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

Michael Girdley (@Girdley), Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA) and Mills Snell (@thegeneralmills), we talk about an exciting business located outside of Whistler, Canada and near Vancouver for our Summer Episode. It is a whitewater rafting business with a lot of unique things to dig into from COVID impact to the brokers’ presentation.-----Thanks to our sponsors!* Guardian Due Diligence is the diligence solution for first-time buyers and self-funded searchers.You should be able to acquire a business with the comfort that the numbers are solid and the seller is not fooling you. Your lenders and equity partners want and need the same.Guardian's Quality of Earnings reports give you this confidence.Guardian Due Diligence offers free reviews of LOIs and company valuations at www.OfferFromElliott.com Contact Elliot Holland at eholland@guardianduediligence.com-----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.-----Show Notes:(00:00) - Introduction(00:28) - Our sponsor is Guardian Due Diligence(01:39) - Deal: A Profitable Rafting tour company(06:16) - What do we think about the financials? (09:04) - What to consider as a buyer?(13:42) - What should you consider for this particular seasonal business?(16:45) - Is it possible to gain economies of scale here? How?(19:06) - What is the business size and how does it affect the transactionality?(19:43) - Is there Covid assistance behind the scenes?(24:18) - What is something worth noting about this deal-----Links:https://app.dealbuilder.co/blind-profile/e0dcdd4a-9e6b-4c58-b7cf-6de20728d619-----Additional episodes you might enjoy:#108 A fireworks store and a ski rental business for sale#106 A Pet Product and Saas business for 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), talk about something a little different: We reviewed the potential purchase of royalties from Cherry Garcia ice cream, Ben and Jerry's popular ice cream flavor named after the iconic grateful founder, Jerry Garcia. We found a royalty stream too and we investigated it in depth to see if it was a good investment.-----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(0:38) - Our sponsor is cloudbookkeeping.com(2:05) - Deal listing & financials: Cherry Garcia Royalties(6:23) - How does the royalties deal work(9:36) - How does investment size impact your chance of lawyering up if things go south?(10:45) - What could make this deal more appealing?(16:32) - Who is your counterparty? Why hasn’t Unilever bought it?(20:34) - What are the factors that make investments in cash flow streams good or bad?-----Links:https://auctions.royaltyexchange.com/auctions/royalties-from-cherry-garcia-ice-cream/-----Additional episodes you might enjoy:#108 A fireworks store and a ski rental business for sale#106 A Pet Product and Saas business for sale - Which one do we like?#105 How to Make Money in the E-Commerce Game - Bill D’Alessandro gives an e-Commerce masterclass - Part 1#79 What do Investors want? - Dig into an investor’s mind with Bradford Hardin#75 SBA Loan Secrets with Heather Endresen, expertise from a Billion-Dollar LoanerSubscribe 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), we talk about an interesting deal on Wholesale of Premium Flooring Products in Texas. It is a real deal from one of our listeners and had a quick consultation on whether this deal is a good one or not. We talk about the deal’s consolidation, financials, margin compressions, and more.-----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.----- 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.-----Show Notes:(00:00) - Introduction(00:42) - Our sponsor is cloudbookkeeping.com(02:09) - A Wholesale of Premium Flooring Products(03:53) - Do we trust the stated financials?(06:26) - Is this a Covid-fueled growth case?(07:28) - Finding the competitive advantage of your business(08:38) - Margin compression due to increased costs: What should you pay attention to when looking at financials?(10:24) - What is the generational equity on this deal?(12:38) - What is Bill’s strategy to acquire a risky business?(14:44) - What is the red flag here?(16:59) - Would we buy this?  Yes. How?!-----Additional episodes you might enjoy:#108 A fireworks store and a ski rental business for sale#106 A Pet Product and Saas business for sale - Which one do we like?#105 How to Make Money in the E-Commerce Game - Bill D’Alessandro gives an e-Commerce masterclass - Part 1#79 What do Investors want? - Dig into an investor’s mind with Bradford Hardin#75 SBA Loan Secrets with Heather Endresen, expertise from a Billion-Dollar LoanerSubscribe 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), talk about an interesting sign business in Texas regarding oil field services. We discuss financials, operational aspects, growth opportunities, and more.-----Thanks to our sponsors!* Guardian Due Diligence is the diligence solution for first-time buyers and self-funded searchers.You should be able to acquire a business with the comfort that the numbers are solid and the seller is not fooling you. Your lenders and equity partners want and need the same.Guardian's Quality of Earnings reports give you this confidence.Guardian Due Diligence offers free reviews of LOIs and company valuations at www.OfferFromElliott.com Contact Elliot Holland at eholland@guardianduediligence.com-----Show Notes:(0:00) - Introduction(0:30) - Our sponsor is Guardian Due Diligence(1:39) - Deal: National Pipeline Sign Markers(2:40) - Financials & Listing(6:15) - What kind of signs do they sell? How does this business works?(9:30) - Who are the customers?(12:19) - What are common misalignments between seller and buyer?(15:00) - Do we like the deal at this multiple?(18:00) - How does this business grow?(21:00) - What is the competitive advantage of this deal?-----Links:https://www.bizbuysell.com/Business-Opportunity/National-Pipeline-Sign-Markers/1998362/?utm_source=bizbuysell&utm_medium=emailsite&utm_campaign=emalert&utm_content=viewdetailtext-----Additional episodes you might enjoy:#110 How to save a dead deal? With Jake Wakely#108 A fireworks store and a ski rental business for sale#106 A Pet Product and Saas business for sale - Which one do we like?#105 How to Make Money in the E-Commerce Game - Bill D’Alessandro gives an e-Commerce masterclass - Part 1#75 SBA Loan Secrets with Heather Endresen, expertise from a Billion-DollSubscribe 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

Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA), Michael Girdley (@girdley), and Jake Wakely (@jakelywakely), who owns a moving business in Texas talk about his war story of acquiring a home services business in Vail, Colorado. Jake has an excellent rationale for choosing this business which is his getaway to spend more time in Vail. He also shares how he could figure things out as the deal was under LOI, an SBA bank, and financing fell apart two separate times within a week of closing.Subscribe to our channel!-----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(00:50) - Our sponsor is Cloudbookkeeping.com(02:48) - Let’s get to know Jake and his storage company.(03:52) - How did he find Vail Home Care? What does the company do?(08:01) - In what way was the business viable when it wasn’t that huge financially?(14:58) - How was the financing of the Deal structured initially?(16:00) - What happened in the Due Diligence process?(23:32) - How did you go around in such a short time?(27:55) - What have you learned? What would you have done differently?(34:23) - When is SBA a good route?-----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.-----Additional episodes you might enjoy:#108 A fireworks store and a ski rental business for sale#106 A Pet Product and Saas business for sale - Which one do we like?#105 How to Make Money in the E-Commerce Game - Bill D’Alessandro gives an e-Commerce masterclass - Part 1#79 What do Investors want? - Dig into an investor’s mind with Bradford Hardin#75 SBA Loan Secrets with Heather EndreSubscribe 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), talk about two fascinating deals: A gigantic chain of environmental aquariums located in various malls around the US and a European compliance software package located in Switzerland. The first deal talks about doing millions in revenue a year and also looking for a capital partner or selling the business. As for the second deal, we spent some time acknowledging and digging into that one. Join us as we discover whether these deals are as fascinating as they sound.-----Thanks to our sponsor!Pioneer Capital Advisory operates as a full-service SBA loan consulting business. The firm has established relationships with SBA Preferred Lenders in the space. Their value offering is to take entrepreneurs through the process of application at no cost to the business owner. The firm’s goal is to essentially act as a concierge to the business owner, fully outsourcing the work that they would typically incur with having to apply for an SBA loan. Essentially, the firm will be fully aligned with the entrepreneur on focusing on a successful closing.If you’re thinking of acquiring a business with an SBA Loan and want to get professional guidance through the process, contact Matthias Smith at matthias.smith@pioneercapitaladvisory.com -----* 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.-----Show Notes:(00:00) - Introduction(00:54) - Our sponsor is Pioneer Capital Advisory(02:56) - Deal 1: A gigantic chain of environmental aquariums(05:34) - What should you look for in a strategic partner?(10:48) - What are the tailwinds for location and performance?(13:11) - Can it go wrong? What happened to SeaWorld?(14:43) - Deal 2: European compliance software package(18:30) - Is the valuation plausible, how is the competition in this type of industry with big clients?(20:22) - Do we think this is a good deal? What is the growth opportunity?(23:35) - How long is the customer buying cycle of your prospects?(27:21) - Who would buy this?Did you like this episode? Leave us your feedback in the comments!-----Links:Pioneer Capital Advisoryhttps://app.microacquire.com/startup/tLbRZBPxuQYSQqyb8KLroKy93J12/vl5DB45wvWRnoMRVHvQVSubscribe 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) talk about two cool deals relevant to holiday vacations: A ski rental in Colorado and a fireworks store in Oklahoma. Both are traditional-type businesses. We get to determine if these crazy, fun deals are indeed interesting in terms of real estate captures, scales, wholesales, moats, and if the risk would be worth expanding the businesses.-----Thanks to our sponsors!* Guardian Due Diligence is the diligence solution for first-time buyers and self-funded searchers.You should be able to acquire a business with the comfort that the numbers are solid and the seller is not fooling you. Your lenders and equity partners want and need the same.Guardian's Quality of Earnings reports give you this confidence.Guardian Due Diligence offers free reviews of LOIs and company valuations at www.OfferFromElliott.com Contact Elliot Holland at eholland@guardianduediligence.com-----Show Notes:(00:00) - Introduction(00:53) - Our sponsor is Guardian Due Diligence(02:09) - Deal 1: Ski rental shop for sale(04:21) - Financials and price: Do they make sense?(05:09) - What makes this deal catch the eyes of the buyer?(08:07) - What are the retail risks of the deal? What is the key factor to this deal?(09:27) - The value captures from Real Estate: How to protect yourself as a buyer?(12:39) - What are the limitations of this Deal? How does the location act as a limit for this business?(13:56) - The Deal’s trap: Think about the lifestyle choice(20:17) - Deal 2: Fireworks business(22:54) - Why would we say the seller has 2 operations?(24:13) - What about the retail part of the business?(24:42) - The situation for wholesale: Should we consider it valuable?(25:59) - What are the growth opportunities here?(28:11) - What are the regulations and permitting requirements if you want to add another business to the store? Is it worth entering risky retail markets?(31:08) - Commoditized product risk: defendable or vulnerable?(32:25) - Moats, scale, and building a defensible business-----Links:Guardian Due Diligence offers free reviews of LOIs and company valuations at www.OfferFromElliott.comhttps://www.bizbuysell.com/Business-Opportunity/Seasonal-Ski-and-Snowboard-Rental-Repair-and-Sales-Shop-in-SW-CO/1937618/https://www.businessbroker.net/business-for-sale/fireworks-premier-seasonal-business-oklahoma/50Subscribe 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), talk about one cool Deal that has a dried fruits and nuts kiosk in Denver International airport and the other, an Innovative Deal, a professional tool created by firefighters. We also look at ways to scale these deals and the growth potential from a marketing perspective.-----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.-----* 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.-----Show Notes:(00:00) - Intro(00:45) - Our sponsor is Cloudbookkeeping.com(02:09) - Deal 1: A nut kiosk in the Denver airport?!(04:38) - Why is some guy in Las Vegas selling a nut kiosk in Denver?(10:48) - What are the insights when it comes to economies to scale?(13:05) - How to defend from a landlord trying to capture all the value from you?(14:35) - How do we think about potential customers & walking traffic? Is there a chance of cross-selling other products? How?(16:55) - Deal 2: A product invented by firefighters - Cool Deal Alert!(20:55) - Growth potential of the product? Let’s talk about product design, marketing & distribution: Why is this deal so interesting? (25:35) - Channel risk & channel dependency. What should you consider?(28:08) - Branding & potential niches to cover?-----Links:* https://fcbb.com/retail/denver-intl-airport/semi-absentee-owner-denver-airport-dried-fruit-and-nut-kiosks-101-20919-----Past guests on Acquanon include Nick Huber, Brent Beshore, Aaron Rubin, Mike Botkin, Ari Ozick, Mitchell Baldridge, Xavier Helgelsen, Mike Loftus, Steve Divitkos, Dzmitry Miranovich, Morgan Tate and more.-----Additional episodes you might enjoy:#106 A Pet Product and Saas business for sale. Which one do we like?#105 How to Make Money in the E-Commerce Game - Bill D’Alessandro gives an e-Commerce masterclass - part 1#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), we talk about an independent pet supply rep company in Alaska and Oregon. On the other hand, we looked at a second deal from a failing startup currently being sold on micro-acquire by Andrew and his team. Here we will figure out what they do, how the business works, and identify the Pros and Cons of the two deals.-----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.-----* 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.-----Show Notes:(00:00) - Introduction to A Pet Product and Saas business for sale(00:55) - Our sponsor is Cloudbookkeeping.com(03:50) - Deal 1: A highly successful company that services pet product customers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska(05:00) - What kind of Business Model does the pet rep company have? How does acting as a fractional salesforce help in the market?(08:14) - In terms of assets, What else is bought?(13:52) - Why would you like to buy yourself a job?(15:18) - How does Geographical importance affect growth opportunities?(23:26) - Deal 2: SaaS data analysis business(25:51) - A $17m red flag on MicroAcquire!(33:49) - How could the growth continue during the coming years?(37:17) - What kills Deals the most? Who would buy this?(38:50) - Understand the incentives of each stakeholder in a Deal(41:25) - What is the current state of the market for Saas businesses?-----Links:* Cloudbookkeeping.com* Subscribe to the podcast if you’d like to listen instead:-       https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/acquisitions-anonymous/id1533153678-       https://open.spotify.com/show/4rbeAODKXwwEOxf905He22* Looking to become a sponsor? Write us an email at mirko@girdley.com* Follow us on Twitter @acquanon Learnings about small business acquisitions and operations.-----Past guests on Acquanon include Nick Huber, Brent Beshore, Aaron Rubin, Mike Botkin, Ari Ozick, Mitchell Baldridge, Xavier Helgelsen, Mike Loftus, Steve DiSubscribe 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

Don't miss part 2! Signup for our weekly newsletter:https://landing-newsletter.acquanon.com/-----Michael Girdley (@Girdley) and Mills Snell (@thegeneralmills) turned the tables on Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA) for this special eCommerce episode. We talk about the day-to-day operations of eCommerce businesses. Product types, 3PL vs in-house fulfillment, customer acquisition, favorable attributes for products, and much more!-----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.-----* 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.-----Show Notes:(0:00) - Intro(1:36) - Cloudbookkeeping.com(3:30) - How to operate an eCommerce business?(5:50) - Let’s talk about product size: Must-haves and hell nos!(8:00) - The power of scale: Home run swing models(8:50) - How to pick a great product?(11:17) - Pricepoints breakdown and the sweet spot zone(14:50) - Where does intellectual propriety play a role?(16:30) - Let’s go into dimensions, weight, shipping costs and the evaluations to be made there(18:35) - In-house fulfillment vs 3PL - Where are the breaks along the scale?(20:20) - How unique is your process?(22:01) - What’s the pricing structure like for a 3PL?(23:27) - Negotiation points(25:36) - What about in-house? Advantages & disadvantages(27:20) - What made you switch from a 3PL to your own?(29:46) - The flexibility of in-house logistics(31:23) - How does geography come into play?(34:01) - How do you think about customer relationships?(38:40) - Have you seen any other interesting distribution models? What are the challenges of influencer businesses?(41:29) - One of Bill’s favorite businesses.(45:00) - What is the holy grail of metrics?Additional episodes you might enjoy:#96 From W-2 to Business Owner - Patrick Dichter tells us how to cold reach seller and we discuss 2 Deals#92 WaSubscribe 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