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Acquiring Minds — Business
Acquiring Minds

Buying a business is an amazing path for many successful entrepreneurs. Learn how to buy a business from the entrepreneurs who have already done it. 2x per week: stories, insights, & valuable advice about acquisition entrepreneurship. Hosted by Will Smith, who is on his own path to acquire a business.

Also on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@AcquiringMinds

Sign up for episode summaries at:
https://acquiringminds.co

Copyright: © 2021 - 2023, Acquiring Minds

Latest Episodes:

Nailing the Trifecta: B2B + Remote + Scalable Feb 22, 2022

Show notes

Damon Chlarson had 3 key criteria, and he found them in an insulation supplier doing $380k EBITDA and selling for $1.1m.

Themes from Damon’s interview:

Defining your acquisition criteria
Finding your niche in the market
Imagining yourself doing the job before buying the business
Tapping into people’s talents
Mental health and business success
Finding opportunities in times of crisis
Looking back and growing ambition

Reach Damon at:

@LumberyardDamon

Overcoming a Career Rut by Buying a Business Feb 14, 2022

Show notes

Frustrated after losing 3 jobs, Bruce Vann used savings to acquire a 25-employee, 7-figure curtain manufacturer for 2x.

Themes from Bruce’s interview:

Paying 2x for a growing 70-year-old business
Buying a business to pull out of a career rut
Why finding a business is like a full court shot
The need for persistence
Abandoning a proprietary search because of seller overvaluations
Chasing down leads and not becoming complacent
The importance of documenting business processes in case of sudden staff departures
Dealing with uneasy staff during the transition period
The experience of acquiring a business as a Black man in the U.S.

Reach Bruce at:

bvann at luxout dot com

Building a Blue Collar Empire Feb 07, 2022

Show notes

After seeing 9-figure businesses built through acquisition, Adrian Pinto bought a landscaping biz to build one himself.

Themes from Adrian’s interview:

Buying a $3-5M landscaping business with 15-20% margins
Paying 3x, but rapid growth making it more like 2x
What a buy-side advisor is and when it might make sense to work with one
How COVID helped his search process
Why doing his own search was less stressful than a traditional search would have been
The excitement versus the reality of acquiring bolt-ons to your platform business
Beginning with the idea of building a strong base for future growth (chassis concept)
Waiting & observing for months before introducing changes to company processes

Reach Adrian at:

adrian at georgia scapes dot com
@Adrian_Pinto2
LinkedIn

7 Years Later: Leaving Wall Street to Buy Small Businesses Jan 31, 2022

Show notes

The 3 founders of Chenmark left promising corporate careers to pursue a multi-decade path of acquiring small businesses.

Themes from the interview with James & Palmer Higgins:

Why the Chenmark founders decided to do this
Lessons learned from 30+ acquisitions
How the founding thesis is performing 7 years in
The value of an "extreme delayed gratification muscle"
Intellectual stimulation in corporate life vs. small business
Buying big vs. buying small
How has competition in search evolved over the last 5 years
Chenmark’s diversification strategy

Other recommend podcasts where Chenmark has appeared:

Invest Like the Best: Trish and James Higgins of Chenmark Capital - Permanent Equity
Think Like An Owner: Trish Higgins, Chenmark Capital
Think Like An Owner: Trish Higgins – Chenmark Five Years Later
Think Like An Owner: Palmer Higgins – Moving to the Operating Side – Ep. 43
Think Like An Owner: Palmer Higgins – Removing Sales Roles at Mainely Grass – Ep. 61
The Commercial Landscaper: James Higgins - Reinforcing Areas to Create a More Scalable Platform
The ThriveTime Show: What’s Your Business Worth? Buying Small and Mid-sized Businesses with Chenmark Capital

Subscribe to: Chenmark’s Weekly Thoughts.

How to Build a Holdco (4 Acquisitions So Far) Jan 24, 2022

Show notes

With 4 acquisitions since starting in 2018, Justin Turner explains how his team is building a permanent equity holdco.

Themes from Justin’s interview:

The appeal of holding on to companies for a longer period
Why buying a $4-5M business might be easier than buying a $1M one
Letting the seller relationship develop naturally
Why paving companies make great acquisitions
Waiting to finalize the equity until after the deal is in hand
Setting acquisitions up in a holdco structure

Reach Justin at:

j turner at traction cp dot com

Buying a Business & Having a Blast Jan 18, 2022

Show notes

@Fundof1 was searching for a business in a tight geography, and found a great fit in a $760k appliance repair company.

Themes from John’s interview:

Buying a $760k appliance repair company
How to balance very specific search criteria
Choosing a steady industry
Walking into a business with an established sense of community
Deciding between using investors or not
Focusing on improving the business rather than day-to-day operations
Remembering to have fun
Building trust with employees who don’t work in the office

Reach John at:

@Fundof1

Buying a Manufacturer with 1 Good Employee & 2000 SKUs Jan 13, 2022

Show notes

Knowing zero about manufacturing, Josh Paulson found purpose when he bought a small & struggling producer of pet cages.

Themes from Josh's interview:

Owning the business saved his life
What manufacturing is like
Firing all but 1 employee (who spoke little English)
Reducing the product line from 2000 SKUs
Rebuilding a business with limited resources

Reach Josh at:

Quality Cage

The Key to a Profitable Liquor Store Jan 10, 2022

Show notes

Devin Wanzor went from a corporate gig with 50 employees to buying a $3M liquor store and playing golf 3 times a week.

Themes from Devin's interview:

What makes Devin's liquor store so profitable
The major risk involved in acquiring a liquor store
The self-image shift from corporate manager to liquor store owner
Boosting revenue with an easy price cleanup
Maintaining a 15-hour workweek

Reach Devin at:

@DevinWanzor

It's All Your Fault: How to Become CEO of Your Acquisition Jan 03, 2022

Show notes

Mike Curry bought a business only to struggle for years as its new CEO. He shares the lessons that unlocked 2x growth.

Themes from Mike’s interview:

Entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA) isn’t just for MBAs
Buying a business is art and science
The perks of the traditional search fund model
Building a strong community of fellow entrepreneurs
Becoming CEO of an established company
Earning your employees’ trust
The need for diverse business leaders

Reach Mike at:

mcurry at apex physics dot com

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

It's All Your Fault: How to Become CEO of Your Acquisition

A Cautionary Tale of Buying Too Small Dec 20, 2021

Show notes

JD Klein bought a print shop for $100k, thinking such a small acquisition carried little risk. The opposite was true.

Themes from JD's interview:

Running a strong-growth, low-margin business
Selling your house to make ends meet
Why very small businesses come with higher risk
Acquirers should hire a financial planner
Pivoting your strategy when uncontrollable roadblocks emerge
Pros & cons of the printing industry for acquirers
Personal victories vs. financial victories

Reach JD at:

@jdklein33

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