Howdy Searchfunder!
If you buy a business, expect profitability to drop for 6-18 months. Prior owner kept it lean, you have debt payments, and errrybody wants a raise suddenly. Seeing this a lot lately and it was a common these at SMBash conference.
5 tips to help post close:
1. Have +3 months cash and a line of credit to buy time while you acclimate
2. Drive more sales with grass roots marketing and new owner energy
3. Focus on gross profit margin - the most important KPI to control by raising prices or getting more efficient
4. Speed up cash collection through online payment and chasing AR
5. Hire a bad bookkeeper so you never realize profitability declined
4 & 5 are critical