Buying Businesses (Veteran Roundtable Recap)

Last week I led the first event of a the Veteran’s ETA (Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition) Roundtable.

What is this?

Started by Charlie McCarrthy, a corporate lawyer and veteran, this is a series of speakers focused on different topics of ETA. You can sign up HERE and see the full lineup of speakers below:

📅 Session 1: Pre-Search - Guest Speaker Mark Delaney (that’s me!)

● Watch the recording HERE

📅 Session 2: Search Process - Guest Speaker Chandler Reed

● Date: November 29th, 2023 (7:30 pm - 8:15 pm EST)

📅 Session 3: Business brokers - Sam Domino, Beacon

● Date: December 20th, 2023 (7:30 pm - 8:15 pm EST)

📅 Session 4: Letter of Intent (LOI) Process - Guest Speaker Austin Cox

● Date: January 10th, 2024 (7:30 pm - 8:15 pm EST)

📅 Session 5: Due Diligence (financial) - Guest Speaker Elliott Holland

● Date: January 31st, 2024 (7:30 pm - 8:15 pm EST)

📅 Session 6: Due Diligence (legal) - Guest Speaker Eli Albrecht

● Date: February 21st, 2024 (7:30 pm - 8:15 pm EST)

📅 Session 7: Financing (SBA Loans & Lenders) - Guest Speaker Lisa Forrest (and listen to my podcast with here HERE)

● Date: March 13th, 2024 (7:30 pm - 9:00 pm EST)

📅 Session 8: Financing - Investors - Guest Speaker Saumil Jariwala

● Date: April 3rd, 2024 (7:30 pm - 8:15 pm EST)

📅 Session 9: Closing the Deal - Guest Speaker John Mahony

● Date: April 24th, 2024 (7:30 pm - 8:15 pm EST)

📅 Session 10: Post-Close: Running the Business - Guest Speaker Jed Morris

● Date: May 15th, 2024 (7:30 pm - 8:30 pm EST)

Recap of My Event

If you couldn’t make it, let me share the slides here with you all, with some extra commentary included:

Notes:

This presentation was meant to be an overview of why this may be the right path for someone and how they can get started in looking for a business to buy.

Notes:

If there is one single thing I want to communicate is that this path is HARD. I have been searching for a business to buy for almost a year, half of that full-time. I just got under offer on a business- so it can take time.

Besides the time, there have been many ups and downs along the way.

Not to mention that even if I close on this deal, I not have to go run a small business, which is no joke.

This is not a path lightly taken.

Notes:

The main reason I wanted to go into running a business is that I wanted to be my own boss. It should be said that there is still PLENTY of responsibility to others such as employees and customers and investors. Being your own boss does not always literally mean doing whatever you want, whenever you want.

I also wanted to be able to closer to what a business does. Many of my MBA classmates are so far removed from what the actual business is. The business remains in this kind of theoretical space, where I want to be closer to the people actually doing the work.

Notes:

Agenda slide.

Notes:

First know that there are a number of different strategies you can take here:

Join as a GM/CEO- This can be a great way to cut down on the risk of buying a business, while getting to run a business with a real sense of ownership. There are a lot of people out there looking to buy a business and have someone run it for them, and you can step in and be that person.

Funded search- This path is usually reserved for post-MBA graduates. You can learn more about it on my podcasts with Steve Ressler , a very prominent search investor, and Mike Lahiff, a former SEAL who started a search fund and never acquired a company, but eventually founded one.

Franchising- Let me say that franchises LOVE veterans. They want people who are comfortable working in pre-made systems and within standards, hence why they like people with a military background. You can learn more about this path from hearing Air Force veteran Scott DeThomas talk about franchising.

Self-funded- This is definitely the riskiest, but the highest reward.

Notes:

I want to communicate two really important things here:

1. Have a very real talk with your family. Buying a business is not easy, will require a lot of work, and may come with a personally-guaranteed loan. That’s all no joke.

2. Really think if you want to run a business. It’s very easy to get caught in the idea of buying one, but that is but the first step in a long journey.

Notes:

Whenever I have a question about buying a business, I turn to two places: Twitter and Searchfunder.

The internet is your friend- use it.

Notes:

Stop finding reasons to delay action and just get going.

Notes:

Be ready to pivot and be OK with quitting. This path is not for everyone.

Go crush it.

-Mark