What to look for when buying a small business | My First Million Podcast

TL;DR

The speaker targets durable, non-commodity businesses with a protected market position. They seek companies that are “too big to be small and too small to be big,” where the leadership team is capped and willing to partner for growth. The acquisition process involves roughly 400 decision points that must align on price and terms.

Key insights

• Durable businesses (e.g., swimming pool construction, manufacturing, military staffing) are preferred over trendy or digital-only models; many have significant physical operations.
• The ideal acquisition target is in a “gap” where the company has crossed the line toward professionalization but the leadership team lacks the systems and talent to scale further.
• The partner must genuinely want to grow; if the CEO is personally overwhelmed (e.g., answering 60 calls a day), scaling is impossible regardless of stated intent.