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The Simple Way To Buy Successful Businesses With Carl Allen

May 29, 2018

Learn how to buy a successful business with no cash of your own

Stream below or right click here to download the episode. 

Sales Tips you’ll learn in The Sales Podcast…

  • What recommended action steps do you have for the first 100 days as a business owner?

  • What is the value of buying a business rather than founding one?

  • What criteria do you recommend people have when deciding what kind of business to buy?

  • Why do some business partners thrive while others tear their businesses apart?

  • How can you evaluate whether a business is worth buying?

  • How much of buying a small business is based on psychology vs. numbers?

  • When selling your business, what is the main criteria owners look for?

  • How did teaching others help you refine your own business buying systems?

  • Grew up on Wall Street in corporate mergers and acquisitions in 1992

  • Did private equity

  • Invested in a software company and sold to HP and went with the sale

  • 10 years ago his wife went into labor 4 weeks early while he was in Moscow and he almost missed the birth of his child

Small deals are where it’s at. There are over two million businesses for sale in North America. Only 1 in 13 will actually sell.”

  • In 2017 more than six million entrepreneurs started a business but 96% will fail within 10 years.

  • The Leveraged Buyout—LBO—use financing against the business itself.

  • The best deals are off-market, i.e., without using brokers.

  • Brokers are trained to sell businesses to competitors to get more money for the seller.

  • He owns whole or part of 17 businesses.

  • Find a business that is a good business but the seller is in some form of distress.

  • He targets businesses between $1 to $3 million in revenue so individuals usually target those types of businesses.

  • 80% of small business owners won’t list their business for sale so their competitors and staff don’t know about what’s going on.

  • Entrepreneurs think it’s cool to go start something from scratch.

  • Around 2016 people were encouraging him to teach his processes.

  • He prefers asset-based lending so the bank doesn’t look at my credit worthiness.

  • Lately the SBA is stepping up with a $1 trillion fund and they’ll loan you 90% of the deal and you can use the 10% cash from the business

    • Your credit score must be at least 690

  • How to find these businesses

    • Social media

      • LinkedIn groups

    • Networking

      • Spouse

      • CPA

      • Attorney

      • Banker

    • Attend events

      • Research attendees and build rapport

      • Ask for advice on how to buy a business like yours (wiggle the bait)

      • They may want to sell their business or they may give me referrals

    • Direct approach

      • Use Hoover’s for free at your library to get a list

      • Message the targeted businesses

    • Brokers…eventually

      • They overprice deals

      • Let it sit for some time—nine months or more

  • According to Biz Buy Sell the average multiple was 1.94x earnings

    • EBITDA 

    • Free cash flow or SDE—Seller’s Discretionary Earnings

  • Buy what resonates with you

    • Experience

    • Passion

  • Sales can and does apply across all industries

  • NinjaAcquisitions.com/free

  • Be an owner/manager or an owner/investor

  • Give the GMs a percent of ownership so they have some skin in the game

Related Podcasts & Articles:

Links Mentioned In The Sales Podcast