ix months ago, Neil Finneran bought a Mosquito Joe franchise resale.

And he bought small, less than $700k in revenue, which means some days he is out in the truck & spraying customer lawns.

It's a big change from his days at a hedge fund or as a CFO.

He's embraced it, and he actually thinks his years of finance experience give him an edge in running an SMB.

But of course, there is still a steep learning curve going from the relative comfort & routine of corporate life to being the operator of a blue-collar business.

Neil is still figuring that out — and with a smile.

Fortunately he mostly likes his new role, and he and I try to tease out what it is that makes some formerly-corporate people like SMB life while others can't stand it.

This is a salient question for so many of you.

We also talk about the pest control business, which is one you hear a lot about in the world of buying small businesses.

Entrepreneurs are attracted to it for the same reason Neil was: it's easy to understand, and it has recurring revenue.

I actually have an interview that will air around the same time as this one with another acquisition entrepreneur who bought a pest control business, and in actually the very same franchise system as Neil.

Jesse Sunquist also bought a Mosquito Joe resale, so listen for that episode soon.

OK, please enjoy this conversation with Neil Finneran, owner of a Mosquito Joe territory in Massachusetts.