Today's guest didn't find his business. His business found him.

Kyle Holmes had been the general manager of Quail Ridge Golf Club outside Grand Rapids for years when the ownership group pulled him aside and asked whether he'd ever thought about owning a golf course.

He had — in his dreams.

‍But he was in his 30s with five kids and nowhere near the money to buy 275 acres in the most affluent suburb of Grand Rapids.

That turned out not to matter.

Kyle and Tim, the course superintendent, bought Quail Ridge for $7.3 million with none of their own cash in the deal: an SBA 504 loan for 40%, a conventional loan for 50%, and a seller note from that ownership group for the final 10%.

Listen for how the SBA loan's 25-year amortization is what let a business throwing off $500-700k of earnings carry a $7.3 million loan.

Also listen for the tension at the center of this deal.

The land alone is worth $10 million or more — considerably more than the golf course business. But Kyle and Tim needed the package valued based on the business, not the dirt, which made the three-week wait on the appraisal the most nervous stretch of the process.

Here he is, Kyle Holmes, managing owner and general manager of Quail Ridge Golf Club.