Register for:

• Employee Issues & Non-Competes When Buying a Business - Thu March 13th - https://bit.ly/41vg9SL

• The live Q&A with Harley on March 27th - https://bit.ly/43vYX24

Harley Sitner bought a struggling VW van repair shop for $100k in 2013. Today it's an 8-figure business and brand.

Topics in Harley’s interview:

• His career in software
• First business acquisition: West Coast Nurseries
• Sean buys a VW Camper Van
• "I'd rather hug 100 people than serve a billion"
• Irrational passion of VW van owners
• Overpaying for a failing auto repair shop
• VW Van culture
• The value of the brand
• Building 6 different lines of business
• The app he's developing for VW owners

References and how to contact Harley:

• LinkedIn
• PeaceVans
• harley@peacevans.com
• Instagram

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

• The Acquisition Lab

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 mark@aspenhr.com

Attend SMBash in Dallas, April 2-4, to meet fellow business buyers, operators, and investors:

• SMBash.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

Register for:

• Employee Issues & Non-Competes When Buying a Business - Thu March 13 - https://bit.ly/3F6dasG

• The live Q&A with Nick on March 25th: https://bit.ly/3DoZfgD

Industry outsider Nick Munsee bought a traffic engineering firm for a good price, carefully de-risking the acquisition.

Topics in Nick's interview:

• Managing from out of state
• The white whale: a deal that almost happened
• Lessons from a failed acquisition
• Finding Hales Engineering
• Understanding the traffic consulting business
• Navigating lender challenges
• Incentivizing key employees
• Challenges in consulting business growth
• Project-based revenue insights
• The abrupt customer hand-off

References and how to contact Nick:

• LinkedIn
• Hales Engineering
• nick@saltbros.co

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Matthias Smith of Pioneer Capital Advisory

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 $200 off your ticket to the M&A Launchpad Conference in Houston on May 3rd:

• https://www.malaunchpad.com & enter code ACQUIRINGMINDS

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

Register for the webinars:

• 5 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu March 6 - https://bit.ly/3QEgIoA
• Employee Issues & Non-Competes When Buying a Business - Thu March 13 - https://bit.ly/4koXrFb
• Live Q&A with Sean Daly - Tue March 18 - https://bit.ly/41yzjZ7

Day 1 changes? Yes please. Sean Daly brought a spirit of experimentation, iteration, and speed to a small HVAC business.

Topics in Sean’s interview:

• Founding and exiting his own company
• Going hard with cold outreach
• Hiring an offshore assistant to source deals
• Entrepreneurs are risk reducers
• Building an offshore back of house team
• Paying mostly in cash for the business
• His decisive leadership style
• ETA is sales
• Treating his low-SDE business like a start-up
• Failed experiment with outbound marketing

References and how to contact Sean:

• LinkedIn
• Ice C Cool

Attend SMBash in Dallas, April 2-4, to meet fellow business buyers, operators, and investors:

• SMBash.com

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

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Matthias Smith of Pioneer Capital Advisory

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