Many new business owners are sitting on untapped revenue

Happy Wednesday!

One of the most underappreciated parts of buying an established small business is what you find when you start digging into everything.

This is very different from the financials you reviewed during due diligence and the contracts you negotiated, but can make a huge difference for your business.

Here’s what I mean. 👇

Mario bought an $1.8M homecoming mum and party supply store for just $20K out of pocket, and 10x’d his investment in 6 months.

He went from CPG sales to owning a seasonal retail business making 40% more than the previous owner.

👉 Want all the tools, responsive coaches, and community support you need to succeed in your first acquisition? Book a call with our team here.

A case study

When Melissa closed on a commercial pool service company in Myrtle Beach, she thought she had a solid picture of what she was stepping into, with strong cash flow, a loyal customer base, and an experienced team.

Then she started going through the office.

Buried in the paper records was a list of 53 businesses that had reached out asking for pool cleaning services.

The previous owner had written them down, and never followed up.

He had enough clients to keep the business profitable, so growth wasn’t on his radar.

Those 53 inquiries represented over $250K in potential annual revenue, sitting completely untouched.

This is one of the most common things that happens in the first weeks of new ownership.

(Inside Acquisition Ace, members learn how to identify untapped upside before they even close, so they walk in knowing exactly where to look. To learn more about our community and how it can help you successfully acquire your first business, book a call with our team here.)

Why this happens so often

Most small business owners eventually shift into maintenance mode. They reach a level of revenue that pays the bills and supports their lifestyle, and stop pushing for more.

• Inquiries come in, get set aside, and never get acted on

• Employees hear customer requests that never make it to the owner

• Growth opportunities accumulate in the background while the business keeps running exactly as it always has

And often, that’s just what happens when someone has been running the same operation for 15 or 20 years without a fresh set of eyes on it.

What this means for you as a buyer

When you acquire a business that’s been in maintenance mode, you’re also buying the revenue it stopped pursuing (often years ago), from customers who called and never heard back…

Or referrals that came in and sat in a pile on a desk until they were irrelevant.

That’s the upside most buyers walk past without realizing it’s there.

As a new owner, fresh eyes are exactly what you bring.

On Thursday I’ll share exactly where to look and what to do when you find it.

If you’d like to start thinking through what this process looks like for deals you’re currently evaluating, the Acquisition Ace community is a great place to do that work.

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