Smithlist is a job board for leadership roles at small businesses. If you're not ready to buy a business but want to lead one:

• Smithlist - Operate & Lead a Business

Anica John bought a print-on-demand business to have more time with her kids without compromising her career ambitions.

Topics in Anica’s interview:

• Experience at Amazon, WalMart, and Disney Streaming
• Choosing entrepreneurship over returning to office
• Buying a publishing company for indie authors
• High capex = moat
• Diversity of their genres and clientele
• Resurrecting a dead deal
• How DiggyPOD stacks up to Amazon KDP
• Carefully planning tech upgrades
• Award-winning customer service
• Running a business from out of state

References and how to contact Anica:

• LinkedIn
• anica@anicajohn.com
• DiggyPOD
• rejigg

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Register for the webinar:

• Working Capital for SMB Acquisitions - TODAY - https://bit.ly/4kQcGGj

At a low point in life, Raj Kankaria was served papers. But he liked the business and bought a process-serving company.

Topics in Raj’s interview:

• From investment banking to process server
• What he liked about process serving
• Buying the company from his boss
• Building industry relationships
• What TV gets wrong about process serving
• Technology in process serving
• Making changes on day one
• Communicating unpopular changes to employees
• Trading a high salary for ownership
• Vision for business growth

References and how to contact Raj:

• LinkedIn
• Lone Star Attorney Service

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Register for the webinars:

• The Math & Logic of Deal Making - July 22nd - https://bit.ly/459kJJn
• Working Capital for SMB Acquisitions - July 24th - https://bit.ly/4lBEhft

Enrique Rodriguez bought a project-based construction business (gasp) with $1.4m in revenue. One year later it's at $4m.

Topics in Enrique’s interview:

• 17 years in project-based construction
• Getting his MBA and electrician’s license
• Buying too small for an SBA loan
• Bringing a machine gun to a knife fight
• Injecting his own money during the J-curve
• Doing his own quality of earnings
• His wife and father’s roles in the business
• Disagreement with Walker Diebel
• Assertiveness in managing employees
• Celebrating milestones with his team

References and how to contact Enrique:

• LinkedIn
• MAC General
• The ReWild Group
• Matthew Pohl on Acquiring Minds: 2 Welders and a Shop... to $3.8m in Sales
• Justin Willess
• Justin Willess on Acquiring Minds: Business Collapse After Going All-In
  
  

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact mark@aspenhr.com

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Register for the webinar:

• Common Legal Diligence Issues (and How to Handle Them) - July 17th - https://bit.ly/4kwHlbw

Yan Vinarskiy began as a self-funded searcher but shifted his model mid-search when he found a business too big for SBA.

Topics in Yan’s interview:

• Using a buy-side broker to search and close
• Being inspired to take on a large deal
• Trade-offs of independent sponsor economics
• Board dynamics and governance
• Building a pitch deck
• Refining his investor pitch
• Hostility from sellers after close
• Transforming a toxic company culture
• Expanding the business model
• Managing 2 separate businesses

References and how to contact Yan:

• LinkedIn
• Floorguard
• Calder Capital
• Niklas James on Acquiring Minds: Self-Funded Search vs. Independent Sponsorship
• Mike Okhravi on Acquiring Minds: Doing It His Way: First-Timer Buys 2 at Once

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter
  
  

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Register for the webinar:

• Common Legal Diligence Issues (and How to Handle Them) - July 17th - https://bit.ly/4lo4Swu

Accomplished CEO Marci LaRouech sought to build a business without investor pressure. A sub $1m HR firm was the way.

Topics in Marci’s interview:

• Leading Makai HR through growth and exit as CEO
• 2 reasons she likes project work
• Comparing HR consulting and PEO business models
• Acquiring Seay HR with 40% seller financing
• Leveraging associations and networks for client growth
• Building a strong team for high-touch HR service
• Growth in fractional HR work
• Becoming the leading HR firm for the pest control industry
• How AI can be useful for human resources
• Ease of hiring in HR

References and how to contact Marci:

• LinkedIn
• marci@seay.us
• Seay HR
• Seay HR ETA for Searchers
• Iris Levine on Acquiring Minds: $6m Business, 3 Minutes From Childhood Home
  
  

Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact mark@aspenhr.com

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter
  
  

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

By reconceiving the paint dealership he bought as a marketing & sales organization, Ryan Adams pushed it to new heights.

Topics in Ryan’s interview:

• Transferring from military to business
• Focusing on selling one service
• Underestimating working capital needs
• The business tanked after acquisition
• Rescuing the company by fixing his sales process
• Properly incentivizing for the outcome he wants
• Learning digital marketing himself
• Cost per acquisition metric
• Where he finds good sales guys
• Expanding his territory by buying a competitor

References and how to contact Ryan:

• LinkedIn
• Rhino Shield

• $100M Leads: How to Get Strangers To Want To Buy Your Stuff by Alex Hormozi

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact mark@aspenhr.com

Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Adam Rao took a chance on an exhibit production business that had generated zero revenue in 15 months. It's gone well.

Topics in Adam’s interview:

• Discovering impact companies
• Acquiring with a business partner
• Buying a distressed business during Covid
• Getting 100% seller financing
• Inheriting an angry, dysfunctional staff
• A brutal first 9 months
• Acquiring an add-on with an SBA loan
• His role as the visionary
• Achieving stability by merging companies
• Reducing waste in a high-waste industry

References and how to contact Adam:

• adam.rao@triple20.co
• LinkedIn
• Triple20

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter
  
  

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Phil Miller turned a tiny pet shop doing $100k in sales into a regional pet boarding brand — and the ideal PE platform.

Topics in Phil’s interview:

• Pivoting from real estate to the pet industry
• Slow renovation creating a financial mess
• Delegation is the key to growth
• The real cost of a cheap turnaround
• Building a pet resort brand
• Accelerating growth with Store Capital
• Why franchising is a poor option in his industry
• Dealing with tire-kicking searchers
• Partnering with private equity
• Emotional rollercoaster of combining cultures

References and how to contact Phil:

• LinkedIn
• Pawville
• Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell
• Taylor Wallace - first appearance on Acquiring Minds: Buying Doggy Daycares After 10 Years in Tech
• Taylor Wallace - second appearance on Acquiring Minds:Why Sell to Private Equity: Former Guest Has an Exit
• Store Capital

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact mark@aspenhr.com

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron