Happy Monday!
This week we’re talking about Cody.
He’d spent ten years running other people’s businesses and making them money.
At some point, a simple question started nagging at him: why couldn’t he just do it for himself?
He and his wife moved two hours from home, rented out their house, and closed on a 20-year-old excavation company specializing in water and sewer line repairs.
They beat 17 other offers to get it, including several that were higher.
Here’s the scoop. 👇
Before we get to Cody’s story, here’s a powerful success story from the Acquisition Ace community.
“What I was missing the whole time was mentorship and camaraderie.”
Bryan became the first Canadian to close a deal in Acquisition Ace, buying a $125k trailer manufacturing business.
“I think that’s what I was missing the whole time... is some sort of mentorship or camaraderie... somebody to talk this through. It’s hard to do it by yourself. It’s much much easier when you have somebody to do it with."
👉 Want mentorship and support from experienced buyers? Book a call with our team here.
Before the deal
Cody had been looking at real estate as a path to additional income when he came across business acquisition.
He spent a few months researching on his own before joining Acquisition Ace, knowing he wanted to learn from other people’s mistakes rather than make them all himself.
He searched BizBuySell for six months, had a couple of deals fall through, and never felt quite right about anything until this one.
Finding the deal
The business appeared on BizBuySell two days before Cody found it, he had an offer in seven days later, and was under contract within a month.
It was a husband-and-wife team who had built the business over 20 years - a small, tight-knit crew with a spotless reputation among local inspectors and real estate agents.
The business generated two to three inbound leads per day from realtors who had used them repeatedly and weren’t interested in calling anyone else.
Before submitting his offer, Cody arranged a face-to-face meeting with the sellers.
He told them he and his wife were at the same stage of life the sellers had been when they started the business:
Building something for their family, committed to keeping the crew on, and focused on continuing what had been built rather than dismantling it…
And the sellers chose them over 17 other offers (several of which were higher!)
(Inside Acquisition Ace, members get access to LOI templates that impress even experienced brokers. To see how our community could help you acquire your first business, book a call with our team here.)
The deal breakdown
Listed price: $1.59M
Final purchase price: $1.74M (Cody came in above asking to stand out)
SBA loan: Wells Fargo, ~$200K annual debt service
Bank valuation: $1.6M
SDE: $500K in 2024, $607K in 2025
Cash flow after debt service: ~$400K
Total out of pocket (Cody and family investors): ~$212K
Projected year-one cash-on-cash return: ~150%
What he’s doing now
Cody and his wife relocated and are both working full-time in the business through the transition period.
His wife handles office operations, and Cody is out on job sites learning the estimation process, meeting realtors, and building relationships with the inspectors and contacts the previous owners had developed over two decades.
The sellers are on full-time for two months post-close, then available up to ten hours a week for four months after that.
The business is already busier than it was at the same point last year.
Applications from qualified workers are coming in without any job advertising, and a second crew truck is already on hand.
The key lesson
“Don’t feel pressured. Wait for the right one. Just because you missed one deal doesn’t mean another good one won’t come up. Stuff can move fast when it’s the right fit.”
Cody searched for six months and walked away from deals that were close but didn’t feel right.
But when the right one appeared, he moved in seven days, and closed shortly after.
Ready to find and close your first acquisition?
Join the Acquisition Ace community with 2,000+ members who are learning to find, finance, and close deals just like Cody.
👉 Book a call with our team here to see if it's a good fit.
