My first business acquisition

This week we meet Alison, who has bought a hardware retail outlet, and Jo, who has purchased five accountancy practices. They talk about finding the best deal, the negotiations and lessons learned since joining the mastermind group.

Key Highlights Alison

[02:06] What triggered Alison to buy a business

[03:47] The process of choosing the best business that works for you

[05:19] Alison's approach to finding the first deal

[08:18] The second mistake made by Alison

[11:22] Lessons learned in the process of finding the first deal

[13:40] Staying from our comfort zone

[17:55] Managing the business completely hands off

[19:02] Top things that Allison has learned from the mastermind group

Jo

[20:23] All about Jo’s first acquisition

[22:23] What motivated the seller to agree to a 20-year differed payment

[24:54] Why you should go first on the price when making a deal

[26:57] Why every sale and purchase agreement needs a mediation clause

[28:23] Jo’s non-negotiables when buying a business

[32:05] The goals for 2023

Notable Quotes Alison

• The system is simple. And it's easy to follow. But it's also easy to suddenly take a step off the tracks. And when you take a step off the tracks, that's when it starts going wrong.
• My message from today is definitely going bigger. So I'm going to go back and go wider and up the supply chain stuff.
• The hassle of having something smaller is way more than if you have something bigger.
• Follow the system. Don't step off the system. Don't start making cock-ups because you've stepped off the system. Your life will be a lot easier in the process. And definitely, that thing just keeps going bigger.

Jo

• Lots of times, people think that you know, buying a business, the seller is going to want the absolute maximum amount of money quickly in the quickest time. And sometimes that might be true.
• And one of my big roles is to listen more than I talk when it comes to those initial chats with the business owners because I think it's really important. The first step is to hear what an ideal deal looks like for you. Because actually, you could overcome it, you know, you could offer them too much money over a quicker period than what they're expecting.
• One thing I found surprising as well is that the clients don't seem to mind too much whose names are above the door, so long as there are not too much changes in those first sort of six to 12 months, you just have to make sure that you focus on building a relationship with them.

Resources

Buying a business is only the start, which is why we are now teaching what happens next on the Mastermind program. Now, if you've already bought a business, you should be part of my Inner Circle group where we discuss raising capital, integration management, and exiting. Email Maria on hello@thedealmakersacademy.com for more information. 

If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my guy, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at johnandrews.deallawyer@jmw.co.uk.

If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at:
https://www.dealmakersvideo.co.uk

Watch my Webinar Training Video:
https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk

You can also request a free copy of my book at:
https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/

If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to:
https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast 

Connect with Jonathan Jay at:
Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy