The statistic that changes business acquisition for everyone

Happy Wednesday!

Most people who are interested in business acquisition but haven’t pulled the trigger yet tend to describe their hesitation the same way:

“It just feels too risky.”

I understand that instinct.

But I want to challenge it, because the data tells a very different story than most people expect.

Michael bought a $2.6M podiatry billing service while keeping his demanding chief sales officer job after joining Acquisition Ace.

He structured a creative seller note, kept his W2, and is now making $400K+ annually from the business.

👉 Want in-depth training and one-on-one coaching to structure your deal perfectly? Book a call with our team here.

What the numbers actually say

The SBA tracks businesses that have been acquired using their loan programs to see whether they’re still operating and making payments five years later.

The success rate sits above 95%.

More than 19 out of 20 acquired businesses are still operating successfully five years after the deal closed.

Now compare that to startups, where the failure statistics run in the exact opposite direction: roughly 90% don’t make it past five years.

The difference makes sense when you think about it.

When you acquire an existing business, you’re not starting from zero or figuring out product-market fit, hoping the market wants what you’re selling.

The business has already done all of that!

It has customers, employees, systems, and in many cases decades of operating history through multiple economic cycles.

You’re buying proof

The businesses worth targeting have typically been around for 20, 30, sometimes 40+ years.

They’ve survived recessions, held onto customers through economic downturns and market shifts, and provide services people need regardless of what’s happening in the broader economy.

That track record is what you’re paying for, and it’s what makes the risk profile of acquisition so different from building something from scratch.

(Inside Acquisition Ace, members learn exactly what to look for in an established business to make sure those odds stay firmly in their favor. If you want to speed up acquiring your first business with help from the Acquisition Ace community, book a call with our team here.)

There’s also a layer of protection most people overlook

When you use an SBA loan to finance an acquisition, the bank is doing their own financial analysis before they approve the deal…

And they’re not going to fund something they don’t believe in!

That’s an additional set of expert eyes on the business before you commit a dollar, one that most buyers don’t think about, but should.

The question worth sitting with

Most people frame this as: “What if it doesn’t work out?”

But there’s a more honest version of that question:

“What’s the actual cost of not doing anything?”

Continuing to trade hours for a capped salary, with no equity, no ownership, and no meaningful control over your financial future…

That's a huge risk too.

It’s just one that feels familiar, so it doesn’t register as risk.

On Thursday, I’ll walk through the reasons the 5% of acquisitions don’t work out, and more importantly, how to make sure you’re not in that group.

If you’d like to get ahead on any of this, the Acquisition Ace community is a great place to start.

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