Love that this topic is getting recycled. Such debate over full vs part. As a lender active in this niche for over a decade, I’ve seen both paths produce success. For those going full-time, just know the search can take YEARS. Make sure your PFS positions you for search expenses, living expenses, down payment, and post close liquidity. redacted

I’ve seen people attempt it, but I’d go in with eyes wide open. First, a real search is not a part-time effort. It’s both time consuming AND requires responsiveness from brokers, lenders, investors and sellers. Trying to do that while holding a full-time job usually means you’re doing (at least) one of those things poorly. There’s also a fairness issue. If you’re being paid by your employer, they expect your full attention. Second, the right question isn’t “has it been done,” it’s “how often does it work out well.” My guess is "not often". It's hard enough to close a deal when working at it full time (and with the help of interns). But if you are working full time, I’d be concerned about the quality of diligence done under time pressure and distraction. This is a game where mistakes are expensive and often irreversible. If you plan to do a search while you have a full time job, I'd encourage you to hire a buyside broker to help you with sourcing, due diligence and most importantly finding a target that is the right personal fit. That decision does, however, come with trade-offs. It’s expensive for one (without a guaranteed outcome), and second, you’re outsourcing one of the core skills you’ll need most as a CEO, which is sales. Most people dislike the search process because of repeated rejections, but that’s exactly the muscle you’ll need to build to operate and grow a small business. If you do decide to hire a buyside broker, find one that has a rolodex, and isn't just feeding you what's on BizBuySell. Net: doable, but hard to pull off without cutting corners somewhere along the way