Leaving Wall Street to Buy a $1m Manufacturing Business

Today's guest left a successful career on Wall street to buy a business. Brian Anderson had been at it 25 years, and when the hedge fund where he worked as a portfolio manager shuddered due to a succession issue, he decided it was time for a change. So in his mid-40s, Brian pivoted and he bought a small manufacturing business in Vermont.

It went well in the early years, then went badly when Covid hit and finally stabilized. At that point, Brian sold the business to his coo. Listen for that segment to learn how you might exit your business if you don't have a PE or strategic buyer knocking on the door.

As always, the story is a big part of today's episode, but Brian also came to our interview having thought deeply about his lessons and what this ETA path really means to him. In the show Notes, you'll find a link to a 10 page document where Brian lays out the story, the numbers, the deal terms, but also my favorite part, the takeaways, some of them philosophical. An Excerpt this experience has…

A pursuit that gives me purpose, direction, fulfillment. This is difficult for others, even me to an extent, to believe, because so much of this experience hasn't been done with perfection or ease. But in the world of entrepreneurial acquisitions, I have found something that aligns beautifully with my values and strengths and passions, he continues.

Thus, entrepreneurial acquisition isn't just a business model for me, it's a canvas for my values. I highly encourage you to click that link in the Notes to read Brian's words, especially the last two pages where he reflects on whether he's happy with his choice of this path. Meantime, please enjoy this interview with him.

Here he is Brian Anderson, former owner of Deco Manufacturing. As you know, when buying a business, so much of your success comes down to the people. Will Barlow and Williams Attorneys Bill Barlow and James David Williams return for a Legal Office Hours Today Thursday.

All about the legal questions related to employees and incentives in in acquisition deals, Bill and James David will cover non competes and non solicits.

Always a big question among searchers, employee benefits and equity and other bonus incentive structures. That is today, Thursday, March 19 noon Eastern. The webinar is how to handle common employee issues when buying a business.

Link to register is right at the top of this episode's show notes or on the Acquiring Minds homepage acquiringminds Co. Welcome to Acquiring Minds, a podcast about buying businesses.

My name is Will Smith. Acquiring an existing business is an awesome opportunity for many entrepreneurs and on this podcast I talk to the people who do it. The team at Aspen HR recently published a short white paper targeted at searchers Entitled A New CEO's Guide to Human Resources.

It lays out the key items you should be thinking about as you transition into CEO and owner of the business you bought. The link to download that is in the show Notes Aspen HR is a professional employer organization or or peo which provides HR compliance, flawless payroll, robust HR technology and Fortune 500 caliber benefits all for a fraction of the cost compared to using multiple vendors.

Reach out to Aspen HR for your complimentary HR diligence checklist and benchmarking analysis. Go to aspenhr.com or contact Jenny the directly at jenny aspenhr.com Brian Anderson welcome to Acquiring Minds.