I just finished signing the papers to close on my first small business acquisition.
And honestly, it feels very different than anything I’ve done before.
I’ve been an entrepreneur for nine years. I’ve started businesses, freelanced, and built companies from scratch. But I had never actually bought a business that already existed with a service, clients, processes, and a team already in place.
It’s a completely different experience.
It’s been a goal of mine for a long time to acquire small businesses, grow them, optimize them, and build something bigger over time. So getting the first one done feels like a big milestone.
So I decided, why not document the entire process as I go?
How I Got Here
My husband and I have been talking about buying a business for a while.
Looking at our overall income streams, we had a few things going:
- My marketing company
- My coaching and consulting work
- Rental properties (which we’re currently selling)
- My husband’s W2 job
We knew we wanted to shift things and build something more scalable on the business side.
We talked through everything from starting something new, franchising, and investing more heavily in what we already had. At one point, we seriously considered opening a boutique fitness franchise since we’re both fitness junkies.
But ultimately, we landed on something different.
I told Caleb at one point, “I don’t have it in me to start another business from scratch right now.”
Starting something new takes a very specific kind of energy, and while I’m not against doing that again in the future, I didn’t feel like I had that “this has to exist” idea right now.
So instead, we started looking at what was already out there.
Why We Decided to Buy Instead of Start
There were a few key things that drove this decision.
First, we wanted something we could manage remotely, at least for now. With everything else we have going on, being tied to a physical location every day just didn’t make sense.
Second, we wanted something with solid margins but relatively low overhead.
Third, we wanted something we could realistically buy in cash.
We weren’t trying to take on a massive loan or jump into something overly complex for our first acquisition. This was very much a “let’s get our feet wet” decision.
So I started researching.
How I Found the Business
I spent a lot of time looking at different industries and types of businesses.
We kept coming back to home services—things like HVAC, plumbing, cleaning, and similar businesses.
A few reasons why:
- They can often be managed remotely if there’s a team in place
- They typically have strong margins
- There’s a huge wave of owners retiring right now
- Many of them have loyal client bases but aren’t optimized
That last point was big for me because a lot of these businesses are run by owners who have done things the same way for years. They’ve built something solid, but they’re not focused on marketing, systems, or growth in a modern way.
That’s where I saw an opportunity.
I’ve spent the last 10 years in marketing, especially in content and organic growth. The idea of taking a local business and improving its visibility, lead flow, and systems was really appealing.
So I started searching on BizBuySell. It’s one of the easiest platforms to navigate if you’re just getting started, filtering by location, price, industry, all of it. That’s where we found it.
Why We Chose This Business
We came across a residential cleaning company in the Atlanta area.
Both Caleb and I are from Georgia, and my marketing company is based there, so it made sense geographically.
From an initial glance, it checked a lot of boxes:
- Within our cash budget
- Profitable with room to grow
- Established client base
- Existing team in place
- Opportunity to improve pricing and marketing
From there, I scheduled a call with the owner within about 24 hours.
The Questions I Asked
That first call was all about understanding the business beyond what was listed.
I asked a lot of questions, including:
- Why are you selling?
- What are the biggest weaknesses right now?
- What are the strengths?
- What does the team look like?
- What does the client base look like?
- What do the numbers actually look like?
That first conversation told me enough to move forward.
Due Diligence (What That Actually Looked Like)
Once we decided to keep going, we brought in our team, and this is something I cannot emphasize enough:
Have a good attorney and a good accountant already set to work with you.
They looked at everything.
- Financials
- Systems
- Legal structure
- Operational gaps
I also did a ton of my own research around:
- Pricing comparisons in the local market
- Revenue and profit projections
- Competitor analysis
- Process gaps
There were definitely things that weren’t perfect, but everything looked fixable, and more importantly, it still looked like a good investment.
Closing the Deal
We closed on April 22nd! The business is Mama’s Cleaning, based in the north Atlanta area including Roswell, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Milton, and Johns Creek.
Just a few weeks in, I can already tell you that buying a business is a completely different world than starting one.
What I’d Tell You If You’re Considering This
If you’re someone who has been an entrepreneur for a while and you want to grow your income streams, but you don’t have a specific business idea you’re passionate about, this is a really strong option.
There are so many small business owners retiring right now, and a lot of these businesses are:
- Profitable
- Stable
- Undermarketed
- Full of opportunity
You don’t always need to start something new. Sometimes the better move is taking something that already works and making it better.
A Few Quick Pieces of Advice
If you’re thinking about doing this:
- Know your budget before you start.
- Decide if you’re going cash or financing early.
- Have your team ready—attorney, accountant, admin support.
Most importantly, remember that you can always walk away. Just because you’ve started the process doesn’t mean you have to finish it.
What’s Next
This is literally just the beginning for me, and I want to continue to document it along the way.
In the next part, I’ll break down what happens after you decide to buy—transitioning ownership, reworking systems, hiring, and what it actually looks like to take over something someone else built.
If you’re interested in small business acquisition, I’ll be sharing everything I’m learning in real time…the good, the bad, and everything in between. Follow along to see more of the journey. 🙂
