Proprietary search: yes or no?
If you want to buy a business in a certain industry, and the industry brokers won't talk to you... it's not really a choice.
This is what happened to Searchfunder member.
Patrick wanted to buy a bookkeeping/accounting business.
But he's not an accountant himself.
Industry brokers were like:
"Get back to me when you partner with a CPA."
Even though gatekeepers were blocking him, the more Patrick looked at the space, the more conviction he felt.
Not taking no for an answer, the proprietary search begins:
* Upwork contractor to build the list
* Accounting/bookkeeping businesses of a certain size
* Geo-specific search (New England)
How'd it go?
500 emails to...
20 owner calls to...
3 LOIs to...
1 closed
Turns out owners of these businesses were more open-minded than the brokers!
Also, Patrick's messaging was good:
"Will,
I'm looking for an accounting firm to acquire in California, and Acquiring Minds seems like a potential fit.
I've been working with small businesses for 10+ years.
If you've ever thought about selling, I'd love to chat. Just reply and we'll get a conversation started."
Personalized & direct.
And the drip was just 3 messages over 2 weeks.
So what was the business he found & acquired through proprietary search?
Appletree Business Services
Appletree is awesome because:
1) it's north of the $1m revenue ceiling that many bookkeeping/accounting businesses never crack, and
2) the firm has a monthly recurring payment model.
In sum...
There are strong arguments for/against proprietary search.
But Patrick believes that when your search is both industry- and geo-specific, it can be a great use of time.
In fact, he'll teach you exactly how to do it.
It'll just take 10 hours of your time & 500 bucks. (For the contractor & software; Patrick's not charging, just helping.)
He only asks that you promise you'll actually use it! Hit him up: Searchfunder member
To hear the full story of Patrick's acquisition, check out this week's episode of Acquiring Minds in your podcast player.
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