This Week’s Business Buyer (in 10 Seconds):
For 25 years in the investment world, Jay made other people rich.
Not comfortable rich. Private-jets-and-beachfront-homes-in-the-Bahamas rich, while he did the work.
He did well for himself, but he wanted upside that he actually owned.
So instead of starting a company from scratch, he bought a 40-year-old plant leasing business in Philadelphia.
It cost $2M and came with more than 100 recurring clients.
He found it in his first week inside SMB Deal Hunter Pro, our business buying accelerator, and we helped him close it in about 7 months.
Today he runs a business cashflowing $650K-a-year, with a manager of 12 years handling the day-to-day.
We had Jay on the podcast last month to tell his story.
This time, I did a full deep dive on his deal: how he found it, how he paid for it, and how you'd go find one like it.
But if you want to learn a bit more, let's dive into the story…
Hello SMB Deal Hunters!
How many of you have made your company millions and never saw a piece of it?
You're paid well and you're good at what you do. But no matter how hard you grind, the real money always lands in someone else's pocket.
Jay knows that exact feeling.
He spent 25 years in the investment world, and the big returns always went to a cap table he wasn't on.
With two young kids at home, he decided he was done building someone else's wealth.
So he started looking for a business to buy.
He'd never bought one before, and 25 years around big Wall Street deals told him nothing about how a small business actually works.
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 found the business he'd end up buying in his first week (not the norm, but not the first time either).
Today he owns a plant leasing company in Philadelphia that's been running for nearly 40 years.
So how does that actually work?
How does something as “boring” as renting plants cashflow over $54K a month?
Where does a first-time buyer find the down payment on a business this size?
How did he beat 6 other buyers without outbidding any of them?
And where did we step in?
We helped him negotiate the terms once his offer was in, catch the profit the broker missed, and figure out how to handle the real estate that scared other buyers off.
Here's why this week's alumni case study is a must watch:
→ On paper, the business looked like a 3.4x profit multiple deal. We helped him find profit the broker had missed, so by closing, it came in under 3x. We break down exactly how.
→ This deal came with significant real estate, not just the business, which scares many buyers off. We walk through how our acquisition strategists helped him clear the unique challenges that come along with that.
→ 6 other buyers were in the running. We break down what made the seller choose Jay over all of them.
→ A manager who's been there for 12 years handles the day-to-day, so Jay isn't stuck in the weeds. Inside, we discuss his long-term vision: turning this into a platform to acquire even more businesses.
Click below and watch me walk through his journey step by step 👇
How He Makes $650K/yr by Renting Out Plants (Full Breakdown)
And when we asked what he valued most about the program...
"Going back to your team, and using the tools you have through the website, really made it a lot more clear to me. I would never have had that had I not signed up with you guys. I would have been pulling from AI and other people that had done deals that were nothing like this one, in different industries. So it was hugely helpful.”
Jay leaned on our battle-tested deal team to help him...
Learn the entire business buying process from scratch, on calls with our acquisition strategists three times a week
Structure the seller note and consulting agreement that kept the previous owner on for a year as a resource
Decide when to push the seller on the closing date and when to wait
Plan his first 90 days, from keeping his 12-year manager to week-one priorities
Talk soon,
Helen
👀 Jay moved fast.
He put his offer together the week before Christmas, while the other buyers were still deciding. That's a big part of why he won it.
We're past the middle of August, and 5 Pro members have already closed deals this month with another 19 under LOI. Deal activity picks up as summer ends and everyone gets back to their desks.
None of those members decided last week. They made the call months ago, sitting exactly where you are now, reading an email a lot like this one.
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 Thanksgiving.