“We’re not CPAs, but we knew what we were looking for”

Happy Friday!

On Monday, I told you about Aisha and Mark, a couple who bought a $2.4M accounting firm in small-town Indiana with no CPA credentials.

Today, I’m sharing their biggest lessons from how they successfully closed this deal! 👇

Before sharing Aisha and Mark’s big three takeaways, here’s a great Acquisition Ace community success spotlight.

Josh bought a $3.8M digital marketing agency after joining Acquisition Ace, and said:

The group brought him the momentum and intention he needed to go from searching to closing his first deal.

👉 Want to become a part of the same community that helped Josh close a multi-million dollar deal? Book a call with our team here.

“We had to sell ourselves. We’re not CPAs. But we were disciplined about our criteria, and when the right deal appeared, we moved on it.”

That’s what Aisha told me three months into owning a business she and Mark run from across the country, while Mark still works his full-time job.

3 key takeaways from our conversation

1. Smaller markets can mean less competition and better deals

Every large-city accounting firm Aisha and Mark approached went nowhere.

When they shifted to smaller towns, the competition dropped dramatically, and they found a firm that accepted their offer with no negotiations.

2. Bid above asking when you're not the obvious buyer

Aisha and Mark knew they weren’t the profile most sellers expected.

So, instead of negotiating down, they came in above the asking price to signal commitment and seriousness.

That move got the offer accepted without any back-and-forth.

(Aisha and Mark couldn’t break into big-city accounting firm deals, so they pivoted to smaller markets and found a better deal than anything they’d seen in major cities. Acquisition Ace members learn how to leverage their existing background to structure deals others can’t. If our community is something you’d like to explore, book a call with our team here.)

3. Build credibility through your team

Not being a CPA wasn’t a dealbreaker, but it required creative thinking.

Bringing Mark’s father, a CPA, into the operating structure gave the seller the confidence he needed to hand over a business he’d spent years building.

The deal got done because the team around them filled the gap their credentials couldn’t.

This week’s action item

If you’ve been struggling to get brokers or sellers to take you seriously in your target industry, ask yourself:

Am I searching in the most competitive markets?

If so, consider expanding your search to smaller cities or less obvious geographies.

Less competition often means more motivated sellers, better prices, and a much higher chance of getting a deal done.

To hear the full story of how Aisha and Mark navigated this deal from search to closing day…

Watch our full interview here.

P.S. Aisha left Amazon nine months into her Acquisition Ace membership.

The community gave her and Mark the framework, the confidence, and the process to make it happen.

If you’re ready to take the jump and want a support system in place to help you on your path to your first acquisition…

👉 Book a call with our team here.