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

Michael Girdley (@Girdley), Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA), and Mills Snell (@thegeneralmills) are joined by Brad Smart (@DrBradSmart) to talk about the Topgrading hiring process, issues in standard hiring practices, solutions, the importance of job descriptions and how to do them right, and much more.-----* 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(2:34) Why are hiring processes broken? What are common mistakes?(4:57) What are the solutions? What is the TORC technique?(8:50) How can people apply Topgrading ideas in the current context where employees have the leverage and lack time for extended interviews?(12:40) How do you go beyond the resumes? What is essential in a person’s history?(15:24) What are standard practices to upgrade your hirings?(16:41) How can the Topgrading method be used in an acquisition?(19:02) Job descriptions are usually low appealing. How could SMB owners improve them?(22:41) What is the impact on the hiring process of having virtual interviews? (25:56) How do you think about optimizing Topgrading for the younger generations and their needs?-----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:#83 Can you grow a business in a shrinking market? Featuring baller @WilsonCompanies as a special guest!#82 How Great Operators Win! How PE does it like pros with Mark Brooks#48 Two Landscaping Businesses for Sale - Mike Botkin of Benchmark GroupSubscribe 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

This is an encore episode of our original episode 24.Michael Girdley (@Girdley) and Mills Snell (@thegeneralmills) are joined by John Wilson (@WilsonCompanies) as a special guest! We talk about the septic service business & pool services: Barriers of entry, payroll exposure, growth potentials, synergies, and much more!Deals:-$5mm pool services and lifeguard staffing co-$2mm septic services businessGreat episode. Enjoy!-----* 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(1:20) John's current businesses(5:05) A lifeguard Staffing Co(8:03) Are those 2 businesses together?(9:55) Why are they selling?(10:58) What are the risks from the buyer's side?(14:59) The advantage of the staffing company & growth potential(21:28) A septic company for sale(23:47) What do we like? Growth opportunities?(25:41) How did you find this deal? What do you find valuable?(30:46) How are you structuring this deal?(31:53) How does the depreciation work with trucks?(32:49) What are your next steps when thinking about integration and synergies?(35:44) How do you consolidate a business when growth is flat?(37:33) Why are usually plumbing and septic companies bound together?-----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:#62 Two Landscaping Businesses for Sale - Mike Loftus CEO of Connor's Landscaping#66 Analyzing Software Businesses for Sale with Steve Divitkos, experienced industry CEO#42 $900k Moving and Storage Company / $500k Rural Mini-Storage#61 Two Manufacturing Businesses for Sale - Brent Beshore - Founder and CEO at Permanent EquitySubscribe 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

If you liked this episode, subscribe to our weekly newsletter and receive new episodes, offers and learnings directly to your inbox every week:https://landing-newsletter.acquanon.com/----Mills Snell (@thegeneralmills) is joined by Mark Brooks (@markbrooks), Managing Director at Permanent Equity, to talk about investor-operator relationships, integrations, pre-close involvement and post-close dynamics, cultural fits, empowering leadership teams, handling tough conversations, and much more.-----Thanks to our sponsors!MoreNow.co: We help owners build a high functioning, experienced team by leveraging the top manager/director talent in the Phillippines. Go to morenow.co and fill out the form. Or email hire@morenow.co. Mention this pod for 20% of your first hire.-----* 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(2:33) How do you interact with Portfolio companies?(3:48) How do you alternate between remote and on-site work?(5:00) What do you think of passive ownership of a business?(7:08) How do you prepare pre & post-close for a deal to be successful?(11:07) You talk about integrating yourself into the operational workflow; have you experienced pushback on that?(14:05) How do you recognize success in the first phase of integration? (16:33) What is your thought process of discovery when assessing a new business?(20:55) Morenow.co(22:46) How does the investor-operator relationship begin?(27:15) How do you structure KPIs & metrics?(30:39) When and how would you escalate into operating one of the portfolio companies?(32:58) What are the early signs of a leadership issue?(35:34) How do you handle tough conversations?(42:31) What do you think about industry expertise? Is it necessary to run a business?(45:40) How do you handle cultural fits, team chemistry, and leadership anomalies?(50:11) What is the influence of incentives on behavior?-----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:#64 How to find the expected benchmarks and KPIs for your 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

Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA) and Mills Snell (@thegeneralmills) are joined by Mark Fleming Jr. (@MarkFlemingJr) to discuss 2 Title insurance companies for sale. We talk about the notary business, margins, risk & risk ownership, software investment impact, revenue sources, insurance premiums, 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:(0:00) Intro(1:49) 1st Deal: Maryland Based Title Company(3:58) What stands out from the notary's point of view?(5:52) Is the owner currently receiving a salary? How would that impact margins?(7:05) What is a Title company?(8:42) Is the reported revenue insurance premium income? How does that work?(10:52) Who carries the risk for the insurance?(11:59) What is the title search industry? When do they operate?(13:36) Who is acting as a referral source? Lenders? Attorneys?(16:58) What is the durability of the referral sources? Is there a risk to bear?(20:55) What are the barriers to entry into the business? Where can you find opportunities?(22:50) Cloudbookkeeping.com - Focus on your business instead of your books.(24:00) Deal 2: Title Insurance Business for Sale(26:23) First thoughts & valuation(28:43) Is technology relevant in this business? How does software impacts process management?(31:51) Residential vs. Commercial, what are the main differences?(33:58) What is one of the main advantages of a larger business?-----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:#62 Two Landscaping Businesses for Sale - Mike Loftus, CEO of Connor's Landscaping#66 Analyzing Software Businesses for Sale with Steve Divitkos, an experienced industry CEO#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

If you liked this episode, subscribe to our weekly newsletter and receive new episodes, offers and learnings directly to your inbox every week:https://landing-newsletter.acquanon.com/----Michael Girdley (@Girdley) and Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA) are joined by Joe Cassandra (@JoeCassandra) to hear his lessons learned in SMB ownership, running a children's retail store, owner-employee relationships, building a HoldCo, hidden expenses, and more.-----Thanks to our sponsors!Fleetio's suite of cloud- and mobile-based fleet management solutions enables fleets of all sizes to automate fleet operations and manage asset lifecycles. Users can instantly access and update data regarding planned and unplanned maintenance, fuel, inspections, parts, and much more. Fleetio improves communication and streamlines issue resolution with its mobile app, email notifications, and reminders. Fleetio integrates with telematics solutions for automated odometer updates and DTC handling, and pairs with fuel cards to automatically log transaction data. Fully optimize your fleet by giving fleet managers, drivers, technicians, and other personnel access to the tools and information they need anytime, anywhere.Questions? Call us at 1-800-975-5304 or email hello@fleetio.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:(0:00) Intro(2:09) What is the story on buying a Business for the first time?(4:39) Why did you think this was a good deal?(8:08) How did you evaluate the business on ROI and mitigating risks?(9:56) The business was cheap, it was an asymmetric bet.(13:05) How did you evaluate Location potential and value in the deal?(14:41) You bought the business. What happened next?(16:45) Offline & online marketing strategies(18:00) Owner-employee relationship management and incentive plans to build salesperson loyalty(21:21) What size does the business have? Which are the business numbers?(23:32) Who is the CEO of the business? How much time do you spend weekly?(25:02) What advice would you have on someone trying to replicate your story?(27:36) Fleetio sponsor - Fleet management service - Check them out!(30:49) How does the retail store fit into the HoldCo strategy?(35:45) How do you consolidate your income streams?(37:23) What is your vision as a growth?(38:19) What is it like to own a retailer?-----Links: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 Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA) are joined by Bradford Hardin(@bradford_hardin), Banking & FinTech Partner at @DWTlaw.In this episode we dive into an investor's mind: What do they look for in a company? And in an deal sponsor/syndicator?We talk about investing, investor needs, networking, content marketing, life cycle + evaluation of deals, and much more.Like our content? Rate our show!-----Show Notes:(0:00) Intro(1:01) Investing in private markets as a hobby(2:59) How do you find deals?(4:45) How would you proceed to raise capital as a CEO?(7:39) Life cycle, evaluation & decision-making process of a deal.(12:26) No-Gos on a deal:(14:32) Why invest in private markets? Understanding diversification, risk & compensation(18:08) How do you look at quantifying an investment?(19:57) What makes a deal stand out?(22:06) A key skill for an entrepreneur?(22:49) How to diversify investment risk?(26:11) Why are monthly updates so critically important?(29:05) What are you looking for when looking at investments & entrepreneurs?(32:10) What is your investing edge? What kind of processes do you run?(36:12) What advice would you give to your younger self?(38:36) Flipping the script! We get interviewed by Bradford(38:59) If an investor passes on your deal, would you like to hear feedback on their decision?(41:08) What are things that you see LPs focusing on that are the wrong things?(43:50) What makes a good investor stand out?-----Links:* Subscribe to the podcast: 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.* https://www.dwt.com/-----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:#62 Two Landscaping Businesses for Sale - Mike Loftus CEO of Connor's Landscaping#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

Deals Episode!Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA) and Mills Snell (@thegeneralmills) talk union labor in commercial roofing businesses, finance, wages, seller training periods and more in our first deal. The second one is a small business straight from our German audience, we skip the Anonymous part and dig into manufacturing, logistics, target audience and more.-----* 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(0:33) Beyond8FiguresPodcast(1:38) A commercial roofing Company w/ 90 employees(4:10) Mix Union vs non-Union employees(5:17) What is typical % for Union labor? When do you require Union labor?(6:19) Value & risk of captive labor(7:59) What does the average job size tell us?(9:44) Close look at financials, wages & seller training period, lots to unpack(14:57) What should you think twice about if you also liked this business?(16:09) Specifics on Due Dilligence in working with a Union(18:18) Supply Chain status in the commercial roofing business(20:05) Retail eCommerce Business: AER Video, cheap alternative of a camera drone(22:51) First thoughts, sourcing & logistics questions(25:36) How do we think about sizing and third party logistics (3PL)?(27:55) Is there an opportunity to place the product in front of a target customer?(29:45) What about changing the target audience with a price adjustment?(31:47) Lifetime customer value, Total Adressable Market and balance(36:01) Where is the traffic coming from? How do people hear about my product?-----Links:* https://flippa.com/11097828-5-year-old-established-e-commerce-business-selling-camera-accessories-in-the-action-sports-niche* pablo@aervideo.com-----Thanks to our sponsor!The BEYOND8figures podcast (Beyond8Figures.com) - is a podcast where entrepreneurs and experts speak up on topics related to business and life in general. Each week our guest will have interviewees from different backgrounds to discuss what helped them get ahead while succeeding at entrepreneurship; we'll learn how these people achieved success by exploring personal journeys along the way (both professionally AND emotionally). So if that's interesting to you, make sure you check us out ;).-----Additional episodes you might enjoy:#62 Two Landscaping Businesses for Sale - Mike Loftus CEO of Connor's Landscaping#66 Analyzing Software Businesses for Sale with Steve Divitkos, experienced industry CEO#42 $900k Moving and Storage Company / $500k Rural Mini-Storage#61 Two Manufacturing Businesses for Sale - Brent BeshoreSubscribe 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) are joined by Jake Greer (LinkedIn) to discuss 2 Pool construction businesses for sale. We evaluate assets & the clues that provides on the functioning of the business, different markets, seasonality, how to evaluate potential, COVID & demand shifts and much more.-----* 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(0:53) Deal 1: Custom Pool Builder(4:22) First thoughts(5:00) Post mortem situation: How could it fail?(6:34) Risk: No mentioning of customer concentration(8:21) Why are they selling?(9:31) What do their assets tell us? Are they self performing?(10:58) The market matters a ton: understanding today's situation(14:02) What do we like about it?(16:30) Is it overvalued?(18:26) Risk hedging alternatives(20:10) Growth strategy & opportunities(23:18) What kind of Partner & capital are they looking for?(25:25) Deal 2: Pool Construction Business(26:49) Location importance & seasonality(29:21) "Normalized" vs "adjusted" EBITDA(31:10) How does the COVID boom affect this business?(33:58) Retail Store: You need an outlet to sell consumable pool products(35:40) It's always worth asking the seller why he has a retail store-----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:#62 Two Landscaping Businesses for Sale - Mike Loftus CEO of Connor's Landscaping#66 Analyzing Software Businesses for Sale with Steve Divitkos, experienced industry CEO#42 $900k Moving and Storage Company / $500k Rural Mini-Storage#61 Two Manufacturing Businesses for Sale - Brent Beshore - Founder and CEO at Permanent Equity#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

If you liked this episode, subscribe to our weekly newsletter and receive new episodes, offers and learnings directly to your inbox every week:https://landing-newsletter.acquanon.com/----Michael Girdley (@Girdley) is joined by Clint Fiore (@ClintFiore) to talk about Business Brokers. We discuss: What they do on a day-to-day basis, their value-add, why they're (Sometimes) unpopular, trends he sees in the market and more.-----* 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) Cloudbookkeeping.com(1:08) Intro + Clint background(2:51) What does a Business Broker do?(4:17) Does hiring a Broker produce an economic benefit?(5:17) How do Business Brokers tend to be segmented in the market of Business providers?(7:04) How do Business Brokers usually get paid?(8:04) How do you choose a niche? By industry, geographically?(10:44) What is the effect on the buyer when a non-Broker runs your process?(12:35) What are Business Brokers doing wrong to be disliked by the SMB community?(14:51) Businesses don’t sell like Houses, they are alive, dynamic. [Clip](16:20) What should you do to be more successful when trying to buy a Business? [Clip: This is a relationship game](20:00) What are indicators of a good buyer when the buyer has no track record?(23:37) What are the reasons that would make you turn down a listing?(28:59) Is it ever the case that you get brought in mid-process?(31:56) What % of the deals that you work on end up being SBA Loans?(32:27) What trends are you seeing in the market?(35:22) How often are you seeing your buyers buying themselves a job?(38:01) Do you agree on avoiding deals in industries where institutional capital is coming in?(40:01) Do you see unprofitable Businesses only subsisting because they pay low rent from old contracts?(44:18) How do I develop a relationship with a Business Broker as a buyer?-----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 that include sophisticated reporting, QuickBooks software solutions, and full-service payroll options.-----Additional episodes you might enjoy:#62 Two Landscaping Businesses for Sale - Mike Loftus CEO of Connor's LandsSubscribe 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

If you liked this episode, subscribe to our weekly newsletter and receive new episodes, offers and learnings directly to your inbox every week:https://landing-newsletter.acquanon.com/----Michael Girdley (@Girdley), Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA) and Mills Snell (@thegeneralmills) are joined once again by Heather Endresen (@EndresenHeather) for a special episode on SBA lending and borrowing. We talk about SBA generals, lending, borrowing, best practices, advantages, minimum requirements, and much more.-----Show Notes:(0:00) Morenow.co - Hire Competent Professionals at a Discount(1:47) Intro(2:25) Heather's background & her work at Live Oak Bank(3:53) Who is the SBA and what is SBA borrowing? Advantages of SBA Loans(5:41) SBA Lenders fall into 2 categories: Cash flow lender or collateral lender(6:46) When do I need an SBA Loan?(7:34) How to differentiate a cashflow vs a collateral lender?(9:57) What is going to happen to your personal collateral when taking an SBA Loan as a borrower?(10:31) SBA has black and white rules around collateral(11:32) Refinancing your mortgage while having an SBA loan.(14:10) Advice for borrowers that look for loan exploits(16:20) Is it possible to be disqualified due to the personal wealth level?(17:58) Anyone who is going to be a personal guaranteur needs to fit the qualifications(21:22) Removing the personal guarantee in the SBA: Shorter amortizations, flexibility & covenants.(22:57) Minimum requirements and borrowing limits(25:36) What is the typical order of the process and what are the best practices?(28:36) Are there businesses that are SBA no go's?(32:02) Which businesses are people running towards? Which ones should they be running towards?(33:43) How has COVID affected your ability to underwrite deals?(36:20) What does it mean to do a QAV?(38:42) How to check your Bank for SBA Lending?(40:06) Bank service importance(44:07) Growing by acquisition: If you pursue a second loan in the same industry there is a 100% leverage opportunity(48:00) Further recommendations for borrowers(51:04) Common traits in successful and unsuccessful deals?(52:47) Things that third party investors need to be mindful of if the entrepreneur is using an SBA(54:46) What are the considerations for the seller in a seller financing situation?(57:15) Fixed vs floating interest rates(58:24) Enterprise value minimum-----Thanks to our sponsors!MoreNow.co: We help owners build a high functioning, experienced team by leveraging the top manager/director talent in the Phillippines. Go to morenow.co and fill out the form. Or email hire@morenow.co. Mention this pod for 20% of your first hire.-----Additional episodes you might enjoy:#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