Buying a $1.8M therapy practice for less than $50K out of pocket

Happy Monday!

Today I’ve got a story about Alex and Dana - he’s a physical therapist and she’s an Air Force veteran turned defense contractor with two businesses already under her belt.

They met during Hurricane Ian relief efforts, started a family, and decided buying a business made more sense than building one from scratch (especially with a newborn on the way!).

Three and a half months after joining Acquisition Ace, they closed on a physical therapy practice serving adults with developmental disabilities…

And spent less than $50K of their own money to do it.

Before getting to Marcus’s case study, here’s another success story from our Acquisition Ace community.

Alex B bought a $315K government contracting business while keeping his W2 job after joining Acquisition Ace.

He went from doing it alone with no roadmap to having structure, community support, and a closed deal.

👉 Want a clear roadmap and empowering community to guide you through your first acquisition? Book a call with our team here.

Before the deal

Alex had been considering starting his own PT practice, but knew a startup during a season of growing their family was going to stretch them thin.

Dana had experienced the grind of entrepreneurship firsthand, so when they came across business acquisition as an alternative, it clicked immediately.

They joined Acquisition Ace in late January and got to work, submitting requests for information on roughly 200 businesses over three and a half months before the right one surfaced.

Finding the deal

The listing was for a physical therapy practice specializing exclusively in adults with intellectual and physical developmental disabilities.

The deal was getting significant attention, with roughly 140 information requests with 30-40 seller introduction calls scheduled.

Alex and Dana stood out by submitting a personal introduction alongside their financial information, with a photo, their backgrounds, a family logo, and a genuine explanation of why they were the right buyers.

The sellers told them they were essentially sold before the first call.

(In Acquisition Ace, members learn how to stand out in competitive deal situations and find investors through the community’s dedicated investor network. To see how Acquisition Ace could help you with your first business acquisition, book a call with our team here.)

The deal breakdown

Original purchase price: $2.2M

SDE at listing: ~$540K

Renegotiated to: $1.8M with a $100K forgivable seller note (split into two $50K tranches forgiven if revenue targets aren't hit in years one and two)

Actual SDE at close: ~$430K

Total personal cash out of pocket: ~$24K (under $50K including program and setup costs)

Projected year-one cash flow after debt service: ~$170K

What they’re doing now

Six weeks post-close, Alex and Dana are working from home, meeting referring providers, care coordinators, facility owners, and employees.

The office manager handles administration but has significant capacity to take on more.

One manager told them he was excited to be utilized more.

The business runs on paper-based systems that haven’t been updated in years - a liability concern that’s also a clear efficiency opportunity.

Modernizing payroll tracking alone is projected to save the office manager five to ten hours a week.

And they’re doing all of this while caring for a newborn!

The key lesson

“If you don’t believe you can do this, you’ll only get as far as your mind will let you. Mindset plays a big role, and if you apply everything and stay consistent, it works.”

Alex and Dana hit six moments where the deal looked dead, with a broker who got nervous about investors, a bank that said no, and a last-minute revenue drop.

But each time, they found a way through, showcasing that persistence is often the difference between those that make acquisitions work and those that don’t.

Ready to find and close your first acquisition?

Join the Acquisition Ace community with 2,000+ members who are learning to find, finance, and close deals just like Mark.

👉 Book a call with our team here to see if it’s a good fit.