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Restaurant Manager -> $670k / Year Childcare Business (But he only works on it 2 hours / week)

Author

Helen Guo
March 02, 2026

Hey - Helen here,

Be honest. How many of you have thought about buying a business that basically runs itself?

A business where you put in 1-2 hours a week while it cash flows enough to fund your actual dreams?

Cory does that every week and has for the last 8 months.

Cory spent 13 years managing restaurants. Started a clothing line that COVID killed. Was piecing together income with a real estate license on the side.

He knew he wanted out. Made that decision two years before he finally pulled the trigger.

10 months after joining SMB Deal Hunter Pro, he closed on a $1.85M early education childcare center in York, PA.

8 months later, he spends 1-2 hours a week on it. And he used the cash flow to buy his dream passion project (a 10-acre wedding venue).

He's not a childcare expert. Never set foot in the industry. Let me explain how this happened.

Here’s why this week’s SMB Deal Hunter Pro alumni interview is a must watch:

→ The previous owner ran this business from another state for 6 years.

→ Cory was managing a restaurant with full work days when he closed this deal. We discuss how he structured the transition without quitting his job first.

→ The real estate was 51% of the deal, which unlocked a fantastic loan structure most buyers don't know about.

→ He found the deal because of one tactic the program taught him. A single email changed everything.

But the part that really makes this story worth watching?

When Cory found this deal, he thought it was perfect. His partner had literally worked at the business before. The owner was grooming them to take over.

Then she accepted another buyer's offer.

How he got it back is one of the best parts of the interview.

And when we asked him what he valued the most about the program…

"Having Bill [one of our M&A Advisors] there anytime, I don't even know what times I was contacting him, but he was so responsive just walking me through anything. That peace of mind was really nice."

- Cory

Cory leaned on our battle-tested deal team to help him...

  • Spot red flags buried in P&Ls he would have missed on his own

  • Walk away from deals that looked good on the surface but would have been expensive mistakes

  • Find a $1.85M business he runs in 1-2 hours a week while building his dream project on the side

So, if you want to buy a $1M+ business in the next 6-12 months, but don't want to spend years spinning your wheels alone, let's talk.

Talk soon,
Helen Guo