Buying $1m+ Ice Cream Shops to Expand Nationally

October 5, 2023
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hawn Allard bought a cool business:

A pair of ice cream shops.

Now, before you dismiss that as the type of listing you'd quickly scroll past on BizBuySell, open your mind a bit.

Which is exactly what Shawn himself did.

One of the few types of businesses he did NOT want to buy was food & beverage.

And yet here he sits, 6 months later, owner of a popular local ice cream business.

Despite being small ($275k SDE), and in the food & beverage space, you'll hear me too getting excited by the upside in Shawn's business.

High local brand awareness, a loyal following, 2,000 reviews with an average rating of 4.9 stars, small footprint, and 25 to 30% margins.

And, seemingly huge potential to expand into markets across the US.

It's very early days of course; Shawn has only owned the business for a month.

But I still see his story as a good reminder to not be overly prescriptive in your search, and to evaluate every business from its own fundamentals.

Please enjoy this interview with Shawn Allard, owner of Novel.

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Buying $1m+ Ice Cream Shops to Expand Nationally

Shawn Allard didn't want a food business, but an ice cream shop with good margins & a local following changed his mind.

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Introduction

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hawn Allard bought a cool business:

A pair of ice cream shops.

Now, before you dismiss that as the type of listing you'd quickly scroll past on BizBuySell, open your mind a bit.

Which is exactly what Shawn himself did.

One of the few types of businesses he did NOT want to buy was food & beverage.

And yet here he sits, 6 months later, owner of a popular local ice cream business.

Despite being small ($275k SDE), and in the food & beverage space, you'll hear me too getting excited by the upside in Shawn's business.

High local brand awareness, a loyal following, 2,000 reviews with an average rating of 4.9 stars, small footprint, and 25 to 30% margins.

And, seemingly huge potential to expand into markets across the US.

It's very early days of course; Shawn has only owned the business for a month.

But I still see his story as a good reminder to not be overly prescriptive in your search, and to evaluate every business from its own fundamentals.

Please enjoy this interview with Shawn Allard, owner of Novel.

About

Shawn Allard

Shawn Allard
Olivia Rhye
Product Designer

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