Hello SMB Deal Hunters!
I’m excited to share 5 new off-market businesses for sale sourced directly by our team in today's Off The Grid issue.
👇 In Today's Issue:
#1: Digital Marketing Agency in IN with 91% Client Retention and $1.9M EBITDA
#2: Transmission Repair and Parts Center in VA with Management in Place and $600K EBITDA
#3: Water Filtration Business in GA with Owner Working 15 Hours/Week and $550K EBITDA
#4: Countertop Fabricator in NY with Lowe's and Home Depot Partnerships and $1.5M EBITDA
#5: Golf Accessories Brand in AZ with Partial Stake Available and $750K EBITDA
🔎 Looking for deals in your area? We can source them for you.
This issue is proudly sponsored by SMB Deal Exchange, our new platform for connecting buyers and sellers of off-market businesses.
COMMUNITY WINS
Here’s what one SMB Deal Hunter Pro member shared this past week:

👀 Quick update: Pro members closed $45M in deals in Q3 and went under LOI on another $116M.
None of them decided last week. They made the call months ago, sitting right where you are now. On average, our members go from joining to closing in about 8 months, versus 23 for buyers going at it alone.
So if you start now, you could be making offers before the holidays and be the name in this email by next summer.
👉 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.
NEW OFF-MARKET DEALS
These deals span the country. For custom-sourced deals in your area, click here.
1/ Digital Marketing Agency
📍 Location: Indiana
💼 EBITDA: $1,900,000
📊 Revenue: $5,800,000
📅 Established: 2005
💭 My 2 Cents: While a typical marketing agency loses roughly one client in five each year and has to replace them to stand still, one that keeps its clients turns most new business into growth. This agency handles online marketing under contract and holds a 91% client retention rate, with new clients arriving through inbound leads and referrals. The owner stays out of operations and mostly focuses on high-level growth, while a president runs the company day to day with key managers in place. About 20 people do the work, which comes to close to $290,000 of revenue per employee, well above what an agency usually bills per person. That said, I'd want to know how much of the revenue is client ad spend or contractor work passing through to someone else, since that shows whether the $290,000 per person is fees for the team's own work. Next I'd dig into whether the retention rate measures clients or dollars, because a client who cuts its spend in half still counts as retained. Then I'd ask how many of the 3 to 6 new deals signed in a typical month the owner brings in personally, since that tells a buyer whether someone new has to take over selling after closing. The good news is the owner is open to an earn-out, so a buyer can tie part of the price to whether the existing clients are still paying after the sale.
2/ Transmission Repair, Replacement, and Parts Distribution Center
📍 Location: Virginia
💼 EBITDA: $600,000
📊 Revenue: $3,500,000
📅 Established: 2006
💭 My 2 Cents: When a transmission fails on an older car, and the average car on U.S. roads is close to 13 years old, the driver chooses between a used unit from another vehicle and a pricier rebuilt or remanufactured one. The less the car is worth, the more the used one makes sense. This company has its own supply of used units, buying 10 to 15 vehicles a week to pull and test reusable transmissions and parts before crushing the rest. It also distributes for a major U.S. transmission supplier and has grown from a two-bay shop into 48 bays across two buildings on 6.5 leased acres. The owner is relatively hands-off, with three key managers covering the office, the repair shop, and overall operations. That said, I'd first want to know how many of the 48 bays are working on a typical day with about 17 on staff, since any empty bay is room to grow without more space. After that, I'd want to know what share of jobs warranty companies and insurers pay for versus drivers, since a service contract company can approve a used part, which favors a shop that pulls its own. What helps fill the bays is the towing side, since four tow trucks pick up stranded drivers and about 70% of the cars they tow end up in the shop for service, so a buyer is acquiring a shop that brings in its own customers.
3/ Water Filtration Equipment Business
📍 Location: Georgia
💼 EBITDA: $550,000
📊 Revenue: $1,200,000
📅 Established: 2016
💭 My 2 Cents: A home water filtration system is sold once, but the filters inside it wear out and need replacing for as long as it runs, which gives a dealer a reason to stay in touch with every customer it has ever sold. This company sells water filtration equipment with a team of two W-2 employees, and the owner puts in about 15 hours a week, all of it on customer service. The owner is retiring and is open to staying on after a sale. That said, I'd want to know what share of revenue comes from customers who already own a system, since none of them are on contracts today, and that share is the starting point for any service plan a buyer adds. Who handles the installs and service calls comes next, since a team that small probably means some of that work goes to outside contractors, and how long those contractors have worked with this business tells you whether they're likely to stay after the sale. Separately, I'd want to know which equipment brands it sells and on what dealer terms, since a protected territory would keep a competitor from selling the same line nearby. Worth noting: new customers have come in through word of mouth and referrals, so a buyer could test paid marketing, a lever this business hasn't relied on yet.
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Michael was the in-house accountant at an IT managed services company that grew 5x in 3 years.
Watching that showed him how much wealth you can create by buying a small business and growing it a little.
He spent the next few jobs hoping his bosses would buy one. That never happened.
Then he lost his job, and gave himself a 12-month clock to buy one himself.
About 2 months into SMB Deal Hunter Pro, we brought him an off-market marketing agency servicing law firms, a space he'd never worked in.
Today, he runs the business alongside his general manager.
Revenue is down about 15% after 2 big clients left, and operating profit is still up about 35% to 40% since January.
So what changed?
A big part of that jump came from efficiencies he’s created using AI in the business.
And while plenty of people THINK they can increase their margins using AI, Michael shows us how he did it.
4/ Countertop Fabrication Business
📍 Location: New York
💼 EBITDA: $1,500,000
📊 Revenue: $9,000,000
📅 Established: 2005
💭 My 2 Cents: When a homeowner orders a stone countertop at Lowe's or Home Depot, the store makes the sale and a local fabricator handles everything after it (measuring the kitchen, cutting the slab, and installing it), which brings that fabricator kitchens it never had to go find. This company is one of those partners and also sells through showrooms, builders, and walk-in customers, with revenue up every year. About 10 people run its highly automated fabrication shop, and the installers are moving from payroll to 1099 contracts. The owner supervises the team, is planning a restructuring this winter to raise margins, and is open to a partial sale or partnership rather than a full exit. That said, New York treats anyone doing construction work for a contractor as an employee unless they pass a strict test, so I'd start by checking whether each installer runs as a separate business that can pass it, since otherwise the 1099 switch may not hold up. I'd also want to know what share of revenue comes through the big box stores and who sets the price on those jobs, since a fabricator that prices its own work can keep more of each kitchen than one working to a store's rate. On the growth side, the shop runs a single shift today, so if the orders are there, a buyer may be able to add output by staffing a second one on the same machines.
5/ Golf Accessories E-Commerce and Wholesale Business
📍 Location: Arizona
💼 EBITDA: $750,000
📊 Revenue: $3,000,000
📅 Established: 2018
💭 My 2 Cents: On-course golfers passed 29 million last year, the eighth straight year of growth and the highest since the Tiger Woods era, with simulators and venues like Topgolf feeding new players onto real courses. This company sells golf accessories to that growing pool, online and through wholesale, and most of its customers find it through Meta ads. Two owners split the work with six employees under them: one runs sales, marketing and finance, the other product, engineering and operations. One is stepping back and selling that half, so a buyer can take up to 50% or a smaller 25% to 30% stake. I'd start with what a customer costs to acquire on Meta (the CAC) against what they buy over the years after (the LTV), and how many come back at all, since the first order often just pays for the ad that won it and the money is in everything after that. Then the split between direct and wholesale, because the direct side carries both the ad cost and the margin while wholesale arrives thinner but without paying Meta for it. And how often it launches new products and who comes up with them, since repeat purchases in a business like this run on a launch calendar. The remaining partner supports the sale and stays in, so a buyer steps in beside an owner who knows the business rather than taking it over cold.
COMMUNITY PERKS
• Ready to buy and operate a $1M+ business? Partner with my team and get expert support 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.
CASE STUDY
Reagan was making $300K a year in corporate tech sales by 27, but he wanted to own something that kept paying him after he stopped selling.
So he joined SMB Deal Hunter Pro and went through 110 businesses before making a single offer.
That offer was for a 36-year-old Dallas plumbing company that had never spent a single dollar on marketing.
And even though he's not a plumber, we helped him structure the deal so the company could keep running legally from day one.
A year after buying it, he's grown from 2 crews to 5, with the business on pace to go from $1.5M to $2.15M in revenue.
So how does a tech salesman go from joining Pro to a signed offer in just 41 days?
And for our audio-only listeners, jump in and listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts!
THAT’S A WRAP
See you tomorrow!

-Helen Guo
Find Me On Twitter
Find Me On LinkedIn
P.S. I'd love your feedback. Tap the poll below or reply to this email.
How was today's newsletter?
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.


