at: Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy

This week we meet James Gardner, who was a guest at my Dealmakers Live event in January. Now, James has been on the podcast before, but I wanted to catch up with him to find out what he's been doing. After explaining how he became attracted to the world of mergers and acquisitions, James outlines his plans for scaling up his acquisitions and doing more of them. Key Highlights 01-35 James introduces himself 03-15 James gets a job with the local undertaker 04-10 James drops out of university 05-40 Starting a business with his brother 08-50 Selling that business 10-30 Meeting his former employer and making his first acquisition 21-35 Finding his second acquisition by lending his limousines to a competitor 25-25 A last minute hitch 28-30 Using life insurance to reassure a seller Notable Quotes One of my first goals was to be earning at least, if not more, than a graduate would've been in three years time, but I would've had three years worth of work experience, which they wouldn't have had. We became a little bit of a thorn in their side, in a nice way, and they ended up acquiring us lock, stock, and barrel, both in the US and here. I built up the courage to say, I know you're probably not ready to retire right now, but when you are, would you give me first refusal on your business? And he turned around and said, I think I'm ready now. So, in ten seconds, I saved myself 121,000 pounds! Resources Buying a business is only the start, which is why we are now teaching what happens next on the Mastermind program. Now, if you've already bought a business, you should be part of my Inner Circle group where we discuss raising capital, integration management, and exiting. Email Maria on hello@thedealmakersacademy.com for more information.  If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my own lawyer, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at johnandrews.deallawyer@jmw.co.uk. If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at: www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk Watch my Webinar Training Video: https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk You can also request a free copy of my book at: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/ If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast  Connect with Jonathan Jay at: Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy

In this episode, Jonathan Jay is joined by entrepreneur and dealmaker, Andrew Norton. Andrew shares insights into his recent, successful deals, how he funded them, how he found them, and the stark contrast between his first challenging deal and his recent multi-million-pound triumph. Andrew talks about the challenges he faced and how he overcame them, gaining valuable lessons that have shaped his recent acquisitions. He shares the way he secures funding, which has been crucial to the success of his deals. Key Highlights [01:42] What Andrew has done in the world of acquisitions [04:11] The people with the most success are the people with the best deal flow [05:25] How to streamline due diligence [08:40] How buying a larger business has changed Andrew’s strategies [09:55] The number of acquisitions to do in a year [11:43] How long it took Andrew to get a deal done [14:13] Lessons learned from raising finances [16:21] Benefits of understanding the staffing arrangements Notable Quotes You don't have to agree on a price to agree heads the terms of a deal. You can agree on a mechanism for deciding the price you both agree on. There are always cost savings to bind in there. Once you're running the businesses, there are always bits you can change, tweak, and improve. Understanding the staffing arrangements and ensuring you have someone to run that business. Because again, if you don't get caught up in it, that will be vital to anyone. Resources Buying a business is only the start, which is why we are now teaching what happens next on the Mastermind program. Now, if you've already bought a business, you should be part of my Inner Circle group where we discuss raising capital, integration management, and exiting. Email Maria on hello@thedealmakersacademy.com for more information.  If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my own lawyer, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at johnandrews.deallawyer@jmw.co.uk. If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at: www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk Watch my Webinar Training Video: https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk You can also request a free copy of my book at: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/ If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast  Connect with Jonathan Jay at: Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy

This week is one of our regular highlights episodes where we look back at some of the insights and interesting conversations I've had over the most recent episodes. I talk with Andrew Norton, who bought five businesses in just over 15 months. Starting out in the childcare sector, Andrew acquired several training businesses, and his consolidated group now trains childcare providers. Next, I speak with Gavin Page, who since joining Mastermind has bought nine businesses. In fact, he was crowned deal maker of the year at our annual awards and dinner in December last year. Next up is Darren Jacobs, who since joining my business buying courses, bought 25 businesses and sold four of them, and has an ambitious target to do 100 deals. And lastly, I talk with Alexis Kingsbury, about the importance of introducing processes into business acquisitions. We look at some examples of where and how processes have benefited their owners and how processes can create efficiencies and reduce headcount. Key Highlights [01:04] Andrew Norton (Childcare and training) [09:50] Gavin Page (Print sector) [20:17] Find out about Jonathan’s lawyer, John Andrews [20:54] Darren Jacobs (Hair care) [30:05] Alexis Kingbury (Implementing processes to create efficiencies) Key Quotes Andrew Norton I thought, you know what, I'm going to target all three sectors and see what comes back. And it was the training sector that got the most interesting results. The training sector can ride more waves, I think, than some of the others in times of recession. We’ve diversified really nicely. We're merging the procurement and supply in with the engineering and manufacturing - so we've got similar customer bases, and higher level training courses. So we were getting many more responses to the letters we send out, just because we've already made an acquisition, even though it was a tiny one. Gavin Page When you're in your twenties, you've got nothing to lose. But when you're in your fifties, and you have a family, you have a responsibility to others. Get your pen out, get your computer out and do something. Type some letters. That’s all it was initially. Without sending those letters, you've not got a chance, you know? Sure, you make mistakes obviously, and you think, oh, I should have done that better afterwards. But you refine your script, you refine the questions over time. Darren Jacobs In comparison to buying an IT business, buying a hair salon was ridiculously easy. One of the assumptions I made was this is a recession proof sector. When these doors open, we are going to have a flood of customers door to get their haircut. Alexis Kingbury Once you see it and you shine that spotlight, a lot of these things become obvious. And I would say that 99.9% of businesses don't have this. You have to be adding value on an ongoing basis. One way to do that is by providing the operating system that actually generates the results. Putting those processes in place with the sales team was what helped us to get results from building the sales. Resources Buying a business is only the start, which is why we are now teaching what happens next on the Mastermind program. Now, if you've already bought a business, you should be part of my Inner Circle group where we discuss raising capital, integration management, and exiting. Email Maria on hello@thedealmakersacademy.com for more information.  If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my own lawyer, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at johnandrews.deallawyer@jmw.co.uk. If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at: www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk Watch my Webinar Training Video: https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk You can also request a free copy of my book at: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/ If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast  Connect with Jonathan Jay at: Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy