My AI prompt for creating zero-down financing structures

This email is Part 3 of a short series covering AI prompts you can copy and paste to find and analyze your first business acquisition.

You can read the previous parts here:

• Part 1

• Part 2

In the last two newsletters, I’ve shown you the prompts I use to find deals in 10 minutes and analyze businesses in 2 minutes using AI.

Now, there’s one final puzzle piece: structuring the financing.

Once you’ve found a good business and determined what it’s worth, you need to figure out how to actually buy it (ideally with as little of your own money as possible).

This is where most people get stuck.

They find a great business but can’t figure out creative financing structures that minimize their cash investment while maximizing returns.

AI can now help you solve this problem, too.

Here's my Deal Structure prompt for :

“You're an SBA loan and creative financing expert using my proven acquisition financing strategies.

Context: SBA 7(a) loans can finance up to 90% of purchase price with 10% buyer injection. Seller notes of 10%+ on full standby for the life of the loan (typically 10 years) can count as buyer injection, enabling down to a 5% cash requirement. I prefer structures that minimize my cash while maximizing cash flow.

For this business with [asking price] and [cash flow], create three financing structures:

1. Maximum SBA leverage: 90% SBA loan, 10% seller note on full standby.

2. Traditional structure: 90% SBA + 10% cash down.

3. Creative structure with private investor covering down payment for equity stake.

For each structure, show my total cash required, monthly debt service at current SBA rates (8–10%), net monthly cash flow after debt payments, first-year cash-on-cash return, and specific implementation steps (including what to tell the lender and seller).”

This is a huge time-saver.

Instead of spending hours in Excel modeling different scenarios, AI instantly calculates three complete financing options with all the numbers you need.

It shows you exactly how much cash you’ll need, what your monthly payments will be, and what your returns look like for each structure.

Most importantly, it gives you specific implementation steps – what to actually say to lenders and sellers to make these structures work.

Applying this prompt to a real-world example 👇

When I ran this for that Manatee County HVAC business (asking price $1.5M, cash flow $440K), AI created:

Structure 1 (Max SBA): $75K cash required, 85% SBA loan + 10% seller note on full standby, 5% from buyer or investor, generating 300% cash-on-cash return

Structure 2 (Traditional): $150K cash required, 90% SBA + 10% cash down, generating 150% return on invested capital

Structure 3 (Creative): $75K from investor for 20% equity, leaving me with 80% ownership and 234% return on my portion

Each structure included monthly debt service calculations, net cash flow projections, and step-by-step instructions for implementation. These are all based on not having to hire any additional personnel so take it with a healthy dose of salt.

The bottom line…

Five years ago, creating these financing models required sophisticated Excel skills and deep knowledge of SBA regulations.

Now AI generates professional-grade financing analysis in minutes, complete with implementation roadmaps.

You can compare multiple structures side-by-side and choose the one that best fits your situation.

Over these three newsletters, I’ve shown you how AI can find deals in 10 minutes, analyze them in 2 minutes, and structure financing in 5 minutes.

That’s professional-level acquisition analysis in under 20 minutes total.

The tools are there. The prompts work. All you have to do is put them to use.

Before you go...

I occasionally share acquisition opportunities with subscribers who are ready to put strategies like these into practice.

To get those opportunities, fill out this quick survey:

👉 I want to buy (or passively invest into) a business

Or, if you want to sell a small business and you’re actively looking for buyers, tap the link below and tell me about it:

👉 I want to sell my business

Onward,

— Ben Kelly