Let's Buy a Business

Darren is our attorney from the last episode who also owns an OrangeTheory Fitness franchise. He dives into franchising and what helped him launch into profitability. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/ Connect with Darren Neilson [email protected] Phone: 801-536-6950

Darren Neilson is an acquisition attorney who focuses on bankruptcy sales. He helps transition businesses during bankruptcy and is a wealth of knowledge around legal, acquisitions, and interacting with attorneys. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/ Connect with Darren Neilson [email protected] Phone: 801-536-6950

You fail in 3 ways in buying a company. 1. Buying a bad business 2. Running out of money 3. Running out of patience. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

What if you put $100k down, buy a million-dollar business, grow it 10% (super conservative), pay off debt aggressively, then sell it in 4 years for ~$1.2M and pay yourself ~$250k/year for 4 years...Not bad. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Every decision has risks and opportunities with it. One I've been thinking a lot about is how fluffy it feels to talk about buying a company. When push comes to shove, will you actually borrow $1M to buy an awesome asset that you can grow 2-3x?.....you still owe someone $1M and many can't sleep at night with that over their heads. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Matt was the main guy going in to acquire businesses to run them. His Private Equity company bought 18 businesses in 18 months with Jared Zemp. We also breakdown how to use new tactics from online to offline businesses. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/ Connect with Matt Blackwelder https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-blackwelder-004a91b1/

You can't just replace your job. Be real about the opportunities for growth and if you have the skill sets or ability to grow it. If your business requires a new location (like a new restaurant location) to double capacity, be weary of this deal. You're replacing your job. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Ryan found a business, moving fast...we'll see if he can get this lined up. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

It's impossible to learn everything about something before you have a business in hand that matches up with that particular business model. A friend asked how he could learn to run an e-commerce company. The answer is, just run one. Focus on Just-In-Time learning. Learn things that you'll need at that exact moment. Ryan believes the most important thing is understanding how Cash Flow works for business models. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Scott Aaron has 18 years in the gym and personal fitness space, building his gyms and a successful exit to bankruptcy. Ryan interviews Scott, who has faced incredible adversity but keeps pushing through. He took over his father's gym while his father was in prison. Grew it 4x and sold it! From selling for $1M to down $2.5M negative $1.5M. Scott is an awesome LinkedIn influencer and built some great side businesses that eventually led to a full-time income. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/ Connect with Scott Aaron https://www.instagram.com/scottaaronlinkedin/ https://scottaaron.net/

Franchises can be fantastic for the right person and right vision and goals. Start with the end in mind of what you want, BUT also realize that the network effect of franchises start at 3-5 locations at least. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

How I wasted 2 months at the beginning of my search for a company. I didn't ask the right questions or tough questions to realize that it wasn't a software company. Avoid losing months of time to figure out which are the toughest questions to ask upfront. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Spending your whole day finding a business to buy is boring sometimes, full of networking and intros, lonely and weird that you are super busy but don't ship/sell/create anything. All short-term pains for a massive long-term plan. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Ryan had a great conversation with Scott Sorensen who is also looking for a business to buy as they discussed buying vs building. If you find a business that you can start with less money and get to that same spot in less time, that business probably doesn't have the best defensible moat. There are other benefits... Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Buyers wonder how much information they should get before making an offer and going under LOI for a business. Trust everything before LOI, Verify everything once under LOI. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Glenn has built, bought, and sold several businesses and now advises owners on exits. He has built so many profitable businesses while having multiple successful exits. Glenn has also bought several businesses and seen 100's of business transactions. The gold nuggets he drops are incredible in this short interview. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/ Connect with Glenn Molin [email protected] Thou Shall Prosper - https://amzn.to/2YZmh75 http://harvestbusiness.com/

This is the second part of the interview that Ryan had with Jared Zemp. Jared bought 18 businesses in a very short time period. He talks about his highs and lows while creating a fund to buy and operate small businesses. Jared has some crazy acquisition stories: such as 30% of his revenue from a furniture store he bought was actually a prostitution ring. He drops some tips here if you want to buy businesses. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/ Connect with Jared Zemp [email protected] https://www.crowchild.com/micro

Jared bought 18 businesses in a very short time period. He talks about his highs and lows while creating a fund to buy and operate small businesses. Jared has some crazy acquisition stories: such as 30% of his revenue from a furniture store he bought that was actually a prostitution ring. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/ Connect with Jared Zemp [email protected] https://www.crowchild.com/micro

Ryan dives into what he does daily, and the biggest time-wasting traps that searchers fall into. Avoid these like the plague so you don't fall into the 90% failure rate of most searchers. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/ How to Read a Financial Report: Wringing Vital Signs Out of the Numbers - https://amzn.to/3fIih0P

The most constant question Ryan is getting right now is "What type of business should I buy?" Most people never buy a business because they're looking at the wrong business for them. You need to figure out what your skill sets and experience are matched with your desired lifestyle combined with what problems you want to solve. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Ryan interviews Garry McIntosh from Operation Underground Railroad who is the Director of Donations. Operation Underground Railroad's mission is to rescue children and women from human trafficking. They dive into how raising money for a nonprofit is similar to raising money in the markets and how you can have a bigger world mission with the company you actually purchase. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/ Connect with Garry McIntosh https://ourrescue.org/ https://www.amazon.com/Operation-Toussaint-Tim-Ballard/dp/B07M62QTS3

Online businesses don't have physical assets like brick and mortar, and inventory is typically in a warehouse not owned by the company. Banks are more willing to lend on cash flow from online businesses but you may need to get creative. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

2 Deals that are seller-financed + 1 more that basically is seller-financed out of bankruptcy. Seller financed deals are awesome and typically don't require a personal guarantee. It's a great tool to keep current owners interested and honest in the deal. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Everyone Ryan knows personally who is wealthy, has sold their business to get there. They built a cool business but 50-99% of the total value they got out of their business, was when they sold. There are other really great businesses that make money while running them, but you've probably never heard of them....and you never will. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Thanks for the 3-star review! Someone cared enough to tell Ryan how to improve on his mediocre podcast skills. Let him know how he can improve to get to 5 stars 89% of the time, 100% every time. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Here are 3 deals Ryan has looked at: an interesting retirement home, a sweet executed deal in the real estate services space, and a cool e-commerce brand with horrible financials. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Searching during COVID_19, what will happen with small businesses, and what questions to ask yourself to move forward during this weird time. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Ryan looked at a small business to fund his search forever. Cool business but he got conflicting advice based on the advice giver's own financial situation. This business did not fit into his target of companies and he talks about how he can make it fit his target. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

COVID_19 is destroying health and economies across the globe. The shutdown has been devastating to small businesses. Ryan goes through a few predictions and how to take advantage of a buyers market. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Ryan jumped into 3 businesses: B2B SaaS, a National Lead Gen Company, and a subscription eCommerce company. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Today is the first day in a month that has been really frustrating. Ryan does not feel like he is making progress. When you search for a company, you don't create anything, sell anything or feel like you did anything productive. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Ryan sold a business 2 months ago and shares a few tips for buyers on what they should look for when buying a business. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Buying and selling businesses is an emotional dance. Logic does not prevail most times. Ryan made 2 offers on 2 different businesses yesterday. Both could be awesome and are vastly different. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

We're not flipping businesses like you can with houses in 90 days. Businesses are assets. They grow based on how you treat them. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

What Ryan is learning and lacking so far: his financial statement literacy and maybe contacting more investors. Is this company worth buying or can he start a similar business and get to the same place with a fraction of the costs? Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

"Strong partnerships come from strong contracts." Stephen Walter is a wealth of knowledge and an attorney that manages a fund for angel investors. Stephen personally has bought and grown his own business which he discusses in this episode. He jumps into the legal side of buying a company and ways to think about contract structure. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Ryan dives into 3 more deals that he has looked into. These 3 deals are pretty awesome and ones that fit his wheelhouse for skill sets. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

There are 2 ways to fund your search, as in pay your mortgage and Costco runs. Ryan dives into what a search fund is and how to self fund your search so you have a huge upside. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Ryan covers the differences in building your own deal flow vs working through broker deal flow. Both ways are super valuable and you need to approach the business buying from both avenues. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Ryan brings Jeremy Neven on how best to network and use local brokers. Jeremy is a mountain of information on how to work with brokers, how first time buyers can build their network, and how to approach a deal. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/ Connect with Jeremy Neven: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremynevens/ https://www.alpinebusinessbrokers.com/ [email protected]

Ryan talks with 3 owners who bought a business, and wish to remain anonymous. He discusses the businesses that were acquired, how they structured the deals, and how much they put down to acquire them. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Income and Wealth Multipliers work for you or against. If you own equity, you can get a multiplier on your efforts. If you are an employee, you make a fraction or a small percentage of your efforts. It's not bad, it's just how the system is created. Be aware of how income and wealth multipliers work in your own life. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Ryan Condie breaks down the area to find the right marketplace and broker to find businesses for sale. He also provides a few ideas on how to create your own deal flow outside of brokers. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Ryan goes deeper into the criteria he picks for finding a business. He goes through a series of questions, his background and strengths and his ideal lifestyle for his criteria. Internet-based company with 2+ years (ideally 5 years) of history from a US citizen that makes $250k+ in EBITDA. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

Ryan Condie walks through his mindset on why buying is better than starting. We all know 96% of new businesses fail within 5 years so how do we own equity, bet on ourselves and call the shots? Entrepreneurship through Acquisition. Episode Resources Connect with Ryan Condie http://linkedin.com/in/ryancondie http://letsbuyabusiness.com/

This is the start of Let's Buy a Business Podcast. I'll be sharing my journey of searching and evaluating a business to buy. They'll be tips, tools, tricks, conversations with investors and bankers and everything else in between. Subscribe to watch and learn from my journey so you can go down the same path.