After building a masonry business over 5+ years, Justin Escajeda bought his first company in 2018 and never looked back.

Register for the webinars:

• From Owner to Owner: Business Transition Lessons - TODAY - https://bit.ly/46K82p5

Topics in Justin’s interview:

• His early career as a stone mason
• Growing his side jobs into a company
• Liquidating his real estate investments
• Focusing on masonry niches
• Acquiring his first business for a 1.3 multiple
• Recruiting managers based on work ethic
• His flat compensation and guaranteed bonus structure
• How he prevents fraud and mismanagement
• Keeping company names the same after buying
• The personal cost of overseeing 11 companies

References and how to contact Justin:

• LinkedIn
• Escajeda Holdings

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

After Megan McGee pivoted her search fund to a self-funded approach, she bought a business where she wanted to settle.

Register for the webinars:

• From Owner to Owner: Business Transition Lessons - Thu March 12 - https://bit.ly/4ctCJCw

Topics in Megan’s interview:

• Family background in pest control
• Internship with previous guest Edward McDonnell
• Starting out in traditional search
• Investors declined to support a deal she loved
• Pivoting to self-funded search
• Deciding not to buy her dad’s business
• Buying Virginia Guesthouses without an SBA loan
• Buying from a young seller
• Managing 75 properties
• Her profitable first year

References and how to contact Megan:

• LinkedIn
• Tato Corcoran’s recap episode: How to 4x a Small Manufacturer
• Edward McDonnell on Acquiring Minds: Taking a Single-City Acquisition Nationwide
• Matt Orley on Acquiring Minds: Buying for Brand (Then Growing 4x)
• Guesthouses

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact jenny@aspenhr.com

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Jonathan Taylor has quickly grown revenue 40% at his acquisition through digitization, process improvement, and sales.

Topics in Jonathan’s interview:

• Searching while working full-time
• His “now or never” moment approaching 40
• Restricting his search to Los Angeles
• Over-equitizing the deal
• Structuring a forgivable seller note
• Accepting 60% ownership
• Finding long-term hold investors
• Buying from a non-retiring seller
• Christian stewardship principles
• Growing revenue 40%

References and how to contact Jonathan:

• LinkedIn
• AEK Technology
• Phil Koller on Acquiring Minds: Comfortable Concentration for a $800k SDE Business
• Shaun Stimpson on Acquiring Minds: Started Mid-Career, Grew to $38m in 3 Years

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Smithlist is a job board for leadership roles at small businesses. If you're not ready to buy a business but want to lead one:

• Smithlist - Operate & Lead a Business

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

After his first ownership experience ended badly, Joe Springsteen bought a $3.2m maintenance business that is thriving.

Topics in Joe’s interview:

• Background in law and operations
• Divorce as a catalyst for change
• Acquiring a biohazard cleanup business
• Doing cleanup himself
• His original growth thesis failed
• Selling the cleanup business
• His “Codie Sanchez phase”
• Prioritizing geography in his search
• Acquiring an exterior cleaning business
• Building competitive advantage

References and how to contact Joe:

• LinkedIn
• joe@mallardsystems.com
• Mallard Systems
• Sam Rosati on Acquiring Minds: Shortening Your Search: Big 3 Little 2

Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact jenny@aspenhr.com

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Edward McDonnell bought a local services business via traditional search fund and grew it to 8 branches across 5 states.

Register for the webinar:

• SMB Cybersecurity: Why Operators Need a Risk Assessment - TODAY!! - https://bit.ly/4u2GO7d

Topics in Edward’s interview:

• Mechanical engineering at Honda
• Choosing traditional search for budget
• Acquiring an indoor plant/landscaping business
• Going in with no management experience
• Digitizing the back office
• Constantly repeating the company vision
• Using EOS for efficient meetings
• Growing to 8 branches in 5 states
• Exiting and staying on as CEO
• Searching for his next business in Virginia

References and how to contact Edward:

• LinkedIn
• Botanical Designs
• am@monroehillgp.com

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Scott Crosby weathered the challenges that come with buying a 4.5-employee services business, and Year 2 is looking up.

Register for the webinars:

• Common Legal Diligence Issues (and How to Handle Them) - TOMORROW!! - https://bit.ly/3OQhm4l
• SMB Cybersecurity: Why Operators Need a Risk Assessment - Thu, Feb 26 - https://bit.ly/4bY1KWe

Topics in Scott’s interview:

• His 2 major career-defining moments
• 20-hour days in film production
• Risks of buying from younger owners
• Economic development resource centers: a hidden gem
• Looking for business-buyer fit
• Using an analysis tool he found on TikTok
• First-time buyer mistakes
• Replacing nearly the entire staff
• Underestimating the stress of ownership
• Modernizing dusty operations

References and how to contact Scott:

• LinkedIn
• scottallencrosby@gmail.com
• American Services St. Louis
• Scott’s interview prep sheet
• Buy the deal analyzer spreadsheet

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact jenny@aspenhr.com

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Tato Corcoran returns with updates on her ownership of a sink maker that had just $400k in revenue when she bought it.

Register for the webinar:

• Red Flags That Kill or Reshape Deals - TODAY!! - https://bit.ly/4rsjvla

Topics in Tato’s interview:

• Growing her top line revenue
• Finding a mentor at Starbucks
• Creating an employee handbook
• Reconfiguring the factory with new equipment
• How she implements extreme ownership
• Profit First accounting
• Being tied to the real estate market
• Goals for her real estate portfolio
• Being a woman in manufacturing
• When she may be open to selling

References and how to contact Tato:

• LinkedIn
• Brandt Molded Marble
• Tato's first interview: When You Buy a Glorified Job, Not a Business
• Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
• Profit First by Mike Michalowicz

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Don Grigg reflects on the different outcomes for 2 businesses he bought in his 30s, one of which became his life's work.

Register for the webinar:

• Red Flags That Kill or Reshape Deals - Feb 19th - https://bit.ly/468vw6W

Topics in Don’s interview:

• Discovering his passion for manufacturing
• Searching for “small, broken companies” to acquire
• Closing on 2 businesses within 6 months
• How plastics recycling works
• Scaling his plastics recycling business
• Private equity is a poor fit for small business
• Exiting his business felt like losing family
• His son and daughter’s acquisition
• Value of family businesses
• Entrepreneurship through acquisition as your life’s work

References and how to contact Don:

• LinkedIn
• Native Watercraft
• Bonafide Kayaks
• Enough by John C. Bogle

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact jenny@aspenhr.com

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron