Hey Biz-Buyers,

This is where we share some of the best insights, tips, and stories from Main Street and our private biz-buying community.

Before we dive in…

We’ve been teasing it for a few weeks… And now… It’s finally here…

The Seller Financing Navigator: How to Buy a Main Street Business

Buyers, buckle your seatbelts.

This is the course that strips away the myth that you need a fortune to start building one.

What’s inside? ~4 hours of video lessons and a 12-step playbook on buying small, profitable, “Main Street” businesses with less out-of-pocket, and better deals for you (and the seller).

Check it out, then come back here and get down to business…

Today, in 5 minutes or less:

✔️ Buyer tip: how to kick off a due diligence process

✔️ What we’re hearing on Main Street…

✔️ Who’s looking to buy a biz?

What’s the best way to kick off a due diligence process?

There’s a reason “doing due diligence” is an entire industry.

There’s a reason it’s good to have a well-seasoned deal team.

There’s a reason it’s good to dive into the world of small biz acquisitions with an army of peers to help support you.

Doing due diligence is HARD.

It’s often served with sides of complex lingo, deep financial analysis, and often, sheer information overload — especially if you’re on your own.

“I want to project manage this in the best way...”

That right there was Evelyne speaking.

She’s an amazing community member who recently started going through a due diligence process on a business she’s eyeing.

“What’s the best way to kick things off? I’m tempted to send a full list of all the required items, but would that overwhelm the seller? Is there a song and dance to this process?”

Here’s what the community had to say:

Yoyo: “Requesting your full list of due diligence documents upfront is pretty typical, especially if that was addressed in your LOI. Once you receive the necessary documentation, you can start your due diligence ASAP. What you’re looking to diligence will determine what you request. Minimally the financials but typically also customers, expenses, and employees as well — things related to the biz ops.”

Alex: “A checklist will likely be welcomed. When we were going through the DD in being acquired, it helped me and my partner to prep the docs and ensure we had what they were looking for in our Google Drive deal room. We did push back on some things that were obviously boilerplate and made them look a little amateurish by not checking their own list to note that some things on the list obviously didn’t apply. So taking the time to verify the items you need will go a long way.”

Dan: “Here’s a snapshot of how I was approaching it for the biz I was under contract to buy. A few suggestions would be:

1. Create themes for each week.
   
   
2. Identify the “critical path,” i.e. identify what you think are the most risky things when it comes to derailing the deal and focus on them first.
   
   
3. Keep a budget for each item.
   
   
4. Be flexible as you might need to adjust this as you get going.

But step one is really just trying to organize like I noted in items one and two — what are the most risky things and the most time-consuming things and get started on those ASAP.”

Here’s how it went…

Per Evelyne, “Just following up on this to say I 100% recommend sending the full list of DD items ASAP. There’s great momentum on moving things forward, and for those items that we’re getting pushback on, we simply have more time to build trust and work on trying to convince them to give us access.”

But wait, there’s more...

✅ Resource 1: Another member, Andre, recently shared a quick high-level resource on biz-buying due diligence from our friends at Live Oak Bank.

✅ Resource 2: We have lots more where that came from in our own due diligence checklist.

SMB Buyer Insights you won't find anywhere else...

We recently surveyed hundreds of people in our biz-buying community.

We asked them about:

• Family status
• Net worth and income
• Employment status
• Motivations for business ownership
• Target income from an acquired business
• Time & resources spent on acquisition efforts
• … and more

Then, we wrote about all of it in our 2024 Small Biz Buyer Insights report for the SMB community.

But be sure to download the report for FREE:

It’s loaded with unique and valuable insights — survey data, expert perspectives, and market research from our community, our friends at Live Oak Bank, and others.

8 things we’re hearing on Main Street...

Meme of the week: “You quit your PE job to buy a plumbing company? In Gary, Indiana?”

Buy bigger or smaller? Here are interesting thoughts from one person choosing small.

Wow: “How to determine exactly which local business to start in less than 4 minutes.”

How do you raise prices? Here’s how one landscape operator made an extra $100k last year.

Seems accurate: “What every newbie looks like after 90 mins on SMB Twitter.”

A buyer’s biggest fear: employees walking off on day one (here’s a thread on preventing it)

From Clint: 18 ways sellers inflate asking prices on small business for sale

For the owners: Zapier’s 7 favorite SMS apps for SMBs in 2024 

Who’s looking to buy a biz?

A partial list of REAL people who began their Contrarian Community journey in recent weeks (and why they did), lightly edited for clarity…

🏢 A chief human resources officer

“To use as an exit strategy from corporate America, first. To create something for my family, second. And to be challenged and learn, third.”

👩‍⚕️ An emergency radiologist

“To provide for my family.”

🧨 A couple in the fireworks supply industry

“To find more freedom, wealth, opportunity, seniority, significance, and friends in amazing industries... We are Canadian W-2 worker bees working our way up the ranks and ready to make a move…”

🎥 A truck driver and media producer

“To be able to create because I can and not because I have to… I’m an Artist at heart. I want more time for my art and my family.”

📱 A director of product design at a tech giant

“To create a brighter future for my family.”

☢️ A scientist at a nuclear fusion startup

“To achieve financial freedom without relying on a W-2.”

🚚 A client development manager at a logistics company

“To bring my family up and set an example for future generations.”

📊 A financial advisor

“To be able to own a business that will employ extended family or friends and build generational wealth for my children.”

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