Mr. Business CPA

Walt Disney said "Yes, if..." is the approach of a deal maker. It points to what needs to be done to make the possible plausible. Creative people thrive on "Yes, if..." It ignites the imagination, creativity and tells the brain 'it can be done, find a way'.- Walt's Revolution,'03

Save these steps to setup Acquisition Strategy: Hire us to manage it, or do it yourself:

Know your audience If you want to buy a business & it's the business owner's busiest week of the yr, tread lightly If it's the slowest time of the year, they may have forgotten how stressful it can be Pick your poison, but your message will be different, even if to same seller

If your client owes you $$: 1. Call and harass them and threaten to send to collections. You may get paid, but lose the client forever. 2. Call and work with the client. Be gracious and understanding, but firm. You may get paid, but save the relationship and build loyalty.

What's the life cycle of your customer with your company? Do you know? I mean, do you truly know and have you mapped it out / experienced it yourself? Just because your team tells you that's what they experience, it may be time to listen in on a couple calls to confirm.

It's not yet Christmas Time, but just used the Miracle on 34th Street marketing and picked up a new client. Attorney called me yesterday to send us work and I was honest and referred him to another CPA in town that is better suited for the work. It's not that we couldn't do it, but we aren't the best at it. He appreciated it immensely and before the call was over was asking me about what we specialize in and how we can help refer us work. Today received a referral that's looking to do an acquisition. Right up our alley. It's much more revenue for us than the one he called about sending us yesterday. Don't be shy about saying no or referring it to someone else who you know will treat them well!

I've seen 2 deals in the last week get done with the following structure: 40% down 60% seller note (payments amortized over 10 years, but due in 3 years) The entire down payment was raised from outside investors as a loan, 12-15% interest only for 3 years, fully amortized in year 4. If you are investor - great time to make good returns If you are buying a business - lots of people looking to make good returns on their $, so check the math on your Cash Flow for a new deal and if it pencils out, get it done! Check your math 2x and aggressively pay down the debts. Just remember, it's not "your" business till that's paid off.

Just met with client Inherited a business 3 yrs ago, Private Equity firm made a good offer last yr They decided to hold out for more That's not the world we live in now Market trends shift, laws change, valuations change very quick A cliche, but timing really is everything

Manage your cash flow I see businesses all the time that are flush with cash different times of year, then hit a dry spot (such as Dec) and owners start to stress/have to let people go Takes discipline, but map out 18 mo's in advance of worst case and always adjust/plan ahead

Define the type of business you don't want and eliminate those from your search. Then, find a business you are interested in potentially buying and send them an email saying you are interested. The hardest part of buying a business is to get out of your own way.

Starting to see more and more brick and mortar companies paying for online reviews $25 cash or $50 credit to your account or gift card to somewhere They see the value.

If you reduce expenses $1,000/ mo, that's $12,000 per year. If you plan to sell your business for maybe 8x multiple of earnings, that $1,000 / mo savings just increased the net worth / value of your company about $100,000 (8 x 12,000 = $96K) Every little bit counts!

"Cut 10 years from your mortgage!!" Have you seen those signs on side of the road? Here are 3 quick steps to understand how to do this on your own. 1. Back story: When you own a home, you may know this, but your mortgage payments in the early months / years go mostly to interest and very little to principal. How much so? You need your loan amortization statement. Call your bank to get it (or just pull from online account. Here is an example with a $500,000 loan, 6% interest, 30 years and payment of $2,997.75 (Before people go crazy on me in the comments, this is just an example. I know it doesn't include insurance / property taxes etc.) 2. Figure out how much going to Principal vs interest In this example, your 1st pmt of $2,997.75, only $497.75 goes towards principal, the rest is interest. Your 2nd pmt of $2,997.75, only $452.34 goes to principal So, if you look at the 12 months of payments from May 1 2024 - end of April 2025, there would be about $36,000 of payments and only $6,000 of principal reduced. 3. Want to reduce 12 months from your 30 year mortgage? Pay the $6,262 of extra principal and you leap frog forward 12 months. This is some what oversimplifying things, but the idea behind it is seeing how paying more early will save you literal years off the mortgage. In this example, $500 extra payments or so now will save you $2,997.75 payments in the future. Yes time value of $ and opportunity cost etc etc need to be factored into all of this This isn't meant to give you suggestions on what to do with your $, but meant to get you to see how to save years on interest and what paying "extra to principal" will look like for yourself. I encourage you to get an amortization schedule from your lender (or make your own) and see what that looks like for your home.

Take some time to speak to the direct reports of YOUR direct reports to see what they suggest you do at your company. Prepare to have your mind blown and to also find out who has been hiding the top talent from you.

ABC - in the world of acquisitions, you need to: Always Be Communicating Always Be Contacting Always Be Closing You never know when a business owner is going to be ready to sell. Just keep in touch and let them know you are around. In my experience, it's not the time to be haggling over the price. Wait until you know they are ready to go and you are in negotiations.

Tough love for you: "I have a lot on my plate" If you want more in life, get a bigger plate.

When you are evaluating a business purchase, get out of the weeds Bring in a trusted colleague/consultant/CPA to give you their thoughts The extra perspective certainly should NOT make things worse, so if you ask for feedback, keep your ears open

If you are looking at businesses for sale, consider those run poorly as possible opportunity Some people suck as 100% owner as they either don't have personality for all the minutiae, but they are GREAT as a partner to just focus on their superpower & stay out of the weeds

Business Ownership Bingo I bet you can fill up 90% of the bingo card in the first 12 months.

Quick math: If you buy a business for 4x earnings and use a loan with 5-10 year payback As long as you don’t screw things up, you should be positive cash flow Many many other factors to consider obviously, but that’s why I love this space. Use the #’s to your advantage.

Just spoke with someone who received the letter from us LAST YEAR who is now ready to sell. They saved the letter. Trust me, this process works!