The SMB Deal Hunter Podcast

How She Bought A $3M Pet Food Business Making $500K/yr (For 10% Down)

In this episode, Chelsea breaks down how she bought a $1.7M raw pet food business after 12 years at Boeing and Amazon, the off-market deal that "broke up" and came back to life nearly a year later, and the performance-based seller's note that bridged a valuation gap when bird flu cratered 2025 sales. ◼️ The "Hail Mary" offer she sent the seller nine months after their first deal collapsed ◼️ The one moment that killed the first deal a few months in (and how the seller's son ended up on her team anyway) ◼️ The financing structure — 10% down, SBA loan through Climate First Bank, and a sales-tied performance note — that closed a $1.7M deal with no outside investors ◼️ Why she spent her first year hunting virtual businesses before realizing she needed a local, physical operation ◼️ How her corporate negotiation training saved the relationship with her biggest wholesale customer in month four Subscribe to the SMB Deal Hunter newsletter (200,000+ subscribers): https://join.smbdealhunter.xyz/ Follow Helen: Twitter: https://x.com/HelenGuo_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-guo-06674523/

How He Went From $0 to $1.8M/yr (While Living on His Wife’s Salary)

Want help buying a business? https://smbdealhunter.link/pro-yt In this episode, Robert breaks down how he bought a $7.3M home care business while living on his wife's salary, the financing structure that closed it without a single outside investor, and the year-one rebuild where he fired every employee he inherited. ◼️ The 24-month deal he made with his wife before launching the search ◼️ The one mistake that killed his only deal three months in, and the conversation that brought it back ◼️ The financing structure that closed a $7.3M business with zero outside investors ◼️ Why he fired every member of his inherited office team in year one, and what it took to rebuild ◼️ Why targeting $300K of cash flow and closing on something 3x bigger is what saved his first year Subscribe to the SMB Deal Hunter newsletter (200,000+ subscribers): https://join.smbdealhunter.xyz/ Follow Helen: Twitter: https://x.com/HelenGuo_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-guo-06674523/

How He Bought a 51-Year-Old Business for ONLY 7% Down

Want help buying a business? https://smbdealhunter.link/pro-yt In this episode, Jonathan breaks down how he bought a 50-year-old electrical contractor for $7M with just $500K down, the seller financing structure that made it work, and the 4-month chaos he survived to close it. ◼️ Why he stopped starting businesses after 20 years and bought one instead ◼️ The 10-year seller note that let him close a $7M deal with just $500K down ◼️ How he beat a Texas family office trying to roll the company into a 10-office portfolio ◼️ The eight-word legal dispute that killed the deal, and the Waffle House breakfast that brought it back to life ◼️ The tax strategy he'd never heard of that put another five figures back in his pocket on the down payment Subscribe to the SMB Deal Hunter newsletter (200,000+ subscribers): https://join.smbdealhunter.xyz/ Follow Helen: Twitter: https://x.com/HelenGuo_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-guo-06674523/

How He Went From $0 to $1B/yr in ONLY 5 Years

Want help buying a business? https://smbdealhunter.link/pro-yt In this episode, Steven Carroll breaks down how he turned his first HVAC acquisition into a $1B+ business in 5 years, the partnership model behind 32 more deals, and the $10 billion target he's chasing now. ◼️ Why three general managers in a row walked away from his very first attempt to buy a business ◼️ The $1.5 million hole on a $2 million profit business that nearly broke him in year one ◼️ The one seller who said yes after a year of pitches, and the model that unlocked 32 more deals ◼️ How he closes 8 to 10 acquisitions a year while processing 350 to 400 deals through his team Subscribe to the SMB Deal Hunter newsletter (200,000+ subscribers): https://join.smbdealhunter.xyz/ Follow Helen: Twitter: https://x.com/HelenGuo_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-guo-06674523/

How He Bought a $1.37M Business WITHOUT Quitting His Job

Want help buying a business? https://smbdealhunter.link/pro-yt In this episode, John Manahan breaks down how he negotiated a yoga studio business down from $2.5M to $1.375M, the franchise bombshell that almost killed his deal three days before close, and how he's running 2 studios on a 1-hour weekly call with his district manager while still billing full hours at Deloitte. ◼️ How he got a business that had been sitting on the market over a year down to less than half its original asking price ◼️ Why the SBA life insurance requirement nearly stopped him in his tracks (and the specialty agent who got him approved) ◼️ The franchise amendment that dropped 3 days before close and how he kept the deal alive ◼️ How a management consultant who'd never taken a yoga class evaluated and bought 2 high-end studios ◼️ The exact structure that lets him run both studios on a 1-hour weekly call while keeping his W2 Subscribe to the SMB Deal Hunter newsletter (200,000+ subscribers): https://join.smbdealhunter.xyz/ Follow Helen: Twitter: https://x.com/HelenGuo_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-guo-06674523/