This Week’s Business Buyer (in 10 Seconds):
Mike spent 10 years in corporate banking, helping large corporations get financing.
But with two small children at home, he and his wife Olivia wanted something of their own to hand down.
So instead of holding out for something near home in Florida, he looked for a business he could run from anywhere.
After months of zero progress, he joined SMB Deal Hunter Pro, and we helped him close 12 months later.
He bought a non-emergency medical transportation company in Michigan, an industry he had never heard of.
It runs 120 to 140 rides a day for the only three Medicaid brokers in the state.
Today it makes about $300K/yr in cash flow, and he and his wife run it from Florida on 10 hours a week each.
We had Mike on the podcast back in June to tell his story.
This time, I did a deep dive on his deal: how a seller note got him in for $57K down (the SBA has since tightened the rules on this), how he runs it remotely, and how he pulled it off without quitting his job.
But if you want to learn a bit more, let's dive into the story…
Hello SMB Deal Hunters!
How many of you have held off on even starting your search because you didn't feel prepared enough?
Maybe you keep telling yourself you'll reach out once you've done more homework, or once work slows down.
And you really don't want a broker on the other end thinking you're wasting his time.
Mike did exactly that.
What he and his wife really wanted was something of their own to grow and eventually pass down to their two kids.
But for months, the closest he got was browsing listings at night.
He never picked up the phone once.
As he put it, he was "serious but not a hundred percent serious."
And underneath that sat one fear: "If I reach out and this gets real, am I actually ready to do this?"
Which is why he needed a team in his corner that had already done this.
So he and his wife 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.
A couple months in, he found a medical transportation company in Michigan and offered full asking price at $965k.
But he lost it.
Another buyer already owned a company in the industry and outbid him at over $1 million.
Instead of walking away, Mike stayed close to the broker and the seller, and one of our advisors told him these deals have a funny way of coming back around.
Sure enough, a month later the winning buyer's financing fell through, and the broker came straight back without ever re-listing the business.
This time, our deal team helped him structure a creative seller note, and it got the bank to accept far less cash up front.
Then came nine months of diligence, and somewhere in that stretch the seller left the country for two months.
The business didn't miss a beat, and the numbers came in right where they should.
That's when Mike knew he could run it from Florida.
Today he owns a 12-van operation with a manager on the ground, he's only been out there once since closing, and he still hasn't quit his 9 to 5.
Here's why this week's alumni case study is a must watch:
→ He lost this deal to a bigger buyer, then nearly lost it a second time when his bank walked 60 days into underwriting. We walk through how the deal survived both.
→ Mike had never even heard of non-emergency medical transportation before this. He shares how he got comfortable buying into an industry he knew nothing about.
→ He and his wife spend about 20 hours a week each on the business, and neither of them has quit their job. Inside, the exact setup that makes it possible.
Click below and watch me walk through his journey step by step 👇
How He Bought a $965K Business With $57K Down (Full Breakdown)
And when we asked what he valued most about the program...
"There was another member who owned an NEMT business in another state, and I reached out to him a number of times with due diligence questions. We spent a couple hours on the phone, and it was immense. He connected me to the insurance broker I work with now, and the dispatching software we use now. Having other like-minded people in the community there to help you was vital to me.”
Mike leaned on our battle-tested deal team to help him...
Structure a seller note that closed the gap between the seller's number and the bank's
Untangle the personal expenses the seller ran through the books, so he could trust the real cash flow
Find a new lender when his bank walked 60 days into underwriting
Max out his working capital, so the lean first month didn't catch him short
Talk soon,
Helen
👀 Heads up: August isn't even over yet, and 9 Pro members have already closed deals with another 35 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.
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 you could be under contract before the holidays.