This Week’s Business Buyer (in 10 Seconds):
Christian is a 20-year marketing executive who wanted something nobody could shut off after Airbnb suspended his six-figure side hustle overnight.
There was no explanation and no way to appeal.
So instead of building another side hustle he didn't control, he bought a business that was already profitable.
He landed a $3.45M firm that rescues Amazon sellers when their accounts get shut down. (poetic, I know)
And with our help, he got the deal closed in about 7 months.
Today, one year in, he runs it remotely from Brooklyn and it clears $1.2M a year in cash flow.
He even took a three-week vacation in his first year, and the team never called once.
Now he's lining up two or three new services to launch.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. We also break down the 4 biggest challenges he dealt with in his first year.
And for our audio-only listeners, jump in and listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts!
But if you want to learn a bit more, let's dive into the story…
Hello SMB Deal Hunters!
How many of you have built an income stream that depends on somebody else?
A platform, a marketplace, a single big client, one person who can change the terms whenever they feel like it.
It works right up until the day it doesn't. And you often have no say in when that day comes.
That's exactly what happened to Christian.
He'd spent 20 years running marketing and advertising teams, always for somebody else.
And on the side, he'd built a six-figure business on Airbnb.
Then Airbnb suspended him overnight. No explanation, no appeal, nobody he could talk to.
So he decided the only thing worth having was an income stream he owned from the bottom up.
The clearest way to get one was to buy a business that already worked.
But what he needed was someone in his corner who had done this before.
So he joined SMB Deal Hunter Pro.
As a quick reminder, SMB Deal Hunter Pro is our business buying accelerator where we help you find, finance, and acquire a business in 6-12 months...or work with you for free until you do.
He came across the business not long after joining, and with our help he got it closed.
We caught back up with him one year in.
Today, he owns a firm that Amazon and Walmart sellers call when their accounts get suspended.
He paid $3.45M for it, and the business brings in around $1.2M a year in cash flow.
He runs the whole thing remotely from Brooklyn as the full-time CEO, and it's given him enough freedom that he took a three-week vacation in his first year. The team never called once.
So how does that actually work?
How does a guy who got shut off without warning end up owning the company that saves other people from it?
How did a marketing guy with no Amazon experience get a deal like that done with only 5% down?
And where did we step in?
We got the deal in front of him, and he knew right away it was the one.
Everything after that he worked through with us, in office hours and 1:1 Zoom strategy sessions, right up to the closing table seven months later.
Here's why this week's alumni case study is a must watch:
→ He got the org charts in diligence but never asked what each person actually did all day. We explain what that cost him.
→ His seller note was half forgivable and half not. We break down how he negotiated it into a 5% down payment
→ He inherited a company that had banned AI for every single employee. He lifted it, and we walk through the rule he put in its place.
→ He walked away from every blue-collar business he looked at. We break down the question that talked him out of them.
Click below and watch me walk through his journey step by step 👇
How He Bought a $1.2M/yr Business With ONLY 5% Down (Runs It Remotely)
And when we asked what he valued most about the program...
"I've also borrowed some tactics from SMB Deal Hunters. We've launched Office Hours … it was probably my most valuable part of the program, in terms of learning … I couldn't have done it without you guys.”
Christian leaned on our battle-tested deal team to help him...
Put every listing in one place instead of him hunting across a dozen websites
Get clear on what he should actually be buying, after circling businesses that weren't right for him
Ask the dumb questions out loud, with people who'd already closed
Stay with him through an extended close instead of tapping out at LOI
Talk soon,
Helen Guo
👀 P.S. We're only one week into August, and 4 Pro members have already closed deals with another 16 under LOI.
Deal activity always picks up as summer ends and everyone's back at their desk. At this pace, August is tracking to be one of our best months inside Pro.
Christian got his deal closed in about 7 months. A year later, he's the one who can take 3 weeks off without his phone ringing.
So if you want to work with us to find, finance, and acquire a million-dollar cash-flowing business in the next 6-12 months, start now and this time next year you could be the one we're catching up with.