So You Want to Buy a Business

Buying a $1.6M Tree Service Business with Zero Industry Experience | Landon Mance

Landon Mance bought Nevada Tree Services without ever having been up in a tree. Making this acquisition a success came down to two primary points: spending time in diligence ensuring the business was fundamentally sound, and finding the right operating partner. In my conversation with Landon, we talk about what makes a small business “fundamentally sound,” how he and his partner built a strong business relationship, and Landon’s thoughts on implementing change post-acquisition. 00:00 Start 01:41 Landon’s background and why he pursued ETA 06:36 Search criteria 08:15 What makes a business fundamentally sound 12:54 Financials of the deal 16:53 Working capital needs 18:28 Experience with SBA 20:46 Why Landon wanted an operating partner and what he looked for 26:59 Building a business partnership 32:07 Diligence with the sellers 36:17 How the relationship with the sellers changed 40:34 Landon’s biggest mistake in the deal 43:12 Transitioning into ownership 50:04 The biggest challenge Landon has faced Watch this episode on YouTube [https://youtu.be/leKMFqtbBsA?si=TxZ4Zg0G4_naw7gg]. Connect with me: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/keirahamilton/] | ⁠Twitter⁠ [https://twitter.com/KeiraHamilton] | keira@arenacommercialcapital.com [keira@arenacommercialcapital.com] Connect with Landon: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/landonmance/]

1 Year After Buying a $1M Garage Door Company | Brittney Orellano

Brittney and her husband were in the 9th year of operating their startup when they decided they wanted to take on a new challenge: ETA. After only a couple months of searching, they found their acquisition, a garage door company in Kansas City. Post close, they faced a difficult truth. There was a lot of clean up to do. The seller had not been operating efficiently and had been doing a ton of work himself. For months they worked 12 hour days.  My conversation with Brittney highlights a common challenge that new owners must contend with–the balance of learning the ropes of the business with the work of making it your own. 00:00 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVQjOGptWzk&t=0s] Start 01:30 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVQjOGptWzk&t=90s] How Brittney got interested in ETA 04:00 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVQjOGptWzk&t=240s] Initial search criteria 06:32 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVQjOGptWzk&t=392s] How she found her business & why it appealed to her 09:15 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVQjOGptWzk&t=555s] Financials of the deal 13:43 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVQjOGptWzk&t=823s] Lessons learned from the search 19:55 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVQjOGptWzk&t=1195s] Why operating costs were higher than expected 22:44 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVQjOGptWzk&t=1364s] The unanticipated challenges of business ownership 26:05 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVQjOGptWzk&t=1565s] The first few months of ownership 28:45 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVQjOGptWzk&t=1725s] Brittney’s current day to day 30:14 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVQjOGptWzk&t=1814s] Improving operations and making the business their own 35:53 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVQjOGptWzk&t=2153s] Plans for the next year 36:36 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVQjOGptWzk&t=2196s] The impact of being an industry outsider 39:10 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVQjOGptWzk&t=2350s] Reflections on starting a business vs. buying a business 45:38 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVQjOGptWzk&t=2738s] Retaining employees after acquisition 49:32 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVQjOGptWzk&t=2972s] What Brittney has learned about herself through ETA Watch this episode on YouTube [https://youtu.be/WVQjOGptWzk?si=fePjSPjuGVOe9UK1]. Connect with me: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/keirahamilton/] | ⁠Twitter⁠ [https://twitter.com/KeiraHamilton] | keira@arenacommercialcapital.com [keira@arenacommercialcapital.com] Connect with Brittney: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittneyorellano/]

From Dental Consultant to Acquiring and Operating a $1M Ice Cream Business | Shawn Allard

Shawn Allard didn’t set out to buy a business in the food and beverage space. Fortunately, he stayed open minded during his search and ended up finding a business that was a great fit for him: Novel Ice Cream. Almost a year into his acquisition, Shawn is opening a coffee shop and has two new ice cream locations in the works. In this episode, Shawn shares lessons learned from his search and transition into business ownership. 00:00 Start 05:30 Search criteria 06:56 How Shawn evaluated deals 08:54 How Shawn found Novel Ice Cream & why he decided to acquire it 12:39 How Shawn got comfortable buying in an industry he didn’t have experience in 15:02 Financing for the acquisition 19:29 Why Shawn kept his W2 for a few months 21:09 The impact of keeping his W2 post acquisition 25:58 Spending money on growth 27:35 Surprises and challenges during the first year 29:40 Maintaining and building company culture 33:46 How Shawn’s life changed from W2 to business owner 36:22 Shawn’s new coffee location 39:30 Lessons learned from opening a new concept 42:15 Where Shawn wants to go from here 44:54 The qualities that make someone successful in ETA 47:39 What’s actually hard about owning a business 49:33 How Shawn has grown from the experience of owning a business Watch this episode on YouTube [https://youtu.be/tgBwKT3KCzo?si=7GKKU67xiHd8_kEs]. Connect with Shawn: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnwallard/] | Twitter [https://twitter.com/shawnwallard] Connect with me: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/keirahamilton/] | ⁠Twitter⁠ [https://twitter.com/KeiraHamilton] | keira@arenacommercialcapital.com [keira@arenacommercialcapital.com]

SBA Lender Becomes Franchise Owner with $150k SBA Loan | Sterling Birdsong

This episode features by Sterling Birdsong, a franchisee and Nationwide SBA Lender with BayFirst National Bank. Sterling has been in SBA Lending since 2016 and the banking industry since 2013. He produced over $50 million in SBA loans in 2022, making him a top performer in the industry. In this conversation, we dive into Sterling's experience as a franchisee, including why franchising has been a great model for him, and what to consider from a lending perspective when thinking about buying or starting a franchise. We also get into the nuances of SBA, including how to think about working capital, seller note dos and don'ts, and why SBA is the BEST produce out there for business acquisitions $5M and under. Connect with me: ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/keirahamilton/] | ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠ [https://twitter.com/KeiraHamilton] | ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@Keira_Hamilton] | keira@arenacommercialcapital.com

Legal Insights for ETA | Laura DiFrancesco

Laura DiFrancesco is a corporate attorney specializing in mergers and acquisitions. She helps investors and founders in structuring and negotiating deals that set them up for scaling and long term success. She also owns a number of businesses, including an educational platform where she teaches entrepreneurs the legal rules of the road for success in ETA. Laura's latest course, Acquisition Insights [https://lauradifrancesco.co/acquisitioninsights], offers over 80 in depth modules along with templates and checklists designed to save you thousands in legal mistakes. Connect with me: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/keirahamilton/] | ⁠Twitter⁠ [https://twitter.com/KeiraHamilton] | ⁠YouTube⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@Keira_Hamilton] | keira@arenacommercialcapital.com