What I Learned Last Week 10.27.2023
Curating the best M&A, SMB, and EtA-related content since 2020.
Hello Friends!
In this week’s issue of What I Learned Last Week:
📰 Articles
🧵 Best of X (Twitter)
🗓️ Events
⚒️ Tools & Resources
💡 How I Can Help
This issue of The Business Inquirer is sponsored by Smash.vc
Buying a business with the SBA?
Would having a capital partner help?
At Smash.vc, they do two things:
Buy minority stakes in existing small businesses.
Partner with entrepreneurs trying to acquire new ones.
If you're actively looking to buy a cash-flowing business using an SBA loan, hit them up if you'd like a partner.
They contribute capital, give advice, or help with growth when asked... but stay out of the way the rest of the time.
Silent partners there to help when necessary, nothing more.
If interested👉 go say hi.
📰 Articles
Using Chat GPT For Deal Analysis
Andrew Pierno of XO Capital elaborates on utilizing Chat GPT's advanced data analysis plugin for deal analysis during a business acquisition. By uploading a CSV file, users can easily run data regressions or other analyses, which significantly aids in answering data-related queries without manual effort. This tool is highly useful and time-saving, especially in analyzing data without relying on sellers or analysts, thus making the acquisition process more efficient.
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It's Not A Buyer's Market Yet, But Sellers Are More Flexible
Dom Wells of Onfolio discusses the changing market dynamics in 2023, where rising capital costs and dwindling liquidity are making sellers more flexible. Although it's not a buyer's market yet, sellers are adapting to new realities by being open to different deal structures, like accepting lower cash upfront or engaging in seller financing. This shift is seen as a balanced outcome, beneficial for buyers, and is anticipated to continue into 2024, with cheaper capital not expected until 2025.
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Andrew Wilkinson Mastermind: Review & 12 Surprising Takeaways
Colin Keeley attended the Andrew Wilkinson Mastermind in Vancouver, Canada. Colin shares his 12 key takeaways that encompass insights on agency business models, management strategies, personal branding, incentive structures, equity sharing, and the importance of continuous learning.
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The Easily Acquired Superpower That Makes Acquiring A Business Frictionless
Ben Kelly emphasizes the importance of rapport in business acquisitions, describing it as a non-negotiable aspect rather than a luxury. Ben discusses how rapport, built through clear deliverables and consistent communication, can significantly ease the acquisition process by fostering trust and understanding between the buyer and seller. Furthermore, rapport is portrayed as a safeguard against unforeseen challenges that may arise during the deal-making process, emphasizing its crucial role in successful business acquisition.
🧵 Best of X (Twitter)
The SBA has opened the door to partial buyouts…
Most popular methods for bridging a valuation gap between the buyer and seller…
Good lesson on being flexible post-acquisition
Interesting look at a fractional GM of a manufacturing business…
ChatGPT can supercharge your data analysis in M&A as well as post-acquisition…
A look into home service deals…
Deal flow is still trending down…
Deal criteria for filtering SMB investment opportunities…
🗓️ Events
Austin SMB Meetup (Sept 28) - Austin, TX
The Self-Funded Search Conference (Sept 30 - Oct 1) - Dallas, TX
Booth Kellogg EtA Conference (Nov 1) - Chicago, IL
Main Street Summit (Nov 8-9) - Columbia, MS
Capital Camp (May 21-24) - Columbia, MO
How did you like this issue of the newsletter?
⚒️Tools & Resources
I want to share some tools & resources that I have found helpful. Please note that some of these are paid sponsors of the newsletter.
PrivSource - PrivSource helps you source deals and connect with transaction partners without ever paying a success fee.
X5 Deals - Proprietary deal sourcing. They do the outreach and send you relevant, actionable deals directly into your inbox.
Rejigg - Platform that connects searchers/investors directly with owners of off-market small businesses ($500k - $10m revenue) considering exits. All deals are sourced by the Rejigg team. Their team adds 7-10 new deals each week
Acquisition Lab - The Premier Accelerator for Buying a Business created by Walker Deibel, Author of Buy Then Build: How Acquisition Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Start-up Game. They combine world-class education, a vetted community, extensive group coaching, and resources to provide the first do-it-with-you buy-side advisory service.
Smash.vc - Whether you're looking to sell minority stakes in your business to take some chips off the table, looking for a partner to acquire an asset, or needing capital to complete an SBA deal, we'd love to chat with you.
BizNexus - Marketplace + off-market origination in one platform. The marketplace averages about 10k active listings & pre-CIM opportunities, and the off-market origination focuses on data & multi-channel.
Search Fund Coalition - community for the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition ecosystem. Monthly events and meetups for acquisition entrepreneurs.
Deal Sourcing Guide - a comprehensive list of business marketplaces, brokers, deal origination firms, and more.
💡 How I Can Help
Whenever you’re ready, here are a few ways for us to work together…
Schedule 1:1 consulting on deal sourcing, due diligence, M&A ecosystem, newsletters, entrepreneurship, or anything else you’d like to discuss
Promote your brand to business buyers, investors, SMB owners, and other M&A participants by sponsoring this newsletter
Assemble your M&A deal team with DueDilio
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