Buy Big: How to Acquire a $3m EBITDA Roofing Business

May 30, 2023
Listen in Apple Podcasts appListen in SpotifyListen in Apple Podcasts appListen in SpotifyRSS address of the Acquiring Minds podcast feed
Y

ou read that right:

Three million dollars of EBITDA.

And today's guest Austin Smoak found the Florida roofing business right on BizBuySell.

So, this story might raise your expectations in terms of what to look for.

And not only because of the size of business Austin was able to find, but also because of how he approached his management of the acquisition.

During the transaction process, he sourced and recruited an operator.

So from day one, Austin had someone to keep the trains running on time as he focused on the transition and professionalization.

Now, this may sound like easy street: buy a small business cash flowing millions, and hire someone to run it.

But Austin emphasizes more than once that it has been anything but easy.

Finding a business to buy — takes time. And luck.

Getting a deal done — is difficult.

Landing a transition — difficult.

Austin worked 17-hour days during the first few months after close.

But today, he is working a much more manageable 20 to 40 hours per week.

Make sure you pay attention to the last bit of the conversation where we discuss how to decide what type of business buyer to be.

Austin knew that he wasn't going to be an in-the-weeds owner-operator of a roofing business; he's a former banking guy.

But maybe you're not.

Maybe the actual financial transaction of buying a business seems like the least pleasant part of the puzzle to you, and you're eager to just get into a business and run the crews.

As Austin says, it's important to understand what you want before you decide on the style of search you'll pursue.

That, and so much more to learn from this remarkable story of buying a roofing business, with Austin Smoak.

(P.S. We had some technical issues. So please excuse how the sound quality changes about 10 minutes in.)

Read MoreStories

Buy Big: How to Acquire a $3m EBITDA Roofing Business

How Austin Smoak raised money from investors to buy a very profitable roofing business that he found on BizBuySell.

Key Takeaways

Introduction

Listen to the introduction from the host

ou read that right:

Three million dollars of EBITDA.

And today's guest Austin Smoak found the Florida roofing business right on BizBuySell.

So, this story might raise your expectations in terms of what to look for.

And not only because of the size of business Austin was able to find, but also because of how he approached his management of the acquisition.

During the transaction process, he sourced and recruited an operator.

So from day one, Austin had someone to keep the trains running on time as he focused on the transition and professionalization.

Now, this may sound like easy street: buy a small business cash flowing millions, and hire someone to run it.

But Austin emphasizes more than once that it has been anything but easy.

Finding a business to buy — takes time. And luck.

Getting a deal done — is difficult.

Landing a transition — difficult.

Austin worked 17-hour days during the first few months after close.

But today, he is working a much more manageable 20 to 40 hours per week.

Make sure you pay attention to the last bit of the conversation where we discuss how to decide what type of business buyer to be.

Austin knew that he wasn't going to be an in-the-weeds owner-operator of a roofing business; he's a former banking guy.

But maybe you're not.

Maybe the actual financial transaction of buying a business seems like the least pleasant part of the puzzle to you, and you're eager to just get into a business and run the crews.

As Austin says, it's important to understand what you want before you decide on the style of search you'll pursue.

That, and so much more to learn from this remarkable story of buying a roofing business, with Austin Smoak.

(P.S. We had some technical issues. So please excuse how the sound quality changes about 10 minutes in.)

About

Austin Smoak

Austin Smoak
Olivia Rhye
Product Designer

Show Notes

Episode Transcript

Show Transcript
Hide Transcript

Listen instead of watch

Register for the live Q&A
Austin Smoak
on
<date>
Subscribe to newsletter
Subscribe to receive the latest blog posts to your inbox every week.
By subscribing you agree to with our policies.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.