This Week’s Breakdown (in 10 Seconds):
Aaron spent years flipping houses and managing rentals in the Seattle area.
But the deals got harder to find.
And the returns stopped exciting him.
What he and his wife really wanted was a business they could run from anywhere.
So he spent the better part of a year searching, lost out on a roofing and a landscaping deal, and then joined SMB Deal Hunter Pro.
Just over 3 months later, he closed on the last business anyone would have guessed, an online fitness coaching company for female roller derby athletes.
Yes, you heard that right.
It's a niche with no other company like it.
Then, about a week before close, the bank pulled out, and we helped him and his wife put together a creative financing structure to save the deal.
Today, 3 months in, they're working through a stabilization phase, getting their arms around everything that comes with actually owning and running a $280K-a-year profit business.
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 are counting on real estate investing as your path to financial freedom?
That was Aaron's whole plan.
Since 2017 he'd been flipping houses, holding rentals, even working as an agent, sure real estate was how he'd build his retirement.
The problem was, none of it ran without him.
With their kids grown and out of the house, what Aaron and his wife really wanted was a business they could run from anywhere. They dreamed about spending long stretches in Europe.
Real estate couldn't give them that quickly enough.
Aaron had already searched on his own for a while, and even joined another program led by a single mentor, but what he realized he needed was a full team in his corner.
So he joined SMB Deal Hunter Pro, our business buying accelerator that helps you find, finance, and buy a business in 6 to 12 months.
Today, he owns an online coaching business the previous owner ran from Costa Rica, built for female roller derby athletes.
But he nearly lost the deal at the finish line.
His lender backed out with closing a week away. So we helped him and his wife rebuild the whole financing behind this $800K deal in just a few days.
In the crunch, whenever he hit a question he couldn't answer on his own, our team got him a straight answer fast.
Although, none of it has been easy.
Shortly after closing, the business dipped, but the cause was fixable.
Before the seller left, she had hired a marketing manager who never got the high-ticket, performance-marketing style the business runs on.
So Aaron let her go and brought the marketing back to what worked.
He's still early, with a lot of work to do before his long stretches in Europe.
But he's convinced this business is what finally gets them there, the way real estate never could.
Member Spotlight
How He Bought a Concrete Coating Business Making $350k/yr at 28
For those who missed it, we also did an SMB Deal Hunter Pro alumni interview breaking down how Alejandro bought a $1.5M concrete coatings business at 28.
Today the business throws off around $350K a year in profit.
Alejandro spent 6 years in tech sales, first at a Fortune 500 company and then bouncing between AI startups. The money was good, but he was always building someone else's dream.
He knew he wanted something of his own, but almost a year of hunting BizBuySell alone got him nowhere.
So he joined the Pro program.
By the end of March, he'd closed and walked away from his W-2 for good.
The result?
→ We helped him structure a 15% seller note and a 10% equity injection on top of his SBA loan to get a seven-figure deal across the line
→ He beat out more than 10 other buyers to win it
→ He came straight from software sales with zero concrete experience, and he's already gunning to double revenue to $3M
For 6 years he sold software for other people's companies.
Now, at 28, he owns his own business.
And here's what he had to say:
“I looked at a bunch of different communities, and a lot of them were just educational videos. That's not what I was looking for. I needed a couple of advisors that were literally gonna grab my hand and say, you're gonna go close on this business... whether you like it or not. And that's what I found.”
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: August isn't even over, and 8 Pro members have already closed, with another 34 under LOI.
Aaron spent a year losing public deals to a crowd of buyers before he landed his.
Our members skip that crowd with off-market deals on SMB Deal Exchange, the platform only Pro members can see.
Want us to help you find, finance, and buy a business in the next 6 to 12 months? Start now and you could be under contract before the holidays.
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.