Why I Stopped Building Businesses and Started Buying Businesses

The Best Book for Entrepreneurial Growth

Last year I devoured Walker Deibel's Buy Then Build book. I didn't just read it once last year, but three different times. No book since the Bible has had such a profound impact on how I look at life than Deibel's work. Not only did he shift what I look for, he shifted how I look at what I look at. And I am happy to report that in less than a year of implementing the insight provided in Buy Then Build my team and I have acquired three separate businesses that are generating a combined $3MM in gross revenue annually. And even more exciting is we have two more businesses in the pipeline to acquire and are looking to create an even greater impact within the community.

Now I've built businesses from the ground up, and I've acquired businesses. I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that buying your entrepreneurial opportunity is hands-down more enjoyable than building something from the start. What I'd like to do with this article is share why I believe what I believe and what I look for when assessing businesses to buy.

Impact Above All Else

The numbers are the numbers, and all things being equal, the numbers aren't enough to make a great decision to move forward with acquiring a business. In addition to SDE and / or EBIDTA, what else do I look for when determining whether a business is a good candidate or not?

Impact.

That's right, I look at the impact the business has made, as well as the impact the business could make with the cash and energy injection my team and I bring to the table. You see, while making a return on my investment is absolutely critical to the continued success of my business, what matters almost as much to me is how big an impact the business will make within its community.

At the end of the day, I want the businesses I acquire to be known in their communities for something more than just the profit they generate. Acquiring a coffee shop? That's cool...is it a great place for the locals to hang out? To find a quiet place to study? To serve as a meeting place for first dates? What about buying a Texas BBQ restaurant...does it create an amazing experience for families wanting to take a break from cooking? Does it offer foods other BBQs don't? Does it cater and provide the community with support when times are hard?

To me, the impact (or potential impact) a business makes is just as important to me as is the SDE or EBIDTA. In some cases it's more important. And when comparing two opportunities with similar profits I can tell you the business making the larger impact will win hands down.

What Matters to You?

Acquisitional entrepreneurship for me is all about accelerating the process of creating entrepreneurial success. Sure, I could spend years on end building something from scratch (which I've done), but I can tell you buying an opportunity allows me to make the impact I was born to make at a much faster pace than if I started from Step One.

This matters to me and making the impact I was created to make is what drives me to continue adding businesses to my portfolio.

My goal for 2023 is to close on three more businesses, then double that in 2024 so I can start positioning them to be sold. Why the aggressive approach?

That's right...impact. The more I acquire, the greater the impact I get to make. That's what matters most to me.

The question is...does it matter to you?