This Week’s Breakdown (in 10 Seconds):
Brian spent almost 15 years in IT and he never finished college or studied finance.
But AI had him worried about the future of white-collar jobs, so he went looking for a business it couldn't touch.
That's when he read Buy Then Build, went deal hunting, and bought the very first business he ever looked at.
It was a roughly $1.5M commercial kitchen repair shop in Tampa.
Two years later, that ‘boring’ repair shop pulls almost $1.2 million a quarter with barely any new advertising.
Now he's on track for around $720K/year in profit, eyeing a second acquisition and a fleet of up to 100 technicians.
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 told yourself you can't buy a business because you don't have the background for it?
No MBA, no finance degree, no years spent around dealmakers.
So buying feels like a game for people with credentials you'll never have.
Brian had none of them either.
What he did have was an IT company he'd built from scratch and eventually sold his stake in.
But that sale left him staring at the same question a lot of you are: what now?
He'd already built from scratch once, so this time he decided to buy something that was already working.
And one month into his search, he sent an offer on the very first business he saw, that Tampa repair shop.
Then the deal died. Three times.
The broker's numbers didn't survive due diligence, so the price had to change. Then the bank refused to fund the full amount. And just when both were solved, the attorneys locked horns for two months.
There was even a landmine buried in the seller's note that doubled his down payment mid-deal.
He had no playbook for any of it. But six months after he started searching, he closed.
Then he walked into an industry he knew nothing about, so he sat back, absorbed, and learned the trade before changing anything.
By year two, he'd added an entire refrigeration line to the business. And now it's making almost $1.2 million a quarter.
But that growth didn't come from some big marketing push. It was already hiding inside the business, waiting to be uncovered.
Member Spotlight
For those who missed it, we also did an SMB Deal Hunter Pro alumni interview breaking down Tatiana's acquisition of a $3.1M print and mail business in Rochester, NY.
She runs it from her desk in Manhattan on a second laptop, squeezing it into random pockets of her 60-hour work weeks.
Tatiana is a fraud litigation attorney in NYC. Zero business buying experience.
She'd invested in real estate, could barely break even, and now wanted to buy something that would actually build wealth.
7 months after joining Pro, she closed.
And she found the deal on her very first day in the program.
Here's what makes this story worth watching:
→ She was the lowest of 12 offers and lost the deal. Six weeks later, the winning buyer's deal fell apart and she got a second shot.
→ She structured a creative seller's note with the retiring owner that cut her down payment in half.
→ She closed a $3.1M deal WITHOUT quitting her job.
→ In her first 3 months, revenue is up 50% year over year and she's already taking cash out of the business.
And here's what she had to say:
"You give every tool you could possibly need that you will never find on your own. That is the ideal formula.”
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.
👀 P.S. Q2 numbers are in…
Our members closed $50.3 million in deals and went under contract on another $117 million, the most momentum we’ve carried into Q3.
Most buyers check out over the summer. Meanwhile our off-market deal flow doubled last quarter. So there are more deals than usual and fewer people competing for them.
If you want to take advantage of this window…
👉 Book a free strategy call and we'll pressure test your buy box and map out a timeline to your first offer.
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.