This Week’s Business Buyer (in 10 Seconds):
John is a Navy submarine officer turned management consultant at a Big Four firm.
He bought 2 yoga studios in Northern Virginia.
He got the seller down to less than half of asking.
And his district manager runs the day-to-day.
Today, the business makes $299K/yr in profit.
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 are watching your industry get more unpredictable by the month?
You're paid well. You're good at what you do.
But every year, the golden handcuffs feel a little tighter.
John was a Navy submarine officer who became a management consultant at a Big Four firm.
Six years in the Navy, then an MBA from George Washington and in Big Four consulting ever since.
He'd been thinking about buying a business for a while. But every book and forum he tried left him with more questions than answers.
What he needed was someone in his corner who knew his exact situation.
Today, he owns 2 yoga studios making $299K/yr.
He bought the business for $1.38M, all WITHOUT leaving his 9-5.
A few months back, he was scrolling BizBuySell and getting nowhere. Just like a lot of you reading this.
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.
2 months in, he signed an offer.
The business had been sitting on the market for over a year, and most buyers had almost walked away.
9 months later, he closed the deal.
He bought two high-end yoga studios in Northern Virginia, part of a national franchise concept.
One of his studios has over 600 members and a permanent waitlist.
Here's why this week's alumni interview is a must watch:
→ The business was listed at $2.5M for over a year. John bought it for $1.38M. We break down how we helped him get the seller down to less than half of asking.
→ The deal almost died 3 days before close. The franchise dropped a bombshell that could have killed it. We discuss how we helped him keep the deal alive.
→ John had never taken a yoga class before this. We walk through how we helped a management consultant with zero industry experience evaluate and buy 2 studios.
→ His district manager runs the day to day: payroll, ordering, and day-to-day operations. John meets with her once a week for an hour, while billing full hours at his job. We share how we helped him structure the relationship.
"We're in a new era with Claude and ChatGPT. I've used that quite a bit. But I've definitely caught it hallucinating more than once. It's really good to have someone on the other line that not only is a human, but someone who has experience."
John leaned on our battle-tested deal team to help him...
Run a full financial review so he knew the $299K in annual profit was real before signing
Negotiate the purchase price from $2.5M down to $1.38M on a business that had been sitting on the market for over a year
Get introduced to 4 vetted SBA lenders, plus a bookkeeper, fractional CFO, and a specialty insurance agent who knew the SBA rules
Connect with Bill, one of our M&A Advisors who also owns fitness studios in Northern Virginia and knew his exact lease and lender
Talk soon,
Helen Guo
P.S. When we asked John what he'd tell someone watching this who's unsure about taking the leap, here's what he said: "It can't be that easy, but it is."