Business Buying Strategies from The Dealmaker's Academy – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of Business Buying Strategies, we talk about insights on smart business acquisitions without risking personal capital. Jonathan shares key strategies from a presentation at the Marbella business retreat, emphasising the importance of getting corporate structures right and de-risking leases.   The episode features a discussion with Ed on the effectiveness of the buy and build, or roll-up strategy, and an in-depth interview with David, a successful mastermind client who combined multiple business acquisitions to win a substantial local authority contract.   The episode concludes with practical tips on avoiding personal guarantees, linking business payments to performance, and the integration challenges in buy and build strategies.   Key moments   01:42 The Importance of Corporate Structure 04:23 Avoiding Personal Guarantees 07:45 De-risking Leases in Business Acquisitions 11:40 Linking Payment to Business Performance 15:03 Success Story: David's Multi-Business Acquisition 25:57 The Benefits of a Buy and Build Strategy 34:58 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

 

** Looking for a great acquisition lawyer in the UK? Use mine! **

If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my own lawyer, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at johnandrews.deallawyer@jmw.co.uk.

Ready to get started?

Here’s how you can start your business buying journey…

Download our free Business Buying Toolkit
https://dealmakers.co.uk/business-buying-toolkit

Join our Business Acquisition FastTrack programme
https://www.dealmakers.co.uk/fast

Already bought a business?

if you've already bought a business, you should be part of my Inner Circle group where we discuss raising capital, integration management, and exiting. Email Maria on hello@thedealmakersacademy.com for more information.

In this episode of Business Buying Strategies, we learn six innovative methods for acquiring a business without using personal cash or capital. Jonathan talks with former Dragon James Caan about ways to minimise risks in acquisitions. And Jonathan and Ed discuss the limitations of relying solely on internet resources for learning about business acquisitions.   Key moments:   00:00 Introduction to Business Buying Strategies 01:38 Six Ways to Buy a Business Without Using Your Own Cash 10:43 Interview with James Kahn: Mitigating Risks in Acquisitions 19:04 The Importance of Cultural Fit in Acquisitions 23:11 Why Learning Business Acquisition from the Internet is Not Enough 30:48 Final Thoughts and Next Steps  

** Looking for a great acquisition lawyer in the UK? Use mine! **

If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my own lawyer, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at johnandrews.deallawyer@jmw.co.uk.

Ready to get started?

Here’s how you can start your business buying journey…

Download our free Business Buying Toolkit
https://dealmakers.co.uk/business-buying-toolkit

Join our Business Acquisition FastTrack programme
https://www.dealmakers.co.uk/fast

Already bought a business?

if you've already bought a business, you should be part of my Inner Circle group where we discuss raising capital, integration management, and exiting. Email Maria on hello@thedealmakersacademy.com for more information.

In this episode of Business Buying Strategies, we return for the second part of our 2024 round-up.

In this episode, we hear more business buying success stories from our Mastermind clients, personal brand expert Amelia Sordell offers practical tips for building your personal brand and attracting more business buying opportunities and M&A lawyer John Andrews offers essential legal advice every business investor should know.

We also feature highlights from Jonathan Jay’s interview with entrepreneur and former Dragon Den investor, James Caan, on his approach to growth by acquisition and protecting your personal assets when financing deals. 

If you are looking for motivation and inspiration as you continue on your business buying journey, you need to listen to this episode.

Here are the highlights

00:00 Introduction to the episode 
02:25 The importance of personal branding 
09:29 Practical tips to build your personal brand 
11:03 Mastermind client Steve’s journey from podcast listener to business buyers
15:47 Lessons learnt from multiple acquisitions 
20:03 Strategies to improve integration apply after you buy a business 
24:00 The benefits of remote work and recruitment
25:03 The first day you own a business 
28:36 Martin's deal structures and strategies 
35:06 Legal insights on M&A deals with John Andrews
44:08 James Caan’s business buying insights 
49:25 How to finance acquisitions without risking everything  

You will discover…

• The value of building your personal brand as a business acquisition entrepreneur - if you want to do more deals
  
• Why your personal brand gets 561% more attention than your company brand (and what to do)
  
• Why you are being searched on LinkedIn whether you like it or not (and what to do about it)
  
• Why you need to use the “TripAdvisor” test to assess your trustworthiness to vendors
  
• How to use business acquisition to increase your customer base (and increase your cross-sell opportunities)
  
• Why it is important to understand cultural differences when acquiring a business from overseas
• The importance of building systems and processes when sourcing businesses to buy
  
• Why you should never get an accountant to value a business (particularly if you are buying their business!)
  
• Why it is important to use lawyers who have M&A experience (and find vendors who are using lawyers with M&A experience)
  When to bring in your legal team in on a deal (don’t make the mistake of leaving it later than this)

 

** Looking for a great acquisition lawyer in the UK? Use mine! **

If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my own lawyer, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at johnandrews.deallawyer@jmw.co.uk.

Ready to get started?

Here’s how you can start your business buying journey…

Download our free Business Buying Toolkit
https://dealmakers.co.uk/business-buying-toolkit

Join our Business Acquisition FastTrack programme
https://www.dealmakers.co.uk/fast

Already bought a business?

if you've already bought a business, you should be part of my Inner Circle group where we discuss raising capital, integration management, and exiting. Email Maria on hello@thedealmakersacademy.com for more information.

Interview with John Hood

In this episode, I’m joined by entrepreneur John Hood. John and I met many years ago when I acquired a digital marketing agency I was gearing up to sell. By 27, John already had a furniture, distribution, and IT business. We later met in 2019 after he identified Home Improvement and construction as ideal for following my buy and build strategy. John joins us to share his background, how he made his first home improvement and construction acquisition, and possible mistakes in this journey.

Key Highlights

[01:33] About John Hood

[02:03] John's background and his first acquisition

[05:21] Business acquisition mistakes made by John

[09:04] How people approach business buying deals

[11.52] John’s plans and goals

[16:06] So are you saying that your ambitions have grown?

[17:34] The process of running one’s business

[19:04] John’s advice to those who want to buy their businesses

[21:00] Reinvesting profit generated from the acquired business

[24:00] Nature of business ventures

[25:55] John's parting shots

Notable Quotes

• If you don't understand your motive, then your motivation will never be there.
• I haven't quite had the courage to encourage people not to use lawyers because that's got connotations in the future, but we always encourage them to use lawyers.
• I think the first step and the action you want to take is to go out and get the inquiry to provide yourself with the lead, the deal flow, the needs, or whatever you want to call to give you a major choice.

Resources

If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my guy, John Andrews. You can phone his office at (0345) 2412494 or email him at johnandrews.deallawyer@jmw.co.uk.

If you would like to take the next step to learn the best ways of buying a business, without risking your own cash, you can access my free training at:
https://www.dealmakersvideo.co.uk

Watch my Webinar Training Video:
https://www.dealmakerspodcast.co.uk

You can also request a free copy of my book at:
https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/free-book-giveaway/

If you want to jump straight to my live Zoom FastTrack course, please go to:
https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/fast 

Connect with Jonathan Jay at:
Website: https://www.thedealmakersacademy.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jay-3556b230/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDealmakersAcademy

Interview with Phil Hunt

In today's episode, I’m joined by Phil Hunt. Despite having a full-time job as an HR director of a city bank in London, this hasn't stopped Phil from following the Dealmakers Academy program and making his first two acquisitions. Phil has recently acquired two hairdressing salons, and he joins us to share his experience, highs and lows, and some of his best tips on acquiring one's business.

Key highlights from the call

[01:06] About Phil Hunt

[02:50] Freedom of owning a business

[03:28] When you were watching my videos, what was going through your head?

[04:11] Likable moments in Fasttrack Program

[08:28] How many conversations did you have before you found your first business acquisition target?

[11:33] Did you use a lawyer?

[12:10] How long did it take to complete the transaction?

[12:41] Negotiation strategies

[14:35] Hunt’s second acquisition

[16:25] Tell me why this was a share purchase

[19:08] Phil’s plans

[19:49] What is the profit margin in this sector?

[25:48] Advice to listeners

Notable Quotes

• The perfectionism then comes when you engage with the accountant and the lawyer to make sure that the deal is what you need it to be.
• I think there's very little risk here. So it's definitely worth doing the courses that you provide because they give you it's not just the confidence, you've got to have that internally, but they kind of unlock the confidence if it's a little bit backward going forward.
• Just go out there and do it. What on earth do you have to lose here, and nothing you lose affects business?
• I'd spent the first nine months trying almost not to send the letters out; I was thinking, well, that word won't be right. And I’ve got the right address? And what about if the person doesn't like to be addressed like that? And I thought, you know, if they don't like it, they're not going to reply.

Resources

If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my guy John Andrews. You can phone his office on +03452412494 or email him at johandrew.dolawyers.jmw.co.uk.

To join the Fasttrack Program, you can connect with Jonathan Jay on Dealmakers Academy, follow him on LinkedIn, or get his videos on YouTube.

Interview with Jamie Simpson

In this episode, I talk to Jamie Simpson. When I first met Jamie he had been interested in buying a business for some time, but nothing has taken shape yet. Since then, Jamie bought three businesses without risking his own cash. Jamie joins us to share his journey and how he has managed to buy his businesses. He also shares some inspirational tips for those who want to buy their own business and haven't started yet. 

Key Highlights

[01:01] About Jamie Simpson

[01:36] When did you think buying a business was a good idea?

[03:14] What do you feel different about the deal hanging around for four years and what you have done in four months?

[03:48] Would you have approached it differently knowing what you know now?

[04:25] Did you lose that money, though?

[05:36] When did you do your Fasttrack program?

[07:10] How long did you take to feel as though you were speaking confidently to business owners?

[13:15] Some of the things learned from Jonathan Jay that helped in business acquisition

[15:00] Strategies used to talk to business sellers

[16:18] Are you doing your work?

[19:45] Lessons learned about business buying

[21:00] About the Numbers game

[25:38] Parting tips to listeners

Notable Quotes

• I feel like I've got two options here. I can be like the tortoise in the shell. If you put your head out of the shell and something goes to bite, you can stay in the shell for the rest of your life or put your head down.
• I was hearing people say oh, we send 200 letters out, and we'll test the water and see what happens. And I was thinking they were my competition. So if they're going to test the water on, I'm just going to blitz the water. And I sent out about three to four thousand letters straightaway.
• A lot of people feel like they need to do their homework on the industry before they start sending letters. But actually, I found the sellers to be one of the greatest sources of information about the industry.
• Training to collect the data, trying to send the moves out in bulk like it's just not practical. So outsourcing to the experts is the way forward because it frees up your time to focus on what you want to do and where your skill sets lie.
• I would say follow the steps given in the FastTrack program. Don't feel like, you know, better.
• If you don't know the industry, or you've never purchased the business before, you learn as you go.

Resources

If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my guy John Andrews. You can phone his office on +03452412494 or email him at johandrew.dolawyers.jmw.co.uk.

To join the Fasttrack Program, you can connect with Jonathan Jay on Dealmakers Academy, follow him on LinkedIn, or get his videos on youtube.

Moving beyond the mindset of organic growth

In this episode, I am joined by Aled Davies, who runs a printing and textile printing family business. Aled had been trying to grow this business organically before listening to this podcast and joining me on one of my business acquisitions, Fasttrack Programs, in 2020. Through this program, Aled got a whole new perspective on growing his business and has since made his first acquisition. In this episode, Aled shares how he came about and how he got to make his first acquisition. He also shares some words of wisdom with those interested in buying their own business.

Key Highlights

[01:03] About Aled Davies

[04:15] Motivation towards buying his own business

[05:18] When you heard other people do what you wanted to do, did that motivate you?

[06:09] Likable moments in the Fasttrack program

[07:34] How did you go about your first call with the business owner of the business you eventually bought?

[08:39] Would you have grown your business by 10-15% in the next 12 months?

[09:25] The negotiation process

[12:56] Were you interested in his website traffic, inquiries, and existing customer list?

[17:20] Signifier of the worth of a business

[18:33] Business acquisition principles used

[20:32] Plans for the future

[21:56] Tips to listeners

Notable Quotes

• It was surprisingly easy to do when you have started to get some idea of what you are doing.
• If a deal doesn’t feel right or doesn’t look like it's going to be the right one for you, you can always walk away if you don’t want to do it anyway.
• The first step is to get started and give it a go because you never know what will come out of it.
• All we did was make a few phone calls, went to see the guy, agreed on everything, and that was it. It was as simple as that.

Resources

If you are looking for a lawyer in the UK to help you get the deal over the line, then use my guy John Andrews. You can phone his office on +03452412494 or email him at johandrew.dolawyers.jmw.co.uk.

To join the Fasttrack Program, you can connect with Jonathan Jay on Dealmakers Academy, follow him on Linkedin, or get his videos on youtube.

Hello this is Jonathan Jay - and welcome to episode 190 of the Business Buying Strategies podcast. 

This week we meet Nigel Wilkinson, who set up a digital marketing agency in 2000. Nigel acquired one of his competitors in September 2019, and then joined my five day dealmakers academy training programme last year.

He has made a couple more acquisitions since, although as you’ll hear it hasn’t all been plain sailing.

Find more details of the next Fasttrack programme at:

  www.thedealmakersacademy.com/FAST Follow or connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn
https://bit.ly/2S3Xzxw Watch our YouTube Channel The Dealmaker's Academy https://bit.ly/3b86OFI

Hello this is Jonathan Jay - and welcome to episode 189 of the Business Buying Strategies podcast. 

This week I talk with Graeme Carling, who we first met in episode 76 of the podcast – Now Graeme had spent a decade building a substantial property portfolio, before buying a well known Scottish construction company out of administration.

I asked Graeme to relay his story to a private audience in London earlier this month.

Find more details of the next Fasttrack programme at:

  www.thedealmakersacademy.com/FAST Follow or connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn
https://bit.ly/2S3Xzxw Watch our YouTube Channel The Dealmaker's Academy https://bit.ly/3b86OFI

Hello this is Jonathan Jay - and welcome to episode 188 of the Business Buying Strategies podcast. 

Now this week I am talking with Jack Baker, who a year ago was working in construction, thinking that there must be more to life than this, and wishing he could be his own boss. 

He started watching the business buying videos on my YouTube channel, listened to this podcast, and joined my Fast Track online training programme. And as a direct result, he has completed the acquisition of his first healthcare business, which has consistently delivered a £200K annual profit. 

Here’s Jack talking about his background leading up to when he started to get interested in buying a business …

Find more details of the next Fasttrack programme at:   www.thedealmakersacademy.com/FAST Follow or connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn
https://bit.ly/2S3Xzxw Watch our YouTube Channel The Dealmaker's Academy https://bit.ly/3b86OFI