Learn How to Buy & Own Businesses

Acquiring Minds is a media platform all about buying, owning, and operating small businesses.

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Upcoming Webinars

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Webinar Recordings

Oct 7
2025
Tuesday
Oct 7, 2025
How PACT Simplifies Investor Deals Using SBA
Learn how to use a new, free legal framework that standardizes and simplifies terms for SBA deals using investor equity.
With
Tim Ericson, Joe Spina
Watch Recording
Oct 2
2025
Thursday
Oct 2, 2025
The ABCs of Franchise M&A: Deal Sourcing, Diligence, and Integration
ETA + franchising is a powerful combo. Come learn the key aspects of acquisition strategy within a franchise system.
With
Connor Groce
Watch Recording
Sep 24
2025
Wednesday
Sep 24, 2025
Liquidity Options for Search Investors
Make your deal more attractive to investors by offering them liquidity that does NOT require you exiting the business.
With
Andy Rougeot
Watch Recording

The Podcast

Oct 9
2025
Thursday
Oct 9, 2025
Trades Over Tech: Buying an Appliance Repair Business
Brian Seeling sought a blue-collar business with a good manager in place. He found exactly that — with $2.6m in revenue.
Brian Seeling
Oct 6
2025
Monday
Oct 6, 2025
Acquisition Unlock: €210m in 5 Years
Nick Keegan owned a struggling software business doing just €1m/yr until an acquisition put it on the path to 9 figures.
Nick Keegan
Oct 2
2025
Thursday
Oct 2, 2025
$60m Roll-Up That Started With an SBA Acquisition
Onu Okebie and Brian Boland wanted to retain 100% ownership when they began, so they used an SBA loan. It has paid off.
Onu Okebie, Brian Boland
Sep 29
2025
Monday
Sep 29, 2025
Founder Mode for ETA: $6m to $25m in 3 Years
Aizik Zimerman bought a home services business to build a consumer brand into his life's work. It seems to be working.
Aizik Zimerman
Sep 25
2025
Thursday
Sep 25, 2025
Family Offices for Searchers: A Primer
James Bohannon of family office Belzberg & Co. explains the FO world and its untapped potential for searchers & sponsors
James Bohannon
Sep 22
2025
Monday
Sep 22, 2025
Deciding to Exit After 2 Years of Ownership
Jack Saville was asked if owning a small business was underutilizing his talents. The question prompted a big decision.
Jack Saville - Sam Rosati
Sep 18
2025
Thursday
Sep 18, 2025
So Much Fun: The Buyer of Choice in a Fragmented Industry
Mark Anderegg built the largest private daycare business in New England. He loved the model so much he's doing it again.
Mark Anderegg
Sep 15
2025
Monday
Sep 15, 2025
From SBA Loan to High 8-Figure Exit
Jerod Pierce bought an HVAC business with $500k of SDE. Five years later, private equity was desperate to buy him out.
Jerod Pierce
Sep 11
2025
Thursday
Sep 11, 2025
The Flywheel of Buying Businesses in a Single Region
Doug Lepisto has partnered with 7 searchers to acquire businesses strictly in Western Michigan. Momentum is building.
Doug Lepisto
Sep 8
2025
Monday
Sep 8, 2025
Hiring a CEO to Run Things (and Get Life Back)
Jeremy Hunka bought a $2m cabinet business, and year one consumed him. Leadership had to evolve for things to improve.
Jeremy Hunka
Sep 4
2025
Thursday
Sep 4, 2025
A Few Hours Per Week, a Few States Away
Brett Maxam bought a concrete business with high 6 figures of earnings. Despite being a plane ride away, it's gone well.
Brett Maxam
Sep 1
2025
Monday
Sep 1, 2025
The Joy & Pain of Buying a Tech Business
Felipe Corcuera bought an automation company that didn't offer AI. Since ChatGPT was released, he has had to adapt.
Felipe Corcuera

Sneak Peak: Upcoming Episodes

13
Oct 2025
Monday
Oct 13, 2025
Buying 2 Rivals to Create a Dominant Leader
When his deal died the first time, Kyle Poll was devastated. But then it came back around, larger and more interesting.
Kyle Poll
16
Oct 2025
Thursday
Oct 16, 2025
Buying a $1.6m Business for the Inventory Value
Undeterred by self doubt, Danyelle Nys bought a $400k SDE business at a fantastic price. She's grown it 25% in year one.
Danyelle Nys
20
Oct 2025
Monday
Oct 20, 2025
Building Trust as New Owner of a $3m Business
Ruchik Gandhi was a diligence CPA when he decided to get in the game himself. Becoming an owner has been an education.
Ruchik Gandhi
23
Oct 2025
Thursday
Oct 23, 2025
From €4 Million, to Zero, to €12 Million
Despite skepticism from her US investors, Ivona Butcher bought (and tripled) a business in her native Czech Republic.
Ivona Butcher
27
Oct 2025
Monday
Oct 27, 2025
Buying a Wide Moat in a Consolidating Industry
Ania Aliev was so eager to buy her business, she worked the deal while in labor at the hospital. It's been worth it.
Ania Aliev
30
Oct 2025
Thursday
Oct 30, 2025
Started Mid-Career, Grew to $38m in 3 Years
Shaun Stimpson had worked for two decades before pivoting to buying businesses in a different industry. He's moved fast.
Shaun Stimpson

Why Entrepreneurship
Through Acquisition?

The riskiest time for a new business is the startup phase.

You’ve got no product, no revenue, no staff, no reputation. It can take years for a business to build those things, if it survives at all.

Now imagine an alternative scenario, where the risk and toil of those early years have passed. Where there are already paying customers, and people & processes in place to serve those customers.

A website with traffic, a phone that rings. The flywheel is already going.

That’s what it means to acquire an existing business. Your job is to improve and grow it, not breathe life into it.

For many entrepreneurs, this is a better fit. Better suited to their skills or station in life. More rewarding, more lucrative, even more fun.

What’s more, there are many trends in your favor.

An entire generation of retiring business owners are looking for an exit. Their businesses are established, sometimes decades old, and yet there is no successor to take the reins. Oftentimes when they finally do retire, they just turn off the lights, pull the door closed, and shut down the business.

What a waste.

Meanwhile, it’s easier than ever to start a business online, from FBA to Shopify stores to courses to affiliate blogs. Which means millions of people start online side hustles, only to lose interest or shift priorities.

In the right hands, these neglected businesses can not only survive but thrive.

And unlike getting a bank loan for a startup (near impossible), banks routinely lend to entrepreneurs who want to buy a profitable small business.

Which means you can finance an acquisition, then pay down the debt with the profits of the business itself.

Many people think “buying a business” is just for the wealthy, or private equity.

Not so.

Thousands of normal individuals acquire a business every year. This site tells their stories.

Not to say that it’s easy.

While buying a business can be a path to wealth, you will not get rich quick. It’s still entrepreneurship, with all the hard work and persistence that entails.

It’s just a different kind of entrepreneurship, one that is overlooked by a media fixated on billionaires and unicorns.

But one that offers the same rewards and professional fulfillment.

Acquiring Minds will open your mind to the possibilities.

FAQ

What type of person acquires a business?
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There are so many that it’s hard to generalize.

But here are a few examples:

You have entrepreneurial energy but you don’t have an idea to pursue.

You’re a mid-career employee looking to pivot into being a business owner. You’re ready to take control of your own destiny but don’t have the years or financial resources to start a business from zero.

You have deep industry expertise that could be applied a small business in that industry to make it grow.

You have a specialized skill set — online marketing for example — that could be applied to a small business that is weak in that area.

You’re interested in a space, like e-commerce or manufacturing, and want to accelerate your education and participation in that space.

You weren’t looking to buy a business but an attractive opportunity has presented itself.

You already have a business but want to acquire another one in order to grow.

You want to build a portfolio of profitable businesses as a path to wealth.

Isn’t buying a business just “buying a job”?
display / hide FAQ question

For many people, yes, they do operate the business that they acquire. You’d call such a business buyer an owner-operator.

This isn’t a bad thing.

Most owner-operators acquired the business precisely because they wanted to actively improve and grow it. They may intend to later reduce their personal activity in the business, or they may continue operating it indefinitely. Or, they may themselves sell the business after growing it over a few years.

Regardless, they’ve realized their entrepreneurial aspirations and become their own boss.

People who want to acquire a business but not operate it are investors. This is a different acquisition strategy, but one that can be extremely rewarding as well. (Just ask Warren Buffet.)

Do I need expertise in the industry of the company I acquire?
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Usually people have some related experience, but not always.

In that case, you should at least have a strong commitment to, and preferably a genuine interest in, learning the industry of the company you acquire.

You should not buy a business in an industry where you have no knowledge nor any interest in gaining it.

Can I buy a business with no money down?
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Yes, it is possible. But “no money down” deals are not the norm and you should be wary of gurus promising that they’re easy to find.

That said, there are a variety of ways a “no money down” situation could occur.

The most common is a 100% seller-financed deal. That is, the current owner of the business sells it to you for $500k (for example) over a 5-year term. You pay $100k per year out of the profits of the business. At the end of 5 years you own the business outright, having put zero of your own money at risk.

This example is an oversimplification, but it does give you a sense of what's possible. Deals like this do happen with some frequency.

More often, however, a deal will be partially seller financed. So in our above example, you might have to pay $150k up front, then the remaining $350k over 5 years.