How a consultant bought a $2.75M agency with $150K

Hey, it’s Ben!

This week’s case study deep dive is a story about Josh.

He spent two years searching for his first acquisition and was completely burned out.

After taking a break, he found our community…

And closed a $2.75M deal four months later - while still running his own consulting business on the side!

Community Spotlight

Before getting into Josh’s case study, there’s another success story I’d like to share with you from our Acquisition Ace community.

Alex bought a $6M last mile delivery SaaS platform after using the training videos and weekly calls as his guide.

He used the training as his compass and learned from others’ shared experiences to close a multi-million dollar deal.

👉 Want training and weekly calls that serve as your compass through the process of acquiring a business? Book a call with our team here.

Josh had a background in analytics and IT consulting and had always wanted to own a business.

He spent over a year searching on his own, got burned out, and walked away.

But when he found Acquisition Ace, something shifted.

The community gave him the framework and momentum he’d been missing, and two months after joining, he was writing his first LOI.

Finding the Deal

Josh found a 30-year-old traditional marketing agency in Minneapolis listed on BizBuySell.

The business had strong margins, zero outbound marketing, and a loyal client base - some customers had been with them for 20+ years!

The original asking price was $3.8M, but Josh challenged the valuation, highlighted customer concentration risk and owner dependency, and negotiated it down to $2.75M.

(Inside Acquisition Ace, members learn how to spot valuation gaps and negotiate sellers down to a fair price. Want to see if you’d be a good fit for our community? Book a call with our team here.)

The Deal Breakdown

Asking price: $3.8M

Purchase price: $2.75M

SBA loan: ~$1.85M at 8.5% fixed

Seller note: $650K on 2-year full standby

Josh’s cash in: $150K

Josh’s ownership: 18%

Operating partner (Ryan): 82%, full-time CEO

Josh’s projected cash flow: $150K–$200K+ annually (passive)

Rather than taking majority ownership and a salary, Josh brought in an experienced operating partner through LinkedIn - giving him majority equity in exchange for running the business full-time.

The structure kept Josh’s personal guarantee off the SBA loan and freed him up to pursue more deals.

What He’s Doing Now

Josh spends a few hours a week on backend systems, like automating invoicing, setting up bookkeeping software, and implementing HR tools.

Within a month of closing, the heavy lifting was nearly done.

Meanwhile, his operating partner Ryan hit the ground running.

Employees who had been quietly looking for other jobs told Josh within weeks that they felt more cared for than they had in 15 years under the previous owner.

And January - typically the agency’s slowest month - came in 50% ahead of the prior year!

Josh’s 18% distribution from that month alone nearly doubled his conservative baseline projection, and he’s still running his consulting business on the side.

The Key Lesson

“Bet on yourself. That’s the best return you’ll possibly make.”

Josh didn’t need to own 100% to win.

By finding the right operating partner and structuring the deal around his actual goals - passive income, time flexibility, and the ability to do more deals - he built something that works on his terms.

He put in $150K and still has $5M+ in SBA capacity for his next deal.

If you’re 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.

👉 Book a call with our team here, and we’ll talk to see if it’s a good fit for you.