How Whitney bought a $2M cleaning company for $90K out of pocket

Happy Monday!

Today I’ve got a story about Whitney, a senior marketing executive at a major LA entertainment studio, making a good living, but craving more flexibility as her family grew.

After leaving with an exit package following maternity leave with her third child in five years, she joined Acquisition Ace and started searching.

About ten months later, she closed on a B2B commercial cleaning company in Las Vegas for $2M, putting just $90K of her own money into a deal that’s projected to return $200K+ to her and her husband in year one.

Community Spotlight

Before we get into Whitney’s story, here’s another success spotlight from the Acquisition Ace community!

David and Shawn bought a $1.25M landscaping company in Northern Colorado as 50/50 partners and immediately faced drama.

The seller left after one month instead of six, his sons went behind their backs to undercut them with clients, and the family made the transition toxic.

Instead of giving up, they rebuilt.

They hired a phenomenal GM, doubled the staff, landed a major snow removal contract worth $175-225K for just 3 months of work, and are expanding into maintenance with a plan to triple their crews by spring.

They went from firefighting family drama to building a scalable operation positioned for serious growth.

👉 Want to learn how to handle the ups and downs of acquiring your first business in the Acquisition Ace community? Book a call with our team here.

Before the Deal

Whitney had watched her husband build his own business, saw the flexibility it gave him, and wanted the same.

She wasn’t looking to escape work (she liked working!), but wanted autonomy over how and when she did it.

With a background in marketing and a runway of time from her exit package, she joined Acquisition Ace in August and got to work.

Finding the Deal

Whitney found the business on BizBuySell - a B2B commercial cleaning operation in Las Vegas with strong recurring revenue, solid margins, and a seller based in Utah who had been running it remotely.

The fact that it was already functioning without the owner nearby was a meaningful signal.

She submitted an LOI in October, and the seller went with another buyer.

But in January, they came back to Whitney, and they agreed to a deal.

(In Acquisition Ace, members learn to stay in contact with sellers even after a deal doesn’t go their way. Circumstances change, and sometimes, persistence pays off. To see if the Acquisition Ace community could help you acquire your first business, book a call with our team here.)

The Deal Breakdown

Purchase price: $2M (down from $2.5M after a major account was lost pre-close)

SDE: ~$650K annually

Financing: ~70% SBA loan, 20% seller note, ~10% buyer/investor injection

Seller note: $400K, year one on full standby, balloon payment at end of year three

Working capital: $150K provided by seller at close

Line of credit: Additional $100K approved

Whitney’s personal cash out of pocket: ~$90K (including QoE and closing costs)

Projected cash flow to Whitney and husband after debt service and investor distributions: ~$200K year one

Whitney brought on family investors to help cover the down payment, structuring a preferred return arrangement with payback expected after year three once the seller note clears.

What She’s Doing Now

Whitney is about two months in and fully engaged.

She went in expecting to be hands-off quickly, but found the GM needs more support and systems than anticipated.

She’s building those systems now, brought on a CFO to clean up the books, and is focused on hiring a second supervisor to cover the night shift operation.

The business runs largely on recurring B2B contracts - restaurants, commercial properties - with clients who need cleaning done consistently regardless of economic conditions.

Las Vegas being what it is, the pipeline of potential customers is enormous…

And none of it has been marketed - it’s all been word of mouth!

But that’s about to change.

The Key Lesson

“There will be moments where you think ‘what have I done?’ And then there are moments where you think ‘this is so great.’ The first three months are the hardest - just prepare for that.”

Whitney didn’t get this deal on the first try.

She lost it to another buyer, waited, stayed in contact, and got a second chance when that deal fell apart.

Then she navigated a long close, a bank that needed to be swapped out mid-process, and SBA rule changes happening in real time - and found a way to close anyway.

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 Darwin.

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