How Michael bought a remote podiatry billing company

Happy Monday, friends!

Today I’ve got a story about Michael, a Chief Sales Officer at a fast-growing US recruitment firm, a new father, and a British expat who had never owned a business in his life.

Six months after joining Acquisition Ace, he closed on a remote podiatry billing company (a niche he’d never heard of) for $2.6M, while still working 50+ hours a week at his day job.

Before sharing Michael’s story, here’s another success story from our Acquisition Ace community.

Lindsay closed on a $999k carpet cleaning business in just 6 months and 15 days after joining Acquisition Ace, and said:

She’s still connecting with new members and getting value every single day, and that’s what sets our community apart.

👉 Want to join a community that supports you from day one through closing and beyond? Book a call with our team here.

Before the deal

Michael had spent 15 years building a career as an employee, watching a company grow from 15 people to 300 through two capital events.

He was good at it. But he was getting paid on the growth of someone else’s business rather than the profit of his own.

When his son was born in March 2024, something clicked. He joined Acquisition Ace the same month, started learning the framework, and began his search immediately.

Finding the deal

The podiatry billing company came through searching for off-market deals. The seller was 64, had built the business over 30 years entirely through referrals (her husband is a podiatrist), and was starting to think about a transition… but wasn’t in a rush and didn’t want to be pushed out.

That was perfect for Michael, as he needed someone to keep running the business.

All employees are 1099 contractors, margins are consistent regardless of revenue level, and the business is entirely remote.

(Inside Acquisition Ace, members get one-on-one coaching support to work through complex deal structures like this one. To see how Acquisition Ace could help you acquire your first business, book a call with our team here.)

The deal breakdown

Purchase price: $2.6M (structured as a tiered earnout-style seller note)

SDE: ~$550K

Financing: 10% buyer down payment, 60% SBA loan, 30% seller note

Seller note: Tiered based on two-year average revenue post-close

Projected year-one cash flow after debt service: ~$400K pre-tax

First full month profit: ~$35-40K

Projected cash-on-cash return: 150%+

The tiered seller note structure protected Michael’s downside while giving the seller a genuine incentive to stay engaged and grow the business.

What he’s doing now

Michael’s still working his W2, and the seller runs all daily operations.

He’s investing 5-10 hours a week building out growth infrastructure:

• Setting up HubSpot

• Launching LinkedIn outreach

• Automating payment processing

• And engaging a marketing agency for a three-month campaign

The business has never done any proactive outreach.

Every client came through referrals, and Michael sees that as pure upside waiting to be captured.

The key lesson

“If I really wanted to, it could take zero of my time. But I’m trying to build it to a level where it can replace my W2 as quickly as possible.”

Michael closed his first deal in six months while working 50+ hours a week and becoming a first-time father in the same year.

He did it by finding a business that could run without him, structuring a seller note that protected his downside, and leaning heavily on one-on-one coaching support to get the deal structured correctly.

And that combination of the right deal, the right structure, and the right guidance made it possible.

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 Michael.

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