The worst day I've had running the business has been better than the best day I had working for someone else. So Scott Crosby told me about his new life as the owner of an H Vac and Refrigeration Services business in St. Louis. Scott bought small American Services, had under 300,000 of SDE and 4 1/2 employees.
Acquiring Minds
Year 1 in a $300k SDE Services Business
Excerpts · 456 segments · ~1:30:01 long
Short excerpts only — hear the full conversation on the publisher's site.
We talk about how he's managed through the vulnerability of such a small business, including turning over essentially the whole team. Part of Scott's model here is not taking any money out of the business for himself in the early days, everything is being plowed back in. We unpack Scott's approach here and whether he advises other searchers to follow suit if their financial situation supports it.
Speaking of advising searchers, Scott shares a ton of tactical tips from his journey. Listen for his top 50 concept and his exhortation that you reach out to your local Economic Resource Center AKA Small Business Development Center, AKA sbdc, which are free and powerful, is if overlooked tools for local SMB entrepreneurs. Scott mentions his Acquisition Analyzer, a spreadsheet he used throughout…
We've linked to that in the show notes. We've also linked to a document that he prepared for us in advance of the interview, recounting his journey plus the many lessons learned along the way. We thank Scott for putting that together for us and for being willing to share it.
As he mentions in our conversation. Scott loves to connect with people, so don't hesitate to reach out to him. His contact is also in the notes.
Okay, here he is. Scott Crosby, owner of American Services St. Louis There are a handful of legal diligence issues that arise again and again for entrepreneurs buying a business. What are they? Well, attorneys James David Williams and Bill Barlow return for a legal office hours to walk you through them and of course how you business buyer should address them to protect yourself while still…
That is tomorrow, Tuesday, February 24th noon Eastern the webinar is common legal diligence issues and how to handle them. Link to register is right at the top of this episode's show notes or on the Acquiring Minds homepage Acquiring Minds Co. Then on Thursday, a webinar on cybersecurity for searchers.
Most small businesses carry unseen cyber gaps that become the operators your problem on day one. Nick Akers, president and CEO of Enzo Technologies, who acquired the business through entrepreneur through acquisition, explains how these vulnerabilities hide inside people processes, technology data.
You'll learn why searchers miss them, how they impact early operations and how a cybersecurity risk assessment brings them to light before they become expensive problems. The webinar is Cybersecurity for searchers. Why SMBs need a risk assessment it is Thursday, February 26, noon Eastern.
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 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…
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