This Week’s Breakdown (in 10 Seconds):
Reagan's goal in corporate tech sales was to make $300k a year by 30, and he hit it at 27.
And once he got there, he knew corporate would never give him what he really wanted: time, freedom and flexibility.
So instead of building something from zero, he figured it'd be easier to buy a business already doing $1.5M a year.
He joined SMB Deal Hunter Pro and bought a Dallas plumbing company in just 5 months, start to finish, when most buyers take years.
And with our help, he got in with just 5% down (much harder now with SBA changes).
Today, he's usually at the shop with his crews from 8 to 10am, then heads out and works on his own schedule.
He just took his first week-long vacation in over 3 years, checking in a few hours a day.
And there's no boss left who can tell him to jump on a call.
👉 Watch how Reagan was able to put his business on pace for 40% growth in the first year. (From $1.5M → $2.15M / 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 think buying a business is something that takes years?
For plenty of people, it does.
But our member, Reagan, went from his first call with our team to owning a business in 5 months, start to finish.
Before any of this, Reagan sold for Gartner, the research firm, and beat his sales quota by 500% in his last year.
When he wanted out, he figured taking a business from $1.5M to $5M would beat building one from zero.
But he knew nothing about reading a business's financials, 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 to 12 months, or we work with you for free until you do.
As he puts it: "You're either gonna work with SMB Deal Hunter or you're not gonna buy a business." (His words, not ours 😅 )
Every morning at 6am, before his sales job, he was reviewing the deals we sourced for him, then back each evening chasing brokers.
Our advisors helped him pick apart the financials until he could rule out 95% of deals on his own.
Until a broker mentioned a Dallas plumbing company he hadn't even listed yet, and Reagan met the owner, Mike, that same day.
Reagan isn't a plumber, so he built a way to keep operating under Mike's master plumber's license right into the deal.
Then we helped him build an offer that let him put just 5% down.
(10% is usually the minimum, and getting in with 5% down is much harder under the new SBA rules.)
By folding the real estate into the deal, he also stretched his loan from 10 to 13 years, which lowered his monthly payments.
And he'll admit he could have negotiated harder, but he wanted out of corporate more than he wanted to haggle.
In this week's episode, we break down what Reagan’s first year as an owner really looks like:
→ He started out doing the old owner's job on 11-hour days, and his first two manager hires didn't last. We break down how he worked his way off the job sites anyway.
→ He burned $20K on Google ads and another $20K on a marketing agency. He explains what that $40K taught him about where to spend instead.
→ Just a year in, he took his first week-long vacation in over 3 years. We walk through how he set the business up so his team could keep it running.
→ Next, he's hiring an operations manager to take over the day-to-day. He explains why he waited, and what that hire frees him up to do.
→ The business is on pace to add about $650K in revenue this year. He shares the changes driving that growth.
Member Spotlight
For those who missed it, we also did an SMB Deal Hunter Pro alumni interview breaking down how Deborah bought an $887K home renovation business making $246K/yr.
Deborah is a marketing leader who spent years taking software companies from $10M to $100M in revenue.
She knew she wanted to own something end to end. She also knew that going in blind was too big of a risk.
So she and her husband, Donald, joined the Pro program, and our team helped her find the listing.
But even after 15 lenders told her no, she still closed the deal in 7 months.
The result?
→ Our advisors helped her use those lender rejections to negotiate the price down from $1.2M to $887K
→ We helped her structure a seller note with no payments and no interest for the first 2 years
→ Donald works in the business full time, while Deborah puts in about 20 hours a week and still works her day job
She spent years watching AI take over the work she enjoyed. Now she owns a business that's actually hers.
And here's what she had to say:
"At least you know that the support you're getting is not a scripted support … business owners that have been in it, who have owned multiple businesses who know what they're talking about."
- Deborah
So, if you want us to work with you to find, finance, and acquire a million-dollar cash-flowing business in the next 6-12 months, you might be interested in the Pro program.
👀 Heads up: September isn’t even over yet, and 8 Pro members have already closed deals this month, with another 18 under LOI.
The next 90 days are also the last real window before the holidays to make progress, so to get buyers off the sidelines, we're adding a one-time end-of-quarter bonus for anyone who joins Pro this month. (Ending in 5 days)
👉 Book a free 1-on-1 strategy call and we'll build your search together: what you can realistically afford, the deals that fit, and your financing options.
COMMUNITY PERKS
• Ready to buy and operate a $1M+ business? Get expert help at every step.
• Want to invest passively in SMB acquisitions? Get access to investment opportunities.
• Get a personal introduction to my preferred SBA 7(a) lender, non-SBA lenders, Quality of Earnings providers, or legal counsel
• Raising capital for your deal? I’ll connect you with investors from the SMB Deal Hunter Community.
• Interested in selling your business? I’ll help you connect with buyers from the SMB Deal Hunter Community.
THAT’S A WRAP
Want me to interview you for my podcast? Hit reply.
See you next week with some new deals!
-Helen Guo
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Disclaimer
This publication is a newsletter only and the information provided herein is the opinion of our editors and writers only. Any transaction or opportunity of any kind is provided for information only; SMB Deal Hunter does not verify nor confirm information. SMB Deal Hunter is not making any offer to readers to participate in any transaction or opportunity described herein.