Making the Jump from Corp America to Entrepreneurship

May 04, 2026

by a searcher from University of West Georgia - Richards College of Business in Jersey City, NJ, USA

New to this community and wanted to introduce myself. I am a long term sales rep that is looking to take the next step in creating financial freedom for my family. My wife owns a small business and we run a rental property in Jersey City. I have recently been looking at buying a small business. I've read books, done research, and identified a few good targets in our area. I wanted to see if the community could provide me with any wisdom on this journey and potential places to raise capital for a new venture.

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Reply by a lender
from Cornell University in Los Angeles, CA, USA

Hi ^redacted‌ - nice to meet you. With the SBA you can buy a business with as little as 10% or even 5% down. This is a great program that many first-time entrepreneurs use to acquire their business. We have also done deals where outside investors cover the full down payment for the deal. For someone making the jump from corporate sales to buying a small business, the essential reading list is Buy Then Build (Walker Deibel), HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business (Ruback & Yudkoff), and The Messy Marketplace (Brent Beshore). On the podcast side, Acquiring Minds, Think Big Buy Small (HBS), and Acquisitions Anonymous are the three you want in your rotation. We have a lot experience financing various companies via the SBA. If you ever need help reviewing a deal, I am happy to help. We work with all the major SBA lenders. The bank pay us after your loan closes, so this is a 100% free service for you. You can email me directly at redacted or schedule a meeting with me: https://cal.com/francodeguzman/30min. Look forward to chatting!

Reply by a searcher
in Kansas City, MO, USA

Reach out to as many bankers in your area as possible to see if you can fund it yourself. If you can't, ask if the banker knows of locals who will invest alongside you as an operator. This is a sales journey you're going on. You'll need to convince yourself, your spouse, the bankers, and potential investors that this is a good investment. Create your story of why they would invest with you. Why do you want to do this, why will you succeed, etc.

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