Acquisitions Anonymous - #1 for business buying, selling and operating

Michael Girdley (@chilis) and Mills Snell (@thegeneralmills) review a food blog for sale.----Thanks to our sponsor!Acquira - your acquisition in a box service. Acquira offers training to help you find, evaluate, and close on a small business. All in under a year.    Their team has bought over 30 businesses across  3 different portfolios. Whether you’re just beginning your business search, actively pursuing a specific deal, or looking to grow your existing company, Acquira’s training and team of experts can help. Their M&A advisors provide individualized support through the entire process. They will provide guidance toward your offer structure, drafting your LOI, in-depth due diligence, and securing funding for your deal.  They will even fly out to the business with you.  Once you acquire a business, they can help you grow it too.Acquira’s ACE Framework will help you transition that business from owner-operated to management-led, increasing profits and allowing you to step away from the daily operations and enjoy doing more of what you love.  And if “more of what you love” is buying and growing more businesses, they can help you build a portfolio of businesses, and eventually get liquidity from that portfolio by selling it to a financial buyer, or selling it to its employees.Space is limited each month, so if you’re looking to acquire a cash-flowing business this year, sign up now at acquira.com/pod-landerSubscribe to weekly our Newsletter and get curated deals in your inboxAdvertise with us by clicking here Do you love Acquanon and want to see our smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel. Do you enjoy our content? Rate our show! Follow us on Twitter @acquanon Learnings about small business acquisitions and operations. For inquiries or suggestions, email us at contact@acquanon.com

Michael Girdley (@Girdley), Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA), and Mills Snell (@thegeneralmills) review a cleaning company in Michigan. Good times were had by all! -----Thanks to our sponsors!CloudBookkeeping offers adaptable solutions to businesses that want to focus on growth with a “client service first” approach. They offer a full suite of accounting services, including sophisticated reporting, QuickBooks software solutions, and full-service payroll options.-----Subscribe to weekly our Newsletter and get curated deals in your inboxAdvertise with us by clicking here Do you love Acquanon and want to see our smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel. Do you enjoy our content? Rate our show! Follow us on Twitter @acquanon Learnings about small business acquisitions and operations. For inquiries or suggestions, email us at contact@acquanon.com

Michael Girdley (@chilis), Mills Snell (@thegeneralmills), and Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA) review an importer of ice cream machines.----Thanks to our sponsor!Acquira - your acquisition in a box service. Acquira offers training to help you find, evaluate, and close on a small business. All in under a year.    Their team has bought over 30 businesses across  3 different portfolios. Whether you’re just beginning your business search, actively pursuing a specific deal, or looking to grow your existing company, Acquira’s training and team of experts can help. Their M&A advisors provide individualized support through the entire process. They will provide guidance toward your offer structure, drafting your LOI, in-depth due diligence, and securing funding for your deal.  They will even fly out to the business with you.  Once you acquire a business, they can help you grow it too.Acquira’s ACE Framework will help you transition that business from owner-operated to management-led, increasing profits and allowing you to step away from the daily operations and enjoy doing more of what you love.  And if “more of what you love” is buying and growing more businesses, they can help you build a portfolio of businesses, and eventually get liquidity from that portfolio by selling it to a financial buyer, or selling it to its employees.Space is limited each month, so if you’re looking to acquire a cash-flowing business this year, sign up now at acquira.com/pod-landerSubscribe to weekly our Newsletter and get curated deals in your inboxAdvertise with us by clicking here Do you love Acquanon and want to see our smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel. Do you enjoy our content? Rate our show! Follow us on Twitter @acquanon Learnings about small business acquisitions and operations. For inquiries or suggestions, email us at contact@acquanon.com

Michael Girdley (@chilis), Mills Snell (@thegeneralmills), and Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA) review a swim school for sale.----Thanks to our sponsor!Acquira - your acquisition in a box service. Acquira offers training to help you find, evaluate, and close on a small business. All in under a year.    Their team has bought over 30 businesses across  3 different portfolios. Whether you’re just beginning your business search, actively pursuing a specific deal, or looking to grow your existing company, Acquira’s training and team of experts can help. Their M&A advisors provide individualized support through the entire process. They will provide guidance toward your offer structure, drafting your LOI, in-depth due diligence, and securing funding for your deal.  They will even fly out to the business with you.  Once you acquire a business, they can help you grow it too.Acquira’s ACE Framework will help you transition that business from owner-operated to management-led, increasing profits and allowing you to step away from the daily operations and enjoy doing more of what you love.  And if “more of what you love” is buying and growing more businesses, they can help you build a portfolio of businesses, and eventually get liquidity from that portfolio by selling it to a financial buyer, or selling it to its employees.Space is limited each month, so if you’re looking to acquire a cash-flowing business this year, sign up now at acquira.com/pod-lander----Additional episodes you might enjoy:#166 - A legal tech business doing $7mm a year#165 - Should we buy this airplane ad business?#164 - Annual Report Filing Software#163 - Make $2.3M/yr owning a Flight School#162 - Cleaning up crime scenes for big money!#161 - How to spot red flags in eCommerce listings?Subscribe to weekly our Newsletter and get curated deals in your inboxAdvertise with us by clicking here Do you love Acquanon and want to see our smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel. Do you enjoy our content? Rate our show! Follow us on Twitter @acquanon Learnings about small business acquisitions and operations. For inquiries or suggestions, email us at contact@acquanon.com

Michael Girdley (@Girdley), Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA), and Mills Snell (@thegeneralmills) review a $20mm/year lubricant exporter in Houston. Good times were had by all! -----Thanks to our sponsors!CloudBookkeeping offers adaptable solutions to businesses that want to focus on growth with a “client service first” approach. They offer a full suite of accounting services, including sophisticated reporting, QuickBooks software solutions, and full-service payroll options.-----Additional episodes you might enjoy:#166 - A legal tech business doing $7mm a year#165 - Should we buy this airplane ad business?#164 - Annual Report Filing Software#163 - Make $2.3M/yr owning a Flight School#162 - Cleaning up crime scenes for big money!#161 - How to spot red flags in eCommerce listings?Do you love Acquanon and want to see our smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel.Do you enjoy our content? Rate our show!Follow us on Twitter @acquanon Learnings about small business acquisitions and operations.Subscribe to weekly our Newsletter and get curated deals in your inboxAdvertise with us by clicking here Do you love Acquanon and want to see our smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel. Do you enjoy our content? Rate our show! Follow us on Twitter @acquanon Learnings about small business acquisitions and operations. For inquiries or suggestions, email us at contact@acquanon.com

Mills Snell (@thegeneralmills), and Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA) review a law firm that is for sale (well, a piece of one.)----Thanks to our sponsor!Acquira - your acquisition in a box service. Acquira offers training to help you find, evaluate, and close on a small business. All in under a year.    Their team has bought over 30 businesses across  3 different portfolios. Whether you’re just beginning your business search, actively pursuing a specific deal, or looking to grow your existing company, Acquira’s training and team of experts can help. Their M&A advisors provide individualized support through the entire process. They will provide guidance toward your offer structure, drafting your LOI, in-depth due diligence, and securing funding for your deal.  They will even fly out to the business with you.  Once you acquire a business, they can help you grow it too.Acquira’s ACE Framework will help you transition that business from owner-operated to management-led, increasing profits and allowing you to step away from the daily operations and enjoy doing more of what you love.  And if “more of what you love” is buying and growing more businesses, they can help you build a portfolio of businesses, and eventually get liquidity from that portfolio by selling it to a financial buyer, or selling it to its employees.Space is limited each month, so if you’re looking to acquire a cash-flowing business this year, sign up now at acquira.com/pod-lander----Additional episodes you might enjoy:#166 - A legal tech business doing $7mm a year#165 - Should we buy this airplane ad business?#164 - Annual Report Filing Software#163 - Make $2.3M/yr owning a Flight School#162 - Cleaning up crime scenes for big money!#161 - How to spot red flags in eCommerce listings?Do you love Acquanon and want to see our smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel.Do you enjoy our content? Rate our show!Follow us on Twitter @acquanon Learnings about small business acquisitions and operations.Subscribe to weekly our Newsletter and get curated deals in your inboxAdvertise with us by clicking here Do you love Acquanon and want to see our smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel. Do you enjoy our content? Rate our show! Follow us on Twitter @acquanon Learnings about small business acquisitions and operations. For inquiries or suggestions, email us at contact@acquanon.com

Michael Girdley (@Girdley) is joined by Michael Arrieta (@MikeArrieta) to talk about his journey from W-2 to HoldCo operator. He gets to talk about storytelling, how his fund is structured, the challenges he faced, and how HoldCo CEO is the most difficult job in the world.-----Thanks to our sponsors!CloudBookkeeping offers adaptable solutions to businesses that want to focus on growth with a “client service first” approach. They offer a full suite of accounting services, including sophisticated reporting, QuickBooks software solutions, and full-service payroll options.-----(0:00) - Introduction(0:40) - Our Sponsor is CloudBookkeeping.com(2:10) - Guest Intro: Michael Arrieta(6:00) - How did public speaking affect your career?(7:50) - The gun show analogy(9:00) - What is the biggest enemy we have today?(10:00) - Honesty and vulnerability as an advantage(11:00) - How to grow your network?(14:28) - What is the most important thing about transmitting your message?(16:10) - How do you cultivate missionaries rather than mercenaries?(19:28) - How did you transition from a W-2 to business owner?(22:52) - What was your calling? What is your investment thesis?(25:05) - What was the key to start your fund?(26:30) - How do you build relationship capital?(29:30) - How did you optimize your fund for a permanent hold model?(36:21) - Being smart means you can quote the US Tax code(37:21) - What have you learned in these two years?(40:30) - How do you run a campaign to intermediaries?Links:https://www.joingardencity.com/https://twitter.com/mikearrietaSubscribe to weekly our Newsletter and get curated deals in your inboxAdvertise with us by clicking here Do you love Acquanon and want to see our smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel. Do you enjoy our content? Rate our show! Follow us on Twitter @acquanon Learnings about small business acquisitions and operations. For inquiries or suggestions, email us at contact@acquanon.com

Michael Girdley (@Girdley), and Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA) review a business that liquidates old voice-over IP telephones. They have 32% margins and only 11 employees while doing $4M in revenue. Impressive.We also steered away from the deal to talk about how to convince a broker that you’re not a tire kicker, how to make deals with celebrities, pricing a business with upcoming unforeseeable risks, different structures to share risk with the seller in a deal, and much more!Company:                 Highly Profitable Supplier of Used & Refurbished Telecom EquipmentLocation:                   United StatesStated Financials:     Revenue ‘22  $ 4,000,000   |   ‘22 Adjusted EBITDA   $ 1,300,000Asking Price:             Contact the broker-----Thanks to our sponsors!CloudBookkeeping offers adaptable solutions to businesses that want to focus on growth with a “client service first” approach. They offer a full suite of accounting services, including sophisticated reporting, QuickBooks software solutions, and full-service payroll options.-----Show Notes:(0:00) - Introduction(0:57) - Our Sponsor is Cloudbookkeeping.com(2:25) - Update on Michael’s Spanish lessons (4:52) - Deal & financials: Highly Profitable Supplier of Used & Refurbished Telecom Equipment(6:05) - What do these guys do?(7:00) - How might Covid have affected this?(8:48) - What do we think about the customers and the operational structure?(15:56) - How to convince a Broker that you’re not a tire kicker?(18:58) - What happens when you try to make a deal with a celebrity?(20:44) - What is the elephant in the room for this deal?(21:18) - Are there headwinds for this? Should you be scared about it?(24:05) - How would we price this business, and why?(25:30) - What is the most important thing of Due Diligence for this business?(27:05) - Audience request: How would we structure this? What are the depreciation benefits? (30:52) - What are the challenges to estimating the risk here? How would we split the risk with the seller?(33:26) - Why are entrepreneurs in liquidations so rich?-----Additional episodes you might enjoy:#166 - A legal tech business doing $7mm a year #165 - Should we buy this airplane ad business?#164 - Annual Report Filing Software#163 - Make $2.3M/yr owning a Flight School#162 - Cleaning up crime scenes for big money!#161 - How to spot red flags in eCommerce listings?Subscribe to weekly our Newsletter and get curated deals in your inboxAdvertise with us by clicking here Do you love Acquanon and want to see our smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel. Do you enjoy our content? Rate our show! Follow us on Twitter @acquanon Learnings about small business acquisitions and operations. For inquiries or suggestions, email us at contact@acquanon.com

Michael Girdley (@Girdley) and Mills Snell (@thegeneralmills) talk about a Legal Technology Provider. What makes this a great teaser? We dig into this deal to find the catch; why are we the lucky buyers? Is there a case for a strategic? Could you aim to build rather than buy it?Company:                 Legal Technology Provider Opportunity ReviewLocation:                   United StatesStated Financials:     2022 Sales  $ 7mm   |   2022 Adjusted EBITDA   $2.4mmAsking Price:          Contact the broker-----Thanks to our sponsors!CloudBookkeeping offers adaptable solutions to businesses that want to focus on growth with a “client service first” approach. They offer a full suite of accounting services, including sophisticated reporting, QuickBooks software solutions, and full-service payroll options.-----Show Notes:(00:00) - Introduction(00:49) - Our Sponsor is CloudBookKeeping.com(04:23) - Deal & financials: Legal Technology Provider(08:17) - What do we like?(09:37) - If EBITDA is BS earnings, what is adjusted EBITDA?(11:52) - What is the catch with this recurring income?(14:43) - Is there a strategic buyer for this business?(15:09) - What is @girdley’s pain-in-the-a** factor theory?(17:57) - What is the most interesting part of this teaser?(18:24) - What are the dynamics you will face if you want to purchase a business like this? (20:04) - Why does this business still have a bizarre dynamic?(25:14) - Where will you find the best value in today’s market?(26:55) - Send over some Deals!Additional episodes you might enjoy:#165 - Should we buy this airplane ad business?#164 - Annual Report Filing Software#163 - Make $2.3M/yr owning a Flight School#162 - Cleaning up crime scenes for big money!#161 - How to spot red flags in eCommerce listings?Subscribe to weekly our Newsletter and get curated deals in your inboxAdvertise with us by clicking here Do you love Acquanon and want to see our smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel. Do you enjoy our content? Rate our show! Follow us on Twitter @acquanon Learnings about small business acquisitions and operations. For inquiries or suggestions, email us at contact@acquanon.com

Michael Girdley (@Girdley) and Mills Snell (@thegeneralmills) talk about a company that offers services related to aerial advertising. We discuss the deal structure, margins, and the significant pricing power enjoyed by businesses that operate billboards. Is there a moat around this business? Do we think it’s better to rent a billboard?Company:   Aerial Advertising Service ProviderLocation:   21 States - USStated Financials:   2022 TTM $ 3.5M    |   2022 Adjusted EBITDA   $ 610,000Asking Price:   Unlisted-----Thanks to our sponsor!Acquira - your acquisition in a box service. Acquira offers training to help you find, evaluate, and close on a small business. All in under a year.    Their team has bought over 30 businesses across  3 different portfolios. Whether you’re just beginning your business search, actively pursuing a specific deal, or looking to grow your existing company, Acquira’s training and team of experts can help. Their M&A advisors provide individualized support through the entire process. They will provide guidance toward your offer structure, drafting your LOI, in-depth due diligence, and securing funding for your deal.  They will even fly out to the business with you.  Once you acquire a business, they can help you grow it too.Acquira’s ACE Framework will help you transition that business from owner-operated to management-led, increasing profits and allowing you to step away from the daily operations and enjoy doing more of what you love.  And if “more of what you love” is buying and growing more businesses, they can help you build a portfolio of businesses, and eventually get liquidity from that portfolio by selling it to a financial buyer, or selling it to its employees.Space is limited each month, so if you’re looking to acquire a cash-flowing business this year, sign up now at acquira.com/pod-lander-----Show Notes:(00:00) - Introduction(00:54) - Our Sponsor is Acquira.com(02:26) - We are looking to do more larger deals!(03:46) - Deal & financials: Aerial Advertising Service Provider(07:34) - What's happening to the margins?(08:38) - How do billboard businesses earn a lot of pricing power?(10:24) - What is this company's buy vs. build thesis? (13:34) - The low Total Addressable Market Moat(14:12) - How would we build a moat around this business?(17:54) - What’s the case for medieval times?(20:42) - Is it better to rent a normal billboard?(23:03) - Will drones be a good idea?(24:26) - What may have affected this business to grow in revenue?Additional episodes you might enjoy:#164 - Annual Report Filing Software#163 - Make $2.3M/yr owning a Flight School#Subscribe to weekly our Newsletter and get curated deals in your inboxAdvertise with us by clicking here Do you love Acquanon and want to see our smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel. Do you enjoy our content? Rate our show! Follow us on Twitter @acquanon Learnings about small business acquisitions and operations. For inquiries or suggestions, email us at contact@acquanon.com