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.)
