00:00:11:23 - 00:00:14:16
Welcome back to the Amazing, the weekly podcast for acquisition

00:00:14:16 - 00:00:15:00
entrepreneurs,

00:00:15:00 - 00:00:18:07
Coco Builders and search fund investors in the UK, Europe and beyond.

00:00:18:08 - 00:00:21:23
I'm your host, Gareth Wilkins, co-founder and CEO of Biz Crunch.

00:00:21:25 - 00:00:25:15
And today I am thrilled to introduce Jenna Hill, a serial entrepreneur

00:00:25:15 - 00:00:28:32
who's turned the traditional M&A playbook completely upside down.

00:00:29:01 - 00:00:33:01
In just four years, Jenner has built a portfolio of eight businesses

00:00:33:01 - 00:00:37:27
across Northern Ireland from beauty salons to bridal boutiques to barber shops,

00:00:37:30 - 00:00:41:01
all using what she calls her no money down acquisition strategy.

00:00:41:06 - 00:00:46:00
And here's the kicker She made her first acquisition at age 28, while

00:00:46:00 - 00:00:50:05
six months pregnant with her third child and having two toddlers already at home.

00:00:50:07 - 00:00:54:10
So rightly, she's since won dual awards as young businesswoman

00:00:54:10 - 00:00:57:26
and young entrepreneur of the Year, and she's teaching others to replicate her

00:00:57:26 - 00:01:01:05
success through her business buying Blueprint program Generation,

00:01:01:05 - 00:01:05:05
a self-described woman with a beauty salon and no beauty qualification.

00:01:05:07 - 00:01:07:16
But her mission isn't about becoming an expert in every industry.

00:01:07:16 - 00:01:08:29
It's about preserving legacy,

00:01:08:29 - 00:01:09:27
keeping people employed

00:01:09:27 - 00:01:12:27
and helping retiring business owners to find succession solutions

00:01:12:30 - 00:01:15:16
when their families don't want to take over the business.

00:01:15:16 - 00:01:19:18
So what an impactful philosophy and one that she's building an ecosystem

00:01:19:18 - 00:01:23:24
around with her own small business phonetics, podcast and community.

00:01:23:27 - 00:01:27:24
And she's got her sights set on 11 businesses owned by the end of this year.

00:01:27:25 - 00:01:29:12
So here we are in October.

00:01:29:12 - 00:01:30:20
Busy quarter ahead.

00:01:30:20 - 00:01:32:19
Jenna, welcome to the show.

00:01:32:19 - 00:01:34:05
Thank you so much for having me.

00:01:34:05 - 00:01:36:23
That is Daphne. The best and true I feel like I've ever had.

00:01:36:23 - 00:01:41:00
I've got to bring you by with me a bit more often.

00:01:41:03 - 00:01:41:22
No worries.

00:01:41:22 - 00:01:44:15
Always happy to play the trumpet.

00:01:44:15 - 00:01:47:14
It helps to have a good researcher as well.

00:01:47:14 - 00:01:48:22
Very right.

00:01:48:22 - 00:01:51:11
Testament to our team more than anything.

00:01:51:11 - 00:01:51:22
Great.

00:01:51:22 - 00:01:55:06
Well, listen, as I mentioned in the intro, you've already acquired eight businesses

00:01:55:06 - 00:01:58:06
across Northern Ireland and you've got a goal to get to 11.

00:01:58:14 - 00:02:01:19
What type of businesses are you particularly drawn to and

00:02:01:23 - 00:02:04:19
and what's your thesis for choosing them?

00:02:04:19 - 00:02:07:02
I suppose for me, there's not a particular industry

00:02:07:02 - 00:02:09:32
that actually that I'm particularly drawn to.

00:02:09:32 - 00:02:13:22
The biggest thing for me is looking for recession resistant sectors.

00:02:13:22 - 00:02:15:27
I don't believe that there is a recession proof sector,

00:02:15:27 - 00:02:19:04
but I do firmly believe we have recession resistant sectors out there.

00:02:19:07 - 00:02:22:24
This is something that individuals in the M&A space, particularly on

00:02:22:24 - 00:02:26:13
LinkedIn, are really don't like me saying, but I firmly, firmly stand by it.

00:02:26:13 - 00:02:30:04
My experience says different in the likes of hairdressers,

00:02:30:04 - 00:02:33:31
beauty salons, barber shops, you will have men and women

00:02:33:31 - 00:02:38:31
that won't miss trying for a haircut if a recession actually hits fast.

00:02:38:31 - 00:02:40:15
If their partner was to say

00:02:40:15 - 00:02:43:08
they were going to go and throw £3,000 off a handbag,

00:02:43:08 - 00:02:44:22
they definitely would have a problem with that.

00:02:44:22 - 00:02:46:33
So we have those recession resistant sectors

00:02:46:33 - 00:02:50:29
that tend to not be too badly impacted, and those are the ones

00:02:50:29 - 00:02:52:22
that we're really looking towards.

00:02:52:22 - 00:02:57:32
We're also looking towards the industries that are becoming more needs than want.

00:02:57:32 - 00:03:00:26
So one of the industries, the most recent acquisition that we had

00:03:00:26 - 00:03:03:26
was for a cleaning company, and that's because we're seeing such a demand.

00:03:03:26 - 00:03:04:08
The demand

00:03:04:08 - 00:03:06:20
there is absolutely exponential for home cleaning,

00:03:06:20 - 00:03:08:10
never mind for commercial cleaning.

00:03:08:10 - 00:03:11:30
So we are jumping on to the industries that we are seeing a big demand for

00:03:11:33 - 00:03:14:15
as well as that we picked up the physiotherapy business

00:03:14:15 - 00:03:19:14
that I am very happily outside today because the guys are fully booked and

00:03:19:15 - 00:03:22:15
I couldn't get a room through the podcast and hence I'm hiding in my car.

00:03:22:17 - 00:03:25:13
And that's a great KPI.

00:03:25:16 - 00:03:27:18
It's a really, really good problem to have, isn't it?

00:03:27:18 - 00:03:29:13
And but we're looking towards those sectors

00:03:29:13 - 00:03:32:13
that we know Gen Z aren't drinking anywhere near what

00:03:32:18 - 00:03:35:18
the likes of me as a millennial did in my early twenties.

00:03:35:22 - 00:03:38:22
And we're looking really towards those sectors that are

00:03:38:25 - 00:03:39:30
we're going to make a final thought.

00:03:39:30 - 00:03:42:06
Realistically, guys, that's what we're actually looking for right now.

00:03:42:06 - 00:03:44:03
So we're looking at the health and wellness sphere

00:03:44:03 - 00:03:47:26
and our physiotherapy business is combined with small group personal training

00:03:47:29 - 00:03:49:24
and it is doing absolutely fantastic.

00:03:49:24 - 00:03:53:06
So yeah, recession resistance sectors and industries

00:03:53:06 - 00:03:55:33
that we are seeing a bit of a boom in right now is firmly where I am.

00:03:55:33 - 00:03:57:00
Set my sights.

00:03:57:00 - 00:03:57:26
Beautiful.

00:03:57:26 - 00:04:00:26
But pre 2021 this wasn't the world for you.

00:04:00:26 - 00:04:04:07
You weren't, you weren't a small business acquirer.

00:04:04:14 - 00:04:04:30
So what did

00:04:04:30 - 00:04:08:00
what did life look like for you before you took the foray into this world?

00:04:08:00 - 00:04:10:25
What was your career prior to entering this?

00:04:10:28 - 00:04:12:19
Yes. So i was h.r.

00:04:12:19 - 00:04:16:23
Director in the second fastest growing tech company in the uk.

00:04:16:23 - 00:04:22:19
So i was firmly potter about on planes flying across over to england,

00:04:22:19 - 00:04:27:00
dying into the republic, into dublin and up in Belfast,

00:04:27:03 - 00:04:30:09
working in domiciliary care, health and social care sector, absolutely

00:04:30:09 - 00:04:34:00
booming sector again and one that we are still set in our sights on

00:04:34:03 - 00:04:36:26
and hopefully will pick up the business and the future.

00:04:36:26 - 00:04:37:33
But i was h.r.

00:04:37:33 - 00:04:41:33
Director so and narrowing sort of 2 to 3000 staff members

00:04:41:33 - 00:04:46:13
at any one time we were doing that growth security and acquisitions as well

00:04:46:13 - 00:04:50:27
and sector that then and that's what my background is in firmly. h.R.

00:04:50:28 - 00:04:53:31
And it was whenever i was offered maternity leave that i thought, right,

00:04:53:31 - 00:04:55:24
i am going to do something

00:04:55:24 - 00:04:58:17
a little bit different and i'm going to try something new.

00:04:58:17 - 00:05:01:32
My middle daughter isabella, so I have three kids

00:05:01:32 - 00:05:06:02
currently annie is eight, Isabella is nine six and Freddie is three.

00:05:06:05 - 00:05:10:12
Isabella was born in September 2019 and God

00:05:10:12 - 00:05:13:21
bless her, she was born with a very rare metabolic condition called homocysteine.

00:05:13:21 - 00:05:16:06
Urea, itchy for short, so you don't need to remember that one.

00:05:16:06 - 00:05:20:03
And basically she can't digest protein, she can't break down any form of protein.

00:05:20:05 - 00:05:23:23
And if you can imagine, you know, already having one child that was a toddler

00:05:23:23 - 00:05:27:09
and then having Isabella born, this was the brand new condition.

00:05:27:09 - 00:05:28:25
D also had never heard anything about it.

00:05:28:25 - 00:05:31:09
She was the first person diagnosed in 17 years.

00:05:31:09 - 00:05:33:12
And I thought, life is going to have to change.

00:05:33:12 - 00:05:34:09
And I am.

00:05:34:09 - 00:05:36:20
She has a lot of medications, a lot of hospital appointments,

00:05:36:20 - 00:05:40:17
but also a lot of food has to be kept from scratch.

00:05:40:17 - 00:05:42:23
And, you know, you have to be very creative with her diet

00:05:42:23 - 00:05:45:07
because she's only like six grams protein today.

00:05:45:07 - 00:05:50:02
And I thought this corporate life, 60 plus hour weeks is just not going to work

00:05:50:02 - 00:05:52:13
with this little one. And so I was at that point

00:05:52:13 - 00:05:55:10
that we realized something was going to have to change.

00:05:55:10 - 00:05:56:26
Now, I saw an interesting catalyst.

00:05:56:26 - 00:05:58:27
And is she doing okay?

00:05:58:27 - 00:06:00:15
She's doing obviously fabulous.

00:06:00:15 - 00:06:03:01
And so she was the first person in 17 years to be diagnosed.

00:06:03:01 - 00:06:06:13
And thankfully now because of her, that medical condition

00:06:06:13 - 00:06:10:23
has been added on to Children's Day five hit Brick here in Northern Ireland.

00:06:10:23 - 00:06:13:23
And there's been a few children called since and which is even toxic.

00:06:13:23 - 00:06:14:12
But she's thriving.

00:06:14:12 - 00:06:18:14
I and I firmly put that to I know I have a working arrangement

00:06:18:14 - 00:06:19:33
and that I can work around her.

00:06:19:33 - 00:06:21:26
So I'm at every school drop off.

00:06:21:26 - 00:06:25:28
I will be on the scale, pick up today and take her to all her medical appointments.

00:06:25:28 - 00:06:27:18
And we're very lucky that we've been able

00:06:27:18 - 00:06:31:14
to have that lifestyle now because we started in this crazy world of.

00:06:31:17 - 00:06:34:08
Yeah, I won't call it freedom because it doesn't feel like freedom,

00:06:34:08 - 00:06:36:33
but that ability to be able to manage the work life

00:06:36:33 - 00:06:40:08
balance is certainly one of the perks that comes from the small business

00:06:40:11 - 00:06:43:23
portfolio acquisition and ownership. Definitely.

00:06:43:26 - 00:06:44:20
Well, that's great.

00:06:44:20 - 00:06:47:01
And look, she's going to grow up getting a macros, right? Right.

00:06:47:01 - 00:06:47:14
So there's that.

00:06:47:14 - 00:06:48:30
There's an upside to this.

00:06:48:30 - 00:06:51:30
Naturally, she's going to have really good dietary decisions.

00:06:51:30 - 00:06:53:19
She absolutely is.

00:06:53:19 - 00:06:55:06
Let me tell you, the child has the absolute

00:06:55:06 - 00:06:58:32
longest eyelashes and the best skin of anyone in my household.

00:06:58:32 - 00:07:01:32
So she has an absolutely fantastic diet.

00:07:02:02 - 00:07:02:27
It's hard for her.

00:07:02:27 - 00:07:03:18
It is difficult.

00:07:03:18 - 00:07:06:05
But thankfully, as you say, it's not freedom,

00:07:06:05 - 00:07:08:17
but it's the flexibility to live life how you want to live it.

00:07:08:17 - 00:07:11:00
And I can pick my priorities where I need to put my priorities,

00:07:11:00 - 00:07:14:03
and I get to be there to help her on the day to day basis and don't have to

00:07:14:03 - 00:07:15:25
then bring somebody else in to look after her.

00:07:15:25 - 00:07:19:13
And that is what's really important to us right now. I Fabulous.

00:07:19:16 - 00:07:21:16
So what's coming across strongly is IQ

00:07:21:16 - 00:07:27:22
and I guess having that large workforce to look after as a natural director,

00:07:27:24 - 00:07:30:19
I guess really sharpened that tool for you.

00:07:30:19 - 00:07:33:12
How has that helped you in your small business acquisition

00:07:33:12 - 00:07:36:27
journey, that high IQ that you have.

00:07:36:29 - 00:07:39:11
To You know, I really think the two

00:07:39:11 - 00:07:43:15
hardest parts of running the business are the marketing and B, the people.

00:07:43:18 - 00:07:46:10
I think everything else you can really learn.

00:07:46:10 - 00:07:50:05
Whereas if you have experience in managing people and you understand

00:07:50:05 - 00:07:53:30
marketing and the psychology behind marketing, then you really are

00:07:53:30 - 00:07:57:10
flying is, as we say here and Northern Ireland ground to piggyback.

00:07:57:13 - 00:08:00:12
And so that is definitely

00:08:00:12 - 00:08:03:26
that has been so helpful for me and that has really pushed me on

00:08:03:26 - 00:08:08:32
and it's been an advantage 100%, I suppose, in certain sectors.

00:08:08:32 - 00:08:09:04
You know,

00:08:09:04 - 00:08:11:27
if we're looking at sort of the domiciliary care side,

00:08:11:27 - 00:08:13:03
if we're looking at health and social care,

00:08:13:03 - 00:08:14:16
if we're looking at children's day care,

00:08:14:16 - 00:08:16:19
which are the industries that we're looking at right now,

00:08:16:19 - 00:08:18:23
we don't even really need to worry about marketing as such.

00:08:18:23 - 00:08:19:32
We can really set that one aside.

00:08:19:32 - 00:08:24:29
So yeah, being able to look after people, understand emotions, understand

00:08:24:29 - 00:08:29:12
how to navigate individuals and situations as they arise and

00:08:29:14 - 00:08:32:30
and get the best out of people is definitely the biggest strength

00:08:32:30 - 00:08:35:21
and the biggest skill set that I have been able to develop.

00:08:35:21 - 00:08:38:21
And that is definitely stood the test of time in this crazy journey.

00:08:38:24 - 00:08:41:21
Yeah, and it's it's a huge benefit.

00:08:41:21 - 00:08:45:15
I think having that ability to get the best from people

00:08:45:15 - 00:08:47:20
and deploy them where their strengths and skills

00:08:47:20 - 00:08:52:02
and joy comes from, I completely agree that's that's a game changer.

00:08:52:05 - 00:08:53:27
So when you're looking at a business

00:08:53:27 - 00:08:56:21
and you're making a selection and I must imagine you have quite

00:08:56:21 - 00:08:58:30
a lot of inbound opportunities now that you're out there

00:08:58:30 - 00:09:01:00
and you've got a fair few under your belt, there must be quite a few people

00:09:01:00 - 00:09:03:21
that are interested in having a conversation.

00:09:03:21 - 00:09:07:31
How do you triage and make a decision as to which ones are right for you?

00:09:08:00 - 00:09:10:18
So before I will even walk over

00:09:10:18 - 00:09:13:19
the threshold of my front doorstep, the business has to have three things.

00:09:13:19 - 00:09:15:16
So it absolutely has to be profitable.

00:09:15:16 - 00:09:18:29
I am not in the industry of finding proper, so to speak.

00:09:18:31 - 00:09:22:26
I am really looking for something that is already profitable, is already

00:09:22:26 - 00:09:26:33
well established, solid good systems and processes in place.

00:09:27:02 - 00:09:30:05
We are looking for businesses in which all the staff are going to stay on.

00:09:30:05 - 00:09:32:08
Granted, we know sellers will depart

00:09:32:08 - 00:09:33:16
and but we want a business

00:09:33:16 - 00:09:35:29
where the remaining staff members are going to be in place,

00:09:35:29 - 00:09:37:05
give or take one or two.

00:09:37:05 - 00:09:40:29
Obviously that's a given and and it has to be over five years old.

00:09:40:29 - 00:09:42:10
We really are looking for something

00:09:42:10 - 00:09:44:20
that is firmly established, a part of the community

00:09:44:20 - 00:09:49:03
and in certain sectors actually are community based businesses.

00:09:49:03 - 00:09:50:28
You know, if we're looking at certain industries,

00:09:50:28 - 00:09:54:29
parents will have went to that business, their children then go to that business.

00:09:54:29 - 00:09:58:15
And it really is a part of the local community and we want to continue that on.

00:09:58:15 - 00:10:05:16
That is a big thing for us that we want to continue the legacy of individuals. Nice

00:10:05:19 - 00:10:08:10
and that legacy that keeping those legacies

00:10:08:10 - 00:10:12:09
alive, protecting jobs that really comes across strongly in all your messaging.

00:10:12:09 - 00:10:15:09
Why is that such an important mission for you?

00:10:15:14 - 00:10:19:08
Funny, I actually had a bit of a debate with someone on LinkedIn recently

00:10:19:08 - 00:10:23:27
because in the M&A space, and especially with larger business acquisitions, it's

00:10:23:27 - 00:10:27:12
really frowned upon to say that you want to keep the business owners legacy alive.

00:10:27:12 - 00:10:30:18
It's nearly seen as a marketing tactic for me.

00:10:30:18 - 00:10:32:23
It's absolutely not a market and tactic.

00:10:32:23 - 00:10:35:16
It couldn't be further from a market and tactic.

00:10:35:16 - 00:10:39:08
I believe wholeheartedly that if someone has created a business

00:10:39:08 - 00:10:43:30
grown up from the ground up, that is something that needs to be,

00:10:43:33 - 00:10:46:25
you know, if we celebrated, it's obviously phenomenal

00:10:46:25 - 00:10:48:03
that they've been able to do that.

00:10:48:03 - 00:10:51:18
And I want to continue their legacy on a lot of the times

00:10:51:18 - 00:10:54:16
where not having to start new things, we're not having to invent new things.

00:10:54:16 - 00:10:57:05
We need to keep doing what has always been done,

00:10:57:05 - 00:11:00:30
but maybe then start to introduce different aspects that we might introduce,

00:11:00:30 - 00:11:04:06
you know, aspects of AI we might introduce

00:11:04:09 - 00:11:07:32
and technology to the business advancements that we 100% can make.

00:11:08:01 - 00:11:09:22
But legacy is so important to me.

00:11:09:22 - 00:11:12:11
And I really think of business owners.

00:11:12:11 - 00:11:15:02
Well, gentlemen, we were speaking to you recently, and bless him,

00:11:15:02 - 00:11:18:31
he'd lost his son and his son was always destined to carry on the business.

00:11:18:31 - 00:11:21:23
The son worked in the business, and that was just what was going to happen.

00:11:21:23 - 00:11:25:23
And he had sadly lost his son before he before he should have.

00:11:25:26 - 00:11:26:19
And, you know,

00:11:26:19 - 00:11:29:00
it was so heartbreaking for him that his son

00:11:29:00 - 00:11:30:27
I wasn't going to keep that business on and on.

00:11:30:27 - 00:11:32:32
Thankfully, where we're working through that process with him.

00:11:32:32 - 00:11:35:11
And we might be able to keep that legacy alive for him.

00:11:35:11 - 00:11:40:12
And I think the further that people get in the M&A game,

00:11:40:12 - 00:11:43:15
they nearly forget that they nearly lose the emotional side of this.

00:11:43:15 - 00:11:45:23
And for a lot of these individuals,

00:11:45:23 - 00:11:47:20
their business has been an additional child.

00:11:47:20 - 00:11:50:14
For them, it's grown up with them. It's grown up with their kids.

00:11:50:14 - 00:11:51:27
Their kids have been a part of it.

00:11:51:27 - 00:11:53:11
And I don't think we can underestimate that.

00:11:53:11 - 00:11:56:11
So, yeah, legacy is hugely important for me and it's something

00:11:56:11 - 00:11:59:22
I think Gough and and pretty much all the big decisions I make.

00:11:59:24 - 00:12:03:11
It's, I think of my own legacy and what I want to leave for my children

00:12:03:11 - 00:12:06:26
and for the community around me and for the individuals that I work with

00:12:06:26 - 00:12:07:28
and I teach out of my business.

00:12:07:28 - 00:12:09:12
I want to keep that legacy alive for them

00:12:09:12 - 00:12:11:21
and I want to make sure I'm leaving the right legacy for them.

00:12:11:21 - 00:12:15:23
Yeah, very, very strong differentiator, I should imagine, because,

00:12:15:26 - 00:12:18:23
you know, it doesn't sound in any of that that it's like about the money.

00:12:18:23 - 00:12:23:15
It feels like it's about the mission and it's about the the preservation.

00:12:23:18 - 00:12:24:07
So yeah,

00:12:24:07 - 00:12:25:09
sure, that resonates quite well

00:12:25:09 - 00:12:27:27
with a lot of these established small business owners that,

00:12:27:27 - 00:12:31:16
you know, feel that it's you're leading with, with your heart and some sort of

00:12:31:16 - 00:12:34:19
more social impactful plan

00:12:34:25 - 00:12:37:25
than just how much money can I make from this?

00:12:37:25 - 00:12:40:18
I think the big thing with it is we know we're already

00:12:40:18 - 00:12:44:13
looking at profitable businesses because we only touch profitable businesses.

00:12:44:15 - 00:12:48:01
So any of the businesses that we are looking at as a bit of a base,

00:12:48:04 - 00:12:51:04
we're looking for gross profit margins and narrowing 65%.

00:12:51:04 - 00:12:54:23
We're looking for net profit margins that are probably 20 to 30%.

00:12:54:25 - 00:12:57:32
So we know we are getting good, solid, profitable businesses

00:12:58:01 - 00:13:01:18
and we know that those businesses are doing well as they stand right now.

00:13:01:21 - 00:13:06:14
So we can nearly set aside the money piece and we can put that on the back burner

00:13:06:14 - 00:13:07:31
because we know what's a profitable business.

00:13:07:31 - 00:13:11:10
And we've went to look at it so we can more lead

00:13:11:10 - 00:13:15:01
with the legacy pace and we can lead more with.

00:13:15:02 - 00:13:17:07
Right. Does this fit our portfolio?

00:13:17:07 - 00:13:20:22
Is this a business I want to be associated with a lot of the business owners

00:13:20:22 - 00:13:23:13
that I have thought their business off will tell you that I am.

00:13:23:13 - 00:13:25:28
I check the business before I thought it off them.

00:13:25:28 - 00:13:29:10
I, you know, in the physiotherapy business were in today I had been in

00:13:29:10 - 00:13:32:11
and had physio, friends and family have been in and had physio.

00:13:32:11 - 00:13:35:03
I had been in a small group, personal training classes.

00:13:35:03 - 00:13:38:07
We're really looking to check that there is a sense of community

00:13:38:07 - 00:13:41:14
in these businesses and that's massive post-COVID.

00:13:41:16 - 00:13:45:26
And I don't know about you guys over in England, but over here in Belfast,

00:13:45:26 - 00:13:48:12
like we need community and we are craven community

00:13:48:12 - 00:13:52:33
so much and our local businesses and that is everything from our plumbing

00:13:52:33 - 00:13:54:08
and heating company

00:13:54:08 - 00:13:57:18
where people have a loyalty to go back to the same plumbing and heating engineer

00:13:57:18 - 00:14:02:08
that they have for years before to a small group personal training where

00:14:02:10 - 00:14:05:10
there's a bit of crack and a bit of trust on the WhatsApp group at the weekend.

00:14:05:12 - 00:14:08:25
We are really creative and that and I think that we're very lucky

00:14:08:25 - 00:14:10:28
that we're in a position now where we can set aside

00:14:10:28 - 00:14:15:04
the money aspect and it has moved away from being about money to say, okay,

00:14:15:04 - 00:14:16:33
what are we actually building, What do we want?

00:14:16:33 - 00:14:18:29
Life to look like in another five years?

00:14:18:29 - 00:14:22:07
What can we do to give back?

00:14:22:10 - 00:14:27:25
For instance, this weekend alone we raised 2400 pints, 1200 pints

00:14:27:27 - 00:14:31:28
and one business, 1200 pint, another for to support charities.

00:14:31:28 - 00:14:35:23
And I can't take any credit for it because the team did that and each of

00:14:35:23 - 00:14:37:20
those businesses had absolutely nothing to do with it.

00:14:37:20 - 00:14:40:17
Rocked up on the sandwiches and did the work

00:14:40:17 - 00:14:42:26
and the small great personal training.

00:14:42:26 - 00:14:46:16
The team get really behind it as well, and they really do become a part of it.

00:14:46:17 - 00:14:51:10
And I think when you're leading with that, the money flows.

00:14:51:13 - 00:14:52:06
What a lovely culture.

00:14:52:06 - 00:14:53:31
You built that.

00:14:53:31 - 00:14:54:27
That's no mean feat.

00:14:54:27 - 00:14:57:27
Janna It you know, it is really, really lovely.

00:14:57:27 - 00:15:01:09
But at the same point I don't think you can underestimate

00:15:01:12 - 00:15:03:29
we are so picky with the people that we hire.

00:15:03:29 - 00:15:09:05
And when I say Peggy, I mean the age old and premise

00:15:09:05 - 00:15:13:27
how so far fast is so straight and all of my businesses,

00:15:13:30 - 00:15:18:10
we are incredibly choosy, really strict hiring practices.

00:15:18:10 - 00:15:21:19
And I interview every single staff member that we hire within the business.

00:15:21:19 - 00:15:22:24
They are not getting into one of our

00:15:22:24 - 00:15:26:18
businesses without with without final clearance for myself.

00:15:26:21 - 00:15:27:22
Otherwise this doesn't work.

00:15:27:22 - 00:15:31:12
I need to have a serious am I to trust in the individuals that I hire

00:15:31:15 - 00:15:34:09
because I'm not on site in each business every day.

00:15:34:09 - 00:15:37:05
So we we can't afford for there to be any messing about.

00:15:37:05 - 00:15:42:01
And there has to be a really strong culture of loyalty

00:15:42:04 - 00:15:45:09
and there has to be a really hard work ethic out there.

00:15:45:09 - 00:15:47:21
Otherwise this just wait don't work.

00:15:47:21 - 00:15:49:27
I mean, grow the empire to

00:15:49:27 - 00:15:53:01
more than the 11 and that recruiting might become a full time job.

00:15:53:01 - 00:15:55:18
If you're going to interview every every candidate.

00:15:55:18 - 00:15:57:29
That's some that's impressive.

00:15:57:29 - 00:15:58:06
Yeah.

00:15:58:06 - 00:16:01:13
We'll be we'll be looking for a recruitment agency.

00:16:01:16 - 00:16:02:19
Created by one of those next

00:16:02:19 - 00:16:06:13
and that outsource it definitely more insourcing, I suppose.

00:16:06:16 - 00:16:10:10
So you're a big proponent of no money down in your deal structures.

00:16:10:13 - 00:16:13:27
Has that been the reality for all the deals so far?

00:16:13:30 - 00:16:17:07
So the very first deal I did, I had absolutely no clue

00:16:17:08 - 00:16:19:08
about no money down and card.

00:16:19:08 - 00:16:21:30
My husband and I had made a bit of money during COVID

00:16:21:30 - 00:16:24:16
and we had sort of sat back and thought, right,

00:16:24:16 - 00:16:25:32
what are we actually going to do now?

00:16:25:32 - 00:16:28:16
What are we going to do with this money? For?

00:16:28:16 - 00:16:31:15
I often tell people my husband, God bless him, is absolutely

00:16:31:15 - 00:16:32:32
fantastic, is really good at what he does.

00:16:32:32 - 00:16:34:26
But as the biggest spender that you will ever meet

00:16:34:26 - 00:16:37:33
and Carl loves his toys and there's jetskis and there's boats

00:16:37:33 - 00:16:40:20
and there's all these weird, wonderful things that he has on it.

00:16:40:20 - 00:16:42:03
You can't make money in the bank account too long.

00:16:42:03 - 00:16:43:12
So I thought, Right, what are we going to do with this?

00:16:43:12 - 00:16:44:17
What are we going to do to invest it?

00:16:44:17 - 00:16:48:02
And that's how we got into small business acquisitions in the first place.

00:16:48:05 - 00:16:50:32
It mesmerized me that so many small business owners

00:16:50:32 - 00:16:53:06
will use their money and invest into property

00:16:53:06 - 00:16:55:03
whenever they already know how to run the business.

00:16:55:03 - 00:16:56:24
So why would they learn a new skill set?

00:16:56:24 - 00:16:59:15
Why would they not just buy small businesses?

00:16:59:15 - 00:17:00:32
And that way

00:17:01:01 - 00:17:01:21
it baffles me.

00:17:01:21 - 00:17:02:28
Still am.

00:17:02:28 - 00:17:04:12
Either I'm wrong in that or they're wrong or not.

00:17:04:12 - 00:17:06:27
But in my head and my head, I'm definitely right on that.

00:17:06:27 - 00:17:08:18
And I guess.

00:17:08:18 - 00:17:11:01
It's better the timing because it's like where

00:17:11:01 - 00:17:14:15
I don't know what the housing market's like in Northern Ireland, but the yield

00:17:14:15 - 00:17:18:14
now on property as an asset class is a lot less attractive than it was

00:17:18:17 - 00:17:22:00
to our parents who, you know, that was a no brainer.

00:17:22:00 - 00:17:24:30
They could make serious money owning a property portfolio.

00:17:24:30 - 00:17:26:29
Now you'd make a much better yield on a small business.

00:17:26:29 - 00:17:29:08
Arguably. Yeah, absolutely.

00:17:29:08 - 00:17:33:12
And while I do appreciate you do it is an appreciated and assessed absolutely.

00:17:33:15 - 00:17:37:08
But you know use the money by a business cash flow in business

00:17:37:08 - 00:17:38:24
and then use the money to pop into property

00:17:38:24 - 00:17:40:22
tell you whenever the market is a little bit different,

00:17:40:22 - 00:17:43:00
you know, use multiple different investment strategies

00:17:43:00 - 00:17:47:03
and have multiple different investment and come stream sorry, we need that.

00:17:47:04 - 00:17:48:13
We need to be smart.

00:17:48:13 - 00:17:51:12
Life is definitely changing and it's changing thick and fast and it's

00:17:51:12 - 00:17:53:10
going to change faster with AI as well.

00:17:53:10 - 00:17:55:19
So we need to we need to be smart about it.

00:17:55:19 - 00:17:59:15
But in terms of the sort of no money down strategy, the first date I ever bought

00:17:59:24 - 00:18:02:22
was a beauty salon. I paid £15,000 for it.

00:18:02:22 - 00:18:05:14
I had no idea about no money dying at that stage.

00:18:05:14 - 00:18:08:13
I just had 15,000 fines. Spare that. I could.

00:18:08:13 - 00:18:10:31
I could buy this business. That's exactly what I did.

00:18:10:31 - 00:18:15:00
And it was only then from that whenever I bought that business

00:18:15:00 - 00:18:16:00
and I really find a love for it.

00:18:16:00 - 00:18:16:20
And I thought, you know,

00:18:16:20 - 00:18:18:10
this is what I want to do actually, more

00:18:18:10 - 00:18:20:21
so than running the plumbing and heating company.

00:18:20:21 - 00:18:23:08
I want to be doing this more full time.

00:18:23:08 - 00:18:27:06
And I started then looking into small business acquisitions and offer a lot more

00:18:27:09 - 00:18:31:18
on seller finance was the first form of of no money dinner suppose you could say

00:18:31:21 - 00:18:36:05
and that I came across and I done a bit a bit of digging on.

00:18:36:05 - 00:18:38:01
I tried to find out a little bit more and I remember

00:18:38:01 - 00:18:40:14
phoning my solicitor at the time and saying,

00:18:40:14 - 00:18:43:02
Do you think I could buy a business in this way here?

00:18:43:02 - 00:18:46:06
And he said to be upset, You know, I was never going to take off.

00:18:46:09 - 00:18:47:31
Why is it so?

00:18:47:31 - 00:18:50:31
Why is that always the advice that I don't understand

00:18:50:31 - 00:18:55:11
why so many solicitors caution against no money down or self-finance.

00:18:55:11 - 00:18:58:11
I mean, it's there is a reality in certain types of business.

00:18:58:11 - 00:19:01:21
So yeah, get advice. You got.

00:19:01:24 - 00:19:04:00
It. It absolutely is. It absolutely is.

00:19:04:00 - 00:19:05:03
And I still laugh to this day

00:19:05:03 - 00:19:08:03
and I remind him of that quite often that he told me that this would never work.

00:19:08:05 - 00:19:11:05
And if businesses later passed, it was

00:19:11:05 - 00:19:14:19
then whenever I started digging into that that we got into bigger days.

00:19:14:19 - 00:19:18:06
And yes, while I can buy a barbershop, a beauty salon,

00:19:18:06 - 00:19:22:08
a hairdressers, for instance, for no money dying, and absolutely I can

00:19:22:16 - 00:19:24:22
then whenever I was getting into the bigger days,

00:19:24:22 - 00:19:27:29
we were looking at, right, we do need some form of upfront money,

00:19:27:29 - 00:19:29:04
especially if you're dealing with brokers.

00:19:29:04 - 00:19:32:15
Brokers are going to want to see upfront money and they can be a bit sneaky

00:19:32:15 - 00:19:34:20
and not actually pass on your details to sellers.

00:19:34:20 - 00:19:38:07
Often if you're not telling them that there's a bit of money upfront.

00:19:38:09 - 00:19:42:14
And we started looking at what other creative deal structures can we have here

00:19:42:17 - 00:19:45:12
and, and we have bought businesses and run the quarter

00:19:45:12 - 00:19:49:08
of a mill mark daily with no money down fees and creative structures.

00:19:49:11 - 00:19:50:24
There's so many ways that you can do it.

00:19:50:24 - 00:19:52:23
The list is absolutely endless.

00:19:52:23 - 00:19:55:08
You have just got to think outside of the box

00:19:55:08 - 00:19:57:00
and you cannot limit yourself to you.

00:19:57:00 - 00:19:59:26
There's only one or two ways to do this because there's not.

00:19:59:26 - 00:20:03:21
So even starting using leverage from banks and lenders

00:20:03:21 - 00:20:08:22
like beyond the seller's finance now using loans.

00:20:08:25 - 00:20:11:22
So we have absolutely no bank loans still to this day.

00:20:11:22 - 00:20:13:20
Well done is which is fantastic.

00:20:13:20 - 00:20:14:18
Really, really good.

00:20:14:18 - 00:20:19:28
We have used investors and we have brought two investors on the two separate days.

00:20:19:31 - 00:20:23:13
And at the minute we are looking at different ways that we can bring money

00:20:23:13 - 00:20:24:03
into the business.

00:20:24:03 - 00:20:29:06
So, you know, getting loans based off the credit card payments and taking all the.

00:20:29:08 - 00:20:31:32
Cash flow finance stuff. Absolutely revenue.

00:20:31:32 - 00:20:35:17
So we are we're looking at different ways that we can do it.

00:20:35:18 - 00:20:38:16
But the big thing is there is money out there to be had.

00:20:38:16 - 00:20:41:01
There is money out there to be used and people want to lend to you

00:20:41:01 - 00:20:43:18
because that is ultimately how they make their money.

00:20:43:18 - 00:20:46:13
It is just one out there and finding it and being creative thought.

00:20:46:13 - 00:20:50:10
Brilliant capital definitely wants to be allocated and so

00:20:50:12 - 00:20:53:26
we are a conduit for the right to money going into the right deals.

00:20:53:26 - 00:20:54:29
Definitely.

00:20:54:29 - 00:20:59:02
So how has the no money down when you have used it

00:20:59:04 - 00:21:00:15
landed with the sellers,

00:21:00:15 - 00:21:04:10
How have you managed to structure it in a way that they embrace?

00:21:04:13 - 00:21:07:14
So I suppose it really depends on each seller, in particular

00:21:07:14 - 00:21:10:14
on its plans, what they're actually looking to get out of their business.

00:21:10:21 - 00:21:12:29
And with people that I'm working with at the minute

00:21:12:29 - 00:21:16:07
that are looking at buying businesses, they have paid offers and businesses

00:21:16:07 - 00:21:20:14
at a quarter of £1,000,000 and they have been failing at new money.

00:21:20:14 - 00:21:24:14
Tyndale So again, mix of creative finance and structures

00:21:24:21 - 00:21:26:27
and then we've had sellers come and say, yes, that's no problem.

00:21:26:27 - 00:21:27:30
We'll take that quarter from it.

00:21:27:30 - 00:21:29:20
But you know what, if you just give us 50,000

00:21:29:20 - 00:21:31:19
pending cash, Well, so walk away with that.

00:21:31:19 - 00:21:34:14
And we've again been able to use creative things, structures

00:21:34:14 - 00:21:37:31
where we're not using the individual's own £50,000 to buy those businesses.

00:21:38:04 - 00:21:38:30
I mean, you think about it

00:21:38:30 - 00:21:42:27
like buying a business of £50,000 versus a quarter of a million.

00:21:42:29 - 00:21:45:04
It's a huge, huge differentiation.

00:21:45:04 - 00:21:49:18
Like that is a massive, massive change. And

00:21:49:21 - 00:21:50:18
we have a click on that a bit.

00:21:50:18 - 00:21:53:30
Why would they why would they volunteer year to take 50 K

00:21:54:02 - 00:21:57:14
when there's 250 K in the deal structure on the table?

00:21:57:17 - 00:22:00:22
So for those particular people, they want it to get out faster.

00:22:00:30 - 00:22:03:26
So they didn't want to be waiting on the money coming in slowly

00:22:03:26 - 00:22:06:23
sort of Europe Satan over three years they just wanted to get

00:22:06:23 - 00:22:08:29
they were relocating and they wanted to move abroad

00:22:08:29 - 00:22:10:30
and they were happy taking the 50 angled.

00:22:10:30 - 00:22:11:29
Nice. Yeah.

00:22:11:29 - 00:22:15:11
And I guess what you're offering in those, those different structures,

00:22:15:14 - 00:22:17:29
it's, it's for them to decide I guess ultimately

00:22:17:29 - 00:22:21:20
if they want less money but sooner or more money over a longer time.

00:22:21:22 - 00:22:24:28
Yeah that's exactly it it's No one your seller

00:22:24:31 - 00:22:27:20
and putting multiple offers on the table to get a fee

00:22:27:20 - 00:22:31:15
for what the seller actually wants or what they actually need.

00:22:31:18 - 00:22:34:09
And again, you know, we are doing small business acquisitions.

00:22:34:09 - 00:22:35:30
So the things that we're looking at

00:22:35:30 - 00:22:39:02
at the minute and often has went up both a quarter

00:22:39:02 - 00:22:42:28
of £1,000,000 in terms of an acquisition and that is different

00:22:42:28 - 00:22:47:04
to what, you know, people working on larger M&A days are looking at.

00:22:47:04 - 00:22:50:06
So, you know, if you're looking at the research out there

00:22:50:06 - 00:22:53:11
or you're looking at articles or you're speaking to people

00:22:53:11 - 00:22:56:31
in the M&A space, very often they can say absolute nonsense.

00:22:56:31 - 00:22:59:19
No way, that doesn't work. That's not happening.

00:22:59:19 - 00:23:03:30
And yet we're sitting here saying this, this is actually happening.

00:23:03:31 - 00:23:05:29
We're doing it right now.

00:23:05:29 - 00:23:09:12
And I think we do need to be more open minded to the fact that we can do

00:23:09:12 - 00:23:10:29
these creative data structures.

00:23:10:29 - 00:23:14:08
And it's also not always what the professionals tell you

00:23:14:10 - 00:23:18:09
don't always get sidelined With my M&A professional said this, my solicitor

00:23:18:09 - 00:23:19:31
said this, my client and said this

00:23:19:31 - 00:23:22:19
because ultimately use the person that's acquiring this business,

00:23:22:19 - 00:23:25:13
you as the individual that is going to be responsible for this business.

00:23:25:13 - 00:23:29:17
You as the individual have an off the cuff conversations with the seller.

00:23:29:20 - 00:23:32:09
No, often more than what those individuals do.

00:23:32:09 - 00:23:34:24
Yes, we need to take the right information and we need to,

00:23:34:24 - 00:23:37:01
you know, make informed decisions with that.

00:23:37:01 - 00:23:38:08
But the buck stops with you

00:23:38:08 - 00:23:41:02
and you need to decide then what way you're going to go forward with it.

00:23:41:02 - 00:23:41:21
Absolutely.

00:23:41:21 - 00:23:46:09
There is no cost on and set in stone rule or even handbook.

00:23:46:16 - 00:23:48:09
I mean, that works for every single deal,

00:23:48:09 - 00:23:51:00
every deals different, every set of conditions

00:23:51:00 - 00:23:54:14
is unique to the to the business in question.

00:23:54:17 - 00:23:57:27
And yeah, you've got to plow your own furrow and find what works for you.

00:23:57:27 - 00:24:00:14
So, you know, more power to you for doing that.

00:24:00:14 - 00:24:02:17
Let's talk sourcing. Can we get to you?

00:24:02:17 - 00:24:05:27
You mentioned brokers there a little while ago, and I obviously assumed that you've

00:24:05:27 - 00:24:08:33
now got a fair bit of a busy inbox with people saying, Hey, Joanna,

00:24:09:06 - 00:24:10:24
I want to combine my business.

00:24:10:24 - 00:24:13:27
But when you were first setting out, where are you looking?

00:24:13:27 - 00:24:17:01
How are you have are you finding these businesses to buy?

00:24:17:03 - 00:24:20:16
So the very first day we ever did, I actually find an accountant.

00:24:20:17 - 00:24:22:07
I put it up on Instagram.

00:24:22:07 - 00:24:22:21
I have

00:24:22:21 - 00:24:24:20
and that is the first day that we ever find

00:24:24:20 - 00:24:27:12
and the first business that we actually bought hilariously,

00:24:27:12 - 00:24:31:04
since then, we've bought businesses from a range of different places,

00:24:31:04 - 00:24:33:26
so we've actually set them up for sale in property sites.

00:24:33:26 - 00:24:36:30
We have seen them on broker sites, we've seen them on the likes of businesses

00:24:36:30 - 00:24:37:08
for sale

00:24:37:08 - 00:24:41:04
dot com and but then we've also found an awful lot three individuals dot com

00:24:41:04 - 00:24:44:32
and they us where we have put herself out publicly and get in a bit more of a name.

00:24:45:01 - 00:24:47:00
I always find it really funny

00:24:47:00 - 00:24:49:22
we have a Facebook page here called and I business

00:24:49:22 - 00:24:53:05
and Northern Ireland and my husband just finds it absolutely hilarious.

00:24:53:05 - 00:24:56:27
At the second page someone picks up that they are selling their business.

00:24:56:30 - 00:24:59:31
There will be a raft of people. Teigen

00:25:00:00 - 00:25:02:31
type.

00:25:02:31 - 00:25:04:07
This is not what he's like.

00:25:04:07 - 00:25:05:21
Why the hell do these people know?

00:25:05:21 - 00:25:08:10
But you do know them. And I'm like, I take no idea who they are.

00:25:08:10 - 00:25:09:32
Absolutely no idea.

00:25:09:32 - 00:25:13:14
You're not the only person buying small businesses in Northern Ireland. So.

00:25:13:17 - 00:25:14:20
Well, apparently I am.

00:25:14:20 - 00:25:15:23
We're not going to tell them any different

00:25:15:23 - 00:25:19:15
because I like I like it in ten plus a day and my inbox was like that at.

00:25:19:15 - 00:25:21:33
That or not is a menu of choice that is.

00:25:21:33 - 00:25:23:18
Yeah, you can very be very specific

00:25:23:18 - 00:25:25:31
about what you want if you've got that kind of deal plan.

00:25:25:31 - 00:25:26:27
Absolutely.

00:25:26:27 - 00:25:29:03
But it is it's it is about building up your deal flow

00:25:29:03 - 00:25:33:15
and it's about not forgetting details very like market.

00:25:33:15 - 00:25:36:17
And you'll often find within a business people are focused

00:25:36:17 - 00:25:40:21
on social media, organic social media and organic paid ups and deal flows.

00:25:40:21 - 00:25:43:22
Exactly the same people will just look at the likes of businesses for sale

00:25:43:22 - 00:25:46:13
dot com Best Buy, sell Daltons business, whatever it is.

00:25:46:13 - 00:25:47:22
And they'll just focus on that.

00:25:47:22 - 00:25:49:20
But there's so much else goes into marketing

00:25:49:20 - 00:25:51:06
and there's so much else goes into daily flow

00:25:51:06 - 00:25:54:06
You know don't forget to stick the sign above your window.

00:25:54:06 - 00:25:57:10
Don't forget to go out with your flowers and do your flower drops.

00:25:57:18 - 00:25:58:29
It's exactly the same with your day.

00:25:58:29 - 00:26:00:26
So don't forget to actually be

00:26:00:26 - 00:26:03:05
that walking billboard and tell people what you're looking for.

00:26:03:05 - 00:26:06:05
They might have people that have done our business by Blueprint,

00:26:06:09 - 00:26:09:15
have been on a golf course, have just chatted to the individual

00:26:09:15 - 00:26:11:13
that they're paying around to golf with and said,

00:26:11:13 - 00:26:14:04
I'm interested about a business, but, you know, like it has to be gone

00:26:14:04 - 00:26:16:24
a few years and the staff have to be well and to stay out it

00:26:16:24 - 00:26:19:24
because they don't want to be back on the job and I want it to be profitable.

00:26:19:24 - 00:26:23:04
And then the next thing they've X, Y and Z phone numbers and their phone with

00:26:23:04 - 00:26:27:12
individuals that have told their friend that they want to sell their business.

00:26:27:15 - 00:26:30:15
So you have to think of your daily flow

00:26:30:18 - 00:26:34:06
as not just one route and you have to think like your sales funnel.

00:26:34:06 - 00:26:37:02
How am I bringing this in from a range of different sources?

00:26:37:02 - 00:26:38:03
Beautiful. Yeah.

00:26:38:03 - 00:26:42:00
That multifaceted sourcing strategy is is gold

00:26:42:03 - 00:26:45:08
because like you say, people just overindex on one channel and wonder

00:26:45:08 - 00:26:48:08
why it's crickets or they're not getting the kind of businesses that they want.

00:26:48:15 - 00:26:52:14
Have you seen an uptick or an increase in the amount of businesses

00:26:52:14 - 00:26:56:16
for sale in over the last sort of, you know, since you started looking?

00:26:56:16 - 00:26:58:26
Maybe, you know, we see the things that we are

00:26:58:26 - 00:27:02:12
more alert to, but could you honestly say whether there is more choice

00:27:02:13 - 00:27:06:15
now than there was maybe when you started in 2021?

00:27:06:17 - 00:27:07:17
Yeah, massively.

00:27:07:17 - 00:27:08:12
I would have said,

00:27:08:12 - 00:27:12:27
especially here in Belfast, you know, we have 70,000 micro-businesses.

00:27:12:27 - 00:27:15:27
So anything with under ten employees in the north of Ireland alone.

00:27:16:00 - 00:27:20:05
And that figure was as of I think it was March 2022, that figure was I.

00:27:20:07 - 00:27:23:12
But that's the kind of scope that we're dealing with here.

00:27:23:12 - 00:27:26:31
So if we have lost in the north of Ireland place, that's belief elsewhere.

00:27:26:31 - 00:27:28:08
There is a hell of a lot more.

00:27:28:08 - 00:27:31:00
And at one stage we actually started looking further faded.

00:27:31:00 - 00:27:34:00
So we started looking down into Dublin and beyond because we thought,

00:27:34:07 - 00:27:36:25
the pipeline is drying up a little bit here.

00:27:36:25 - 00:27:40:10
But we do find that there are searches and then we do find the people

00:27:40:10 - 00:27:41:33
pull back a little best and then they sort of

00:27:41:33 - 00:27:44:21
come back into the equation again, just like marketing.

00:27:44:21 - 00:27:47:33
And so I think that's always something to be definitely mindful of.

00:27:47:33 - 00:27:50:02
But there definitely is more for sale like there NOI,

00:27:50:02 - 00:27:52:05
than what there would have been three or four years ago.

00:27:52:05 - 00:27:55:24
And people are also being creative about how they actually

00:27:55:24 - 00:27:57:23
advertise their business for sale.

00:27:57:23 - 00:28:02:31
We are very much a word of mouth community here, very private individuals.

00:28:03:00 - 00:28:03:11
You know,

00:28:03:11 - 00:28:07:04
my dad is still of the generation that you don't see things on social media.

00:28:07:07 - 00:28:10:01
You don't let your left hand know what your right hand stand is.

00:28:10:01 - 00:28:13:09
A very famous man and my family household.

00:28:13:12 - 00:28:16:14
So we do have individuals that we've not paid their business up

00:28:16:15 - 00:28:18:20
for sale online, even if it is confidential,

00:28:18:20 - 00:28:21:12
it will just be a private sale

00:28:21:12 - 00:28:24:25
on a sort of off the cuff conversation.

00:28:24:25 - 00:28:27:25
Even at the weekend there, I had a lady contact me about her business.

00:28:27:33 - 00:28:29:10
She wants a quick sale.

00:28:29:10 - 00:28:30:22
Business is profitable.

00:28:30:22 - 00:28:32:09
It meets all of our thresholds.

00:28:32:09 - 00:28:34:26
It's actually a very well known business here in Belfast,

00:28:34:26 - 00:28:38:08
and she just has a fear of putting it out publicly that the business is for sale

00:28:38:08 - 00:28:41:07
in case the stock fine die or in case anything sort of goes wrong.

00:28:41:07 - 00:28:42:28
And she just wants a quiet sale.

00:28:42:28 - 00:28:45:30
And so I would say for anybody that is interested in this,

00:28:45:30 - 00:28:47:11
do you put yourself out publicly?

00:28:47:11 - 00:28:49:19
Do let people know, even if it is just on the golf

00:28:49:19 - 00:28:51:13
course, you're playing a game of Hoddle's weekend.

00:28:51:13 - 00:28:53:13
Whatever it is, let people know what you're looking for

00:28:53:13 - 00:28:56:15
because you will find then people will start bringing them to you.

00:28:56:16 - 00:28:59:01
And that obviously is very nice

00:28:59:01 - 00:29:01:13
that you're not having to spend a lot of your time sourcing.

00:29:01:13 - 00:29:02:06
Yes, it is.

00:29:02:06 - 00:29:05:25
Although it creates some sort of obligation

00:29:05:25 - 00:29:10:29
to respond to all of them, which maybe a bit it does you need to hire for.

00:29:10:32 - 00:29:13:02
So let's I want to get into the business buyer's blueprint.

00:29:13:02 - 00:29:14:16
But just before we do,

00:29:14:16 - 00:29:17:00
you know, it would be wrong to think that it's always been up

00:29:17:00 - 00:29:18:22
and to the right and everything's been rosy

00:29:18:22 - 00:29:21:00
and there's been no kind of challenges and obstacles along the way.

00:29:21:00 - 00:29:24:04
You mention, obviously, the unexpected illness

00:29:24:04 - 00:29:26:18
or condition of your daughter, but what else?

00:29:26:18 - 00:29:27:20
What are the challenges with life

00:29:27:20 - 00:29:29:06
thrown at you over the last four or five years

00:29:29:06 - 00:29:31:25
while you've been on this acquisition journey?

00:29:31:25 - 00:29:32:26
Yes. And you know what?

00:29:32:26 - 00:29:33:22
I love to ask that

00:29:33:22 - 00:29:37:01
because I think too many people out there make it to be extremely rosy

00:29:37:01 - 00:29:40:16
and everything just goes smooth sailing because it absolutely doesn't.

00:29:40:19 - 00:29:41:23
And a couple of years ago,

00:29:41:23 - 00:29:43:19
I was actually diagnosed with Graves Disease

00:29:43:19 - 00:29:45:29
and that threw a major spanner in the works.

00:29:45:29 - 00:29:50:05
And I firmly, firmly believe that that hadn't have happened and I hadn't of sort

00:29:50:06 - 00:29:53:32
it taken a year, step back and knuckle and pierced that I previously was.

00:29:54:01 - 00:29:56:05
We would have a hell of a lot more businesses than what we do now.

00:29:56:05 - 00:29:58:21
So it's a bit frustrating, but I've had to make peace with that.

00:29:58:21 - 00:30:01:20
And but when you are then battling your own medical condition,

00:30:01:20 - 00:30:06:08
plus then battling a child with a really serious disability and,

00:30:06:11 - 00:30:08:10
you know, a hefty amount of time spent in hospital

00:30:08:10 - 00:30:11:02
and a half the amount of time spent on the care for her.

00:30:11:02 - 00:30:12:21
And that is hard.

00:30:12:21 - 00:30:15:32
And that is something that you have weeks where mentally it's just really,

00:30:15:32 - 00:30:17:01
really tough.

00:30:17:01 - 00:30:19:29
And I have had to spend a lot of time

00:30:19:29 - 00:30:22:21
prioritizing myself and that of my family.

00:30:22:21 - 00:30:25:21
You know, we have farm rooms in our house of SAT days of the week

00:30:25:21 - 00:30:28:28
that we don't do anything else, that we spend time together as a family,

00:30:28:31 - 00:30:33:04
you know, a dedicated phone off time, that we can really have that one on

00:30:33:04 - 00:30:36:11
one time with the kids and have that one on one time with each other

00:30:36:14 - 00:30:38:02
because you can forget about each other.

00:30:38:02 - 00:30:42:08
And we really firmly built this portfolio of businesses

00:30:42:08 - 00:30:45:08
to give us a fantastic lifestyle, which which thankfully has,

00:30:45:12 - 00:30:48:08
but also don't want to lose my husband in the process of that,

00:30:48:08 - 00:30:49:25
to want to lose time with my kids

00:30:49:25 - 00:30:53:03
in the process of that which he could get swept up and Nick could do.

00:30:53:04 - 00:30:56:06
So yeah, thankfully the other side of that medical condition.

00:30:56:06 - 00:30:56:27
But you know,

00:30:56:27 - 00:30:59:14
that's something that I will have for life and I'm always going to have to juggle.

00:30:59:14 - 00:31:02:09
So I feel very careful, you know, make sure I eat well,

00:31:02:09 - 00:31:05:17
make sure a tree and regularly make sure I get that doing time.

00:31:05:20 - 00:31:09:03
And and then we did have one business that we really,

00:31:09:03 - 00:31:10:18
really massively struggled with.

00:31:10:18 - 00:31:15:21
And I make no qualms in social media that I focus on service based businesses.

00:31:15:23 - 00:31:18:13
But I did I got swept up and I bought a product based business

00:31:18:13 - 00:31:21:11
and that was our bridal boutique and that was hard.

00:31:21:11 - 00:31:23:04
And we still have us to this day.

00:31:23:04 - 00:31:28:03
And I firmly, firmly believe it will be the business that tests me constantly.

00:31:28:11 - 00:31:32:29
And that sounds hilarious when I say my hardest business is a little bit

00:31:32:32 - 00:31:35:25
like when you think that it's ridiculous.

00:31:35:25 - 00:31:37:29
Like the concept is insane,

00:31:37:29 - 00:31:42:09
but it is an extremely tough industry, an extremely tough industry.

00:31:42:12 - 00:31:46:03
And and it is the one that has most definitely tested me

00:31:46:03 - 00:31:49:26
in terms of marketing, in terms of getting bums on seats,

00:31:49:29 - 00:31:53:19
in terms of getting their name out there, the brand awareness, the cashflow.

00:31:53:27 - 00:31:57:11
It has tested me in every area of having a business and there's there's

00:31:57:11 - 00:31:59:07
been some sleepless nights with that one.

00:31:59:07 - 00:32:02:09
It broke all of the rights and it didn't meet any of the road.

00:32:02:15 - 00:32:05:14
Whenever we were buying it. And

00:32:05:17 - 00:32:08:18
yeah, I probably take it a little bit swept up being female and,

00:32:08:18 - 00:32:10:19
and at the end bridal and I thought this is going

00:32:10:19 - 00:32:12:15
to be really lovely and it's going to be really fun.

00:32:12:15 - 00:32:15:14
But it is important to know what your views are on the firm.

00:32:15:14 - 00:32:16:18
We stick with it.

00:32:16:18 - 00:32:19:20
It's a discipline and obviously you've now got a living reminder

00:32:19:20 - 00:32:22:27
of what happens when you depart from your thesis.

00:32:22:30 - 00:32:28:25
But but yeah, I mean, hats off to you for a entering a very challenging market,

00:32:28:28 - 00:32:30:25
but a testament to you for turning it around

00:32:30:25 - 00:32:33:32
and keeping it in the portfolio and keeping it keeping it going and thriving.

00:32:33:32 - 00:32:34:30
So well done.

00:32:34:30 - 00:32:40:01
Let's get into the business Buyer's Blueprint.

00:32:40:04 - 00:32:45:06
What inspired you, in addition to managing a growing family,

00:32:45:09 - 00:32:45:25
owning eight

00:32:45:25 - 00:32:50:19
businesses, continuing to search for more, what led you to want to put out there,

00:32:50:19 - 00:32:54:22
this community, an opportunity for future business buyers?

00:32:54:24 - 00:32:56:26
I think for me, whenever I sort of fail

00:32:56:26 - 00:33:00:21
and this industry and there wasn't anything out there,

00:33:00:23 - 00:33:03:15
there wasn't sort of somewhere that I could go,

00:33:03:15 - 00:33:06:24
that was UK, Ireland best

00:33:06:26 - 00:33:11:02
that knew the market as it stayed here in the UK and Ireland.

00:33:11:02 - 00:33:12:17
And that really frustrated me.

00:33:12:17 - 00:33:15:22
You know, I nearly wanted somewhere to go that I could just take something

00:33:15:22 - 00:33:16:27
and plug and play it.

00:33:16:27 - 00:33:21:17
I very much respect the time and the understanding of other people

00:33:21:19 - 00:33:25:18
and I have mentors that I go to that are far ahead of the game.

00:33:25:18 - 00:33:30:01
I am in comparison to myself and I will never underestimate

00:33:30:01 - 00:33:33:04
paying those individuals for them to fast track me through a process.

00:33:33:04 - 00:33:36:28
Why would I not leverage the time and the experience of other people

00:33:36:31 - 00:33:38:14
to fast track through a problem?

00:33:38:14 - 00:33:43:04
Didn't you know the way I haven't lost X amount of time in the bridal paycheck

00:33:43:07 - 00:33:45:11
and whenever I looked for something, there wasn't anything here.

00:33:45:11 - 00:33:47:03
And I find that really frustrating.

00:33:47:03 - 00:33:50:19
And I thought, well, maybe we should do something like a building, like something.

00:33:50:25 - 00:33:53:33
We'll see if there ever is a demand or a market for it.

00:33:54:02 - 00:33:57:18
And slowly over time, people kept coming and saying to me,

00:33:57:18 - 00:33:59:04
you know, would you show me how to do this?

00:33:59:04 - 00:34:01:32
Can you help me do that? And that was you on LinkedIn.

00:34:01:32 - 00:34:03:08
That was on Instagram.

00:34:03:08 - 00:34:06:05
That was, you know, word of mouth individuals coming to me.

00:34:06:05 - 00:34:10:07
And I suppose I've done it for so long, just helping people, being up for coffee,

00:34:10:07 - 00:34:11:25
giving them advice and guidance,

00:34:11:25 - 00:34:15:10
and then individuals would take that advice and guidance go off,

00:34:15:10 - 00:34:17:17
but they would only get so far again and then they might

00:34:17:17 - 00:34:19:07
just actually not proceed with a deal.

00:34:19:07 - 00:34:22:25
They might drop off and or they were then, you know, saying that,

00:34:22:32 - 00:34:24:23
I think with Janet, Janice told me how to do this.

00:34:24:23 - 00:34:27:23
But then they pulled out of a deal and nearly retracted badly on me.

00:34:27:27 - 00:34:28:23
And I thought, you know what?

00:34:28:23 - 00:34:32:04
We need to build something to show people exactly how to do this.

00:34:32:04 - 00:34:37:15
And when I decided to build it, I did not want it to be a one day

00:34:37:18 - 00:34:39:31
equivalent to t study.

00:34:39:31 - 00:34:41:15
And for your theory, test in your driving test.

00:34:41:15 - 00:34:45:11
I didn't want it to be that because the reality is every day is different.

00:34:45:14 - 00:34:48:18
You're going to cram across scenarios and every day that are going to be

00:34:48:18 - 00:34:49:16
strange, are going to be

00:34:49:16 - 00:34:52:16
startling, are going to be a little bit new that you didn't have in the last one.

00:34:52:16 - 00:34:53:16
And I thought, right,

00:34:53:16 - 00:34:57:15
we need to be with people from the start of this journey right up to the day

00:34:57:15 - 00:35:01:16
that we signed for their their business and that's what we decided to build.

00:35:01:19 - 00:35:04:27
So we have this sort of theory angle where we do like 60

00:35:04:27 - 00:35:07:31
to 90 minutes with people and we show them everything that they need to know.

00:35:07:31 - 00:35:10:23
We teach them what they need to know about, about M&A.

00:35:10:23 - 00:35:12:24
And, you know, where do you find the businesses?

00:35:12:24 - 00:35:15:14
How do you read a set of a kind of how do you construct the day?

00:35:15:14 - 00:35:16:28
How do you value business?

00:35:16:28 - 00:35:18:25
What do you diligence needs to be done?

00:35:18:25 - 00:35:20:01
We do all of that with them,

00:35:20:01 - 00:35:22:25
give them all the tools and resources that they're going to need.

00:35:22:25 - 00:35:25:25
So, you know, that might be a 300 line to diligence stock.

00:35:25:33 - 00:35:30:24
That might be a valuation tailored for a business, but then we stick

00:35:30:30 - 00:35:34:05
with those individuals up until the day that they sign for a business.

00:35:34:05 - 00:35:37:00
And I fully they're working 1 to 1 with them.

00:35:37:00 - 00:35:41:21
It is just myself and I stick with them to make they get the deal for the line.

00:35:41:24 - 00:35:42:10
Fabulous.

00:35:42:10 - 00:35:46:22
And does it lead to any co-investment opportunities for you

00:35:46:22 - 00:35:51:02
or you deliberately kind of, you know, Chinese walling yourself?

00:35:51:05 - 00:35:55:09
Because it's hard once you get into one in the community, it kind of you know,

00:35:55:12 - 00:35:56:20
you have to make a conscious decision

00:35:56:20 - 00:35:58:32
as to whether you're going to do it or not. But

00:35:58:32 - 00:36:01:02
has it led to or was it ever set up with the intention

00:36:01:02 - 00:36:02:31
to create co-investment opportunities?

00:36:02:31 - 00:36:05:02
Or are you just giving back?

00:36:05:02 - 00:36:05:31
Just giving back?

00:36:05:31 - 00:36:07:18
So I suppose for me right now,

00:36:07:18 - 00:36:08:18
my big thing is

00:36:08:18 - 00:36:10:24
if I can show you harder than no money dying day,

00:36:10:24 - 00:36:13:19
why are you going to give me a percentage of your business? Nor do I want to.

00:36:13:19 - 00:36:17:16
I want people to go out and build an incredible lifestyle for themselves.

00:36:17:16 - 00:36:18:03
The way we have.

00:36:18:03 - 00:36:21:20
You know, my husband and I find ourselves very lucky and very privileged.

00:36:21:20 - 00:36:24:06
We have three kids in private education.

00:36:24:06 - 00:36:26:27
We have a house with no mortgage.

00:36:26:27 - 00:36:29:20
We never really comfortable, lovely life.

00:36:29:20 - 00:36:33:05
And it is not about having a Ferrari in the front driveway,

00:36:33:05 - 00:36:34:32
although I wouldn't put it past Karl at this stage.

00:36:34:32 - 00:36:36:09
He's got a boat and a jet ski, so you might as well

00:36:36:09 - 00:36:38:32
a lot of Ferrari collection, but it was never about that.

00:36:38:32 - 00:36:41:32
It was about being comfortable, not struggling

00:36:41:33 - 00:36:45:21
and living a lovely lifestyle, good drinking

00:36:45:21 - 00:36:48:28
good wine and it was more for that experiential thing

00:36:48:28 - 00:36:50:20
and I want that for other people.

00:36:50:20 - 00:36:51:07
That's amazing.

00:36:51:07 - 00:36:56:13
And yes, you wouldn't be the first to have taken stakes in the community sourced

00:36:56:14 - 00:37:02:32
deal flow, but it's credit to you that you have not done it for that reason.

00:37:03:01 - 00:37:07:00
So you have mentioned, I think quite publicly that business

00:37:07:00 - 00:37:11:04
acquisitions are becoming more accessible and attractive to first time

00:37:11:06 - 00:37:12:10
entrepreneurs.

00:37:12:10 - 00:37:14:19
I'm really intrigued by that because I think the same,

00:37:14:19 - 00:37:16:23
but I'm wondering for coming at it from the same angle.

00:37:16:23 - 00:37:19:10
So tell me what what made you think that way?

00:37:19:10 - 00:37:22:21
And and where do you see it going?

00:37:22:24 - 00:37:26:23
I think the reality is if you can think of individuals that you went to school

00:37:26:23 - 00:37:30:17
with, you will know of some individuals that didn't get on the university race.

00:37:30:17 - 00:37:33:24
They maybe went to college, they learned to trade.

00:37:33:26 - 00:37:34:33
They were really good at their trade.

00:37:34:33 - 00:37:38:04
That could have been hairdresser, a barber, a plumbing and heating engineer,

00:37:38:04 - 00:37:39:16
a joiner, whatever it was.

00:37:39:16 - 00:37:40:31
And they became really good at a trade.

00:37:40:31 - 00:37:44:18
And ultimately one day they decided, well, naturally I'm really good at this, so

00:37:44:18 - 00:37:45:33
why would I earn money for someone else?

00:37:45:33 - 00:37:47:19
I might as well set up my own business.

00:37:47:19 - 00:37:49:11
And that's something that we see in the UK and Ireland.

00:37:49:11 - 00:37:51:08
A lot people sort of reach a stage that they think

00:37:51:08 - 00:37:54:08
that the natural progression is a to become a line manager

00:37:54:09 - 00:37:57:05
and followed by B to become a business owner.

00:37:57:05 - 00:37:58:16
And when you think of those individuals,

00:37:58:16 - 00:38:02:03
they have really solid businesses that have made really good profit.

00:38:02:03 - 00:38:04:26
I always refer to it as sort of stealth wealth.

00:38:04:26 - 00:38:06:15
Were really the individuals that you went to school with

00:38:06:15 - 00:38:09:28
that had a caravan and a lovely part of the world and

00:38:09:31 - 00:38:13:07
and they've done really well out of those businesses.

00:38:13:10 - 00:38:14:33
If they have been able to set those up.

00:38:14:33 - 00:38:16:12
They had no business experience.

00:38:16:12 - 00:38:18:11
They knew absolutely nothing about doing that.

00:38:18:11 - 00:38:20:31
Why can you not go in and find those businesses?

00:38:20:31 - 00:38:22:32
There is absolutely no reason.

00:38:22:32 - 00:38:27:00
I think we really need to scale, wash this

00:38:27:03 - 00:38:30:23
scary world of M&A and bring it right back to what it is.

00:38:30:23 - 00:38:32:15
It is buying a business.

00:38:32:15 - 00:38:35:23
It is buying something that somebody else has already created and established

00:38:35:23 - 00:38:38:19
that is making the money, as you know, a cash flow business.

00:38:38:19 - 00:38:40:08
There's no reason why you can't pick it up.

00:38:40:08 - 00:38:44:19
You just need to learn how to do it, just like they learned how to run a business.

00:38:44:22 - 00:38:47:08
Yeah, and it's baffling that people have more confidence generally

00:38:47:08 - 00:38:48:31
to go and start something from scratch

00:38:48:31 - 00:38:52:14
than they do necessarily to go and pick up something that's already proven

00:38:52:17 - 00:38:56:28
that might have a natural need to pass on the baton to somebody else.

00:38:56:31 - 00:39:00:23
Yeah, it's often confidence rather than a competence thing.

00:39:00:23 - 00:39:04:14
This many people I know that are entrepreneurs who've gone to 0 to 1 route

00:39:04:14 - 00:39:08:08
that would make excellent acquirers of, of, you know, established businesses.

00:39:08:10 - 00:39:12:02
Yeah, I'm glad to hear that you you feel that it's becoming more accessible.

00:39:12:06 - 00:39:16:12
Do you think the tools or the structuring or the finance or something

00:39:16:17 - 00:39:22:00
as other things conspired to make it more accessible?

00:39:22:03 - 00:39:22:21
I think there's so

00:39:22:21 - 00:39:26:13
much more out there now that allows you to actually get into acquisitions.

00:39:26:13 - 00:39:29:28
If we look at start ups, for instance, for such a long time,

00:39:29:28 - 00:39:32:28
there were loans for start up businesses that you could actually get going.

00:39:32:29 - 00:39:36:32
But here in Belfast, if you want to say start off a hairdressers, for instance,

00:39:37:01 - 00:39:41:22
it's going to take anywhere between 40 and £70,000 to head out a hairdressers

00:39:41:25 - 00:39:45:13
and accessibility to loans to do that is so much more readily available now,

00:39:45:14 - 00:39:46:17
which is great.

00:39:46:17 - 00:39:48:26
But why would you start that up

00:39:48:26 - 00:39:52:18
when you could acquire a business that already has the clientele there?

00:39:52:25 - 00:39:55:31
So yeah, I think acquisitions pretty much are for everybody out there.

00:39:55:31 - 00:39:59:32
But in terms of, you know, making this so much easier and on a day,

00:39:59:32 - 00:40:01:20
you know, you have individuals like myself,

00:40:01:20 - 00:40:05:15
there's other people out there that show you how to do it, but you also have

00:40:05:18 - 00:40:10:03
so many more funding rates now than what you maybe did five or ten years ago.

00:40:10:11 - 00:40:12:01
There's so much more money out there.

00:40:12:01 - 00:40:14:09
Capital is out there for the taken.

00:40:14:09 - 00:40:16:26
It is it's just being creative with it and working it.

00:40:16:26 - 00:40:20:03
And how am I going to structure this day so that I can actually get going?

00:40:20:03 - 00:40:24:23
But would I say, is it easier now than what it was 5 to 10 years ago?

00:40:24:25 - 00:40:28:12
Controversially, yeah, I probably would say it's easier.

00:40:28:15 - 00:40:29:12
Yeah.

00:40:29:12 - 00:40:34:10
Albeit you're fishing in a pond that the traditional banks struggle to support.

00:40:34:10 - 00:40:36:01
Well with M&A finance.

00:40:36:01 - 00:40:39:20
But you know, many of the high street banks are now back

00:40:39:22 - 00:40:43:20
providing decent funding for acquisition of large businesses

00:40:43:20 - 00:40:47:26
that are doing kind of million plus in in EBITDA.

00:40:47:29 - 00:40:50:29
But the the availability of M&A funding

00:40:50:32 - 00:40:53:29
for acquiring small businesses and micro-businesses

00:40:53:29 - 00:40:58:01
that are doing, you know, under a half a million bids is really difficult.

00:40:58:04 - 00:41:01:12
So I guess sellers should be under no illusion

00:41:01:12 - 00:41:05:19
that it's hard to structure a deal that you know, brings money from heaven

00:41:05:22 - 00:41:08:26
to that gets you out the door because, you know, the lenders aren't

00:41:08:26 - 00:41:10:18
really lending to the micro-businesses.

00:41:10:18 - 00:41:13:18
Those are organically financed.

00:41:13:26 - 00:41:14:17
Absolutely.

00:41:14:17 - 00:41:16:19
And this is where we have to look at things creatively.

00:41:16:19 - 00:41:20:11
We cannot just limit ourselves to the high street banks.

00:41:20:14 - 00:41:22:33
We cannot again, let's bring it back to market.

00:41:22:33 - 00:41:24:31
And you cannot limit yourself to traditional market.

00:41:24:31 - 00:41:28:32
And you have to look at different avenues, different sources,

00:41:29:00 - 00:41:32:20
and you have to you have to think outside the box.

00:41:32:20 - 00:41:34:04
And that is the only way it's going to work.

00:41:34:04 - 00:41:37:03
But I think that is the biggest skill that you can bring

00:41:37:03 - 00:41:40:08
as someone in the M&A space and someone that owns a business

00:41:40:16 - 00:41:43:25
is the ability to think outside of the box and to think through problems.

00:41:43:25 - 00:41:45:07
And as an entrepreneur, that is a scale

00:41:45:07 - 00:41:47:26
that you're going to have to learn really, really fast.

00:41:47:26 - 00:41:52:13
I often say in any of my businesses, the only time I'm needed

00:41:52:17 - 00:41:54:09
is the time that there's a problem,

00:41:54:09 - 00:41:57:09
and at the time that it's a problem, it's often the most ridiculous thing

00:41:57:15 - 00:41:59:19
because people just can't see outside of the box.

00:41:59:19 - 00:42:02:25
And I need to step in and really bring it

00:42:02:28 - 00:42:04:33
back down to back to basics.

00:42:04:33 - 00:42:07:21
Sometimes those. Principal. Things have gotten complicated.

00:42:07:21 - 00:42:10:12
Yeah, I think the owner's obligation to bring order

00:42:10:12 - 00:42:13:12
from chaos never goes away, frankly.

00:42:13:13 - 00:42:16:10
So yes, you get all the good escalations, all the good,

00:42:16:10 - 00:42:19:10
all the good things that somebody else has failed to solve.

00:42:19:16 - 00:42:22:12
But then that's why we do it. We do.

00:42:22:12 - 00:42:25:27
So let's let's look at the road ahead, if that's okay.

00:42:25:30 - 00:42:27:11
I'm really interested in what's next.

00:42:27:11 - 00:42:31:00
You've mentioned you've got another three or four deals that you want to get done

00:42:31:07 - 00:42:32:04
this side of Christmas,

00:42:32:04 - 00:42:35:06
which will be tremendous, and I wish you the best with that.

00:42:35:06 - 00:42:39:15
But if we fast forward to this time next year, autumn 2026,

00:42:39:17 - 00:42:44:05
what do you hope the investment looks like or investments look like?

00:42:44:07 - 00:42:45:29
I don't pronounce it, by the way. Yes.

00:42:45:29 - 00:42:46:24
Yeah. Yeah.

00:42:46:24 - 00:42:49:15
I'm very for the woman that says the word

00:42:49:15 - 00:42:52:26
creative so much, I am probably the least creative person that you will ever find.

00:42:52:26 - 00:42:56:18
Sophia Literally sounds from my children's names. Freddie and Melina

00:42:56:21 - 00:42:57:12
Hilarious.

00:42:57:12 - 00:42:59:31
And if there was obviously a lot of time went into that one

00:42:59:31 - 00:43:01:29
trying to work out the name of that investment company,

00:43:01:29 - 00:43:05:28
we are looking at what the future actually looks like.

00:43:05:28 - 00:43:06:28
I have my sights

00:43:06:28 - 00:43:10:02
firmly sat on somewhere abroad that I would like to acquire business.

00:43:10:05 - 00:43:14:33
So we are tackling that in Q1 of 2026, which is very exciting.

00:43:15:02 - 00:43:18:04
And so that's that's definitely on the cards for next year.

00:43:18:12 - 00:43:23:12
And we will definitely have a business in that region, which is very exciting.

00:43:23:15 - 00:43:27:06
And in terms of growth, you know, what is my ultimate aim

00:43:27:06 - 00:43:30:16
in the next ten years that this will be 45 million plus

00:43:30:22 - 00:43:35:15
and turnover per year business that is as firmly up there

00:43:35:18 - 00:43:38:32
and you can sort of walk back what we'd like from that, given

00:43:38:32 - 00:43:42:12
that we like to hit with that sort of 20 to 30% net profit margin.

00:43:42:14 - 00:43:44:33
And but that's that's where the sites are in terms

00:43:44:33 - 00:43:48:12
of a long term strategy inside the next ten years off this.

00:43:48:12 - 00:43:49:31
That's what we're going for.

00:43:49:31 - 00:43:50:24
Amazing.

00:43:50:24 - 00:43:54:25
very exciting journey and actually I think exponentially will will quicken

00:43:55:00 - 00:43:57:31
So if if entrepreneurs

00:43:57:31 - 00:44:01:05
small businesses people that want to learn about

00:44:01:08 - 00:44:06:23
the acquisition journey want to contact you how best to do so.

00:44:06:25 - 00:44:08:14
Yeah so you can follow me

00:44:08:14 - 00:44:12:07
over on Instagram and my name there is just general official.

00:44:12:07 - 00:44:12:32
You can follow me there

00:44:12:32 - 00:44:14:33
if you want to keep track of the companies that are acquiring,

00:44:14:33 - 00:44:17:07
you can check out the fee investment page as well.

00:44:17:07 - 00:44:18:24
And also obviously online.

00:44:18:24 - 00:44:19:27
The websites are there

00:44:19:27 - 00:44:23:29
and I suppose TikTok is definitely were and we're bigger right now.

00:44:23:32 - 00:44:27:09
But yeah, do re tell you if anyone has any questions or queries

00:44:27:10 - 00:44:30:33
or are interested in the industry as a whole, my diary is always open.

00:44:30:33 - 00:44:34:15
I was more than happy to take calls and, and help anybody on their journey.

00:44:34:15 - 00:44:37:25
But yeah, I suppose my biggest part and that is

00:44:37:25 - 00:44:41:28
wisdom is always going to be nothing's going to change if you don't change.

00:44:41:29 - 00:44:45:12
And life as we know it right now is changing so fast.

00:44:45:15 - 00:44:49:06
I think we've we've got to people say we've got to take risks, albeit

00:44:49:06 - 00:44:52:19
I make no qualms that I am a very risk averse person.

00:44:52:19 - 00:44:55:31
You know, things need to be very well thought out and thought through.

00:44:55:33 - 00:44:58:30
I do have three metal pens at home that that need their mum

00:44:58:30 - 00:45:03:08
and need her to be mentally well and not have lost her sanity.

00:45:03:08 - 00:45:07:14
But the volume of business and I so am I.

00:45:07:17 - 00:45:11:26
I'm very thoughtful with the stuff that I do and I do think things 8 a.m..

00:45:11:29 - 00:45:14:16
But we still have to take risks and we still have to try new things

00:45:14:16 - 00:45:15:16
and we still have to give things

00:45:15:16 - 00:45:17:18
to go on the world of change and goodness only knows

00:45:17:18 - 00:45:19:28
we're going to be in another 12 months time here.

00:45:19:28 - 00:45:21:30
No calculated risks are definitely the game that we're in.

00:45:21:30 - 00:45:24:03
And But no risk, no reward, right?

00:45:24:03 - 00:45:24:17
Absolutely.

00:45:24:17 - 00:45:28:19
So and I I'm super impressed that you still have time in your diary

00:45:28:19 - 00:45:29:05
to make available

00:45:29:05 - 00:45:31:03
to people that might want to reach out and have a conversation

00:45:31:03 - 00:45:33:00
because it sounds like you have to clone yourself these days

00:45:33:00 - 00:45:34:20
with all these responsibilities.

00:45:34:20 - 00:45:37:03
But but well, then.

00:45:37:06 - 00:45:38:33
No, I think you know.

00:45:38:33 - 00:45:39:23
My pleasure, Jenna.

00:45:39:23 - 00:45:42:12
Look, it's been an absolutely inspiring chat.

00:45:42:12 - 00:45:45:26
I'm sure this will like a rocket under many of the finance pros

00:45:45:26 - 00:45:48:09
that are buried in their spreadsheets and their lender conversations.

00:45:48:09 - 00:45:51:11
And to learn that you were acquiring multiple businesses whilst

00:45:51:11 - 00:45:55:08
you've been juggling three kids and you've got it under your belt within

00:45:55:11 - 00:45:58:11
a short space of time, four years, like, Wow, well done.

00:45:58:18 - 00:46:01:02
So I'm actually personally honored to have been able to hear

00:46:01:02 - 00:46:04:11
about your journey, and I'm really excited to sort of chart your continued success.

00:46:04:11 - 00:46:07:21
So please, let's keep in contact and yes,

00:46:07:24 - 00:46:11:09
keep us updated on the next ones that you bring into the group.

00:46:11:12 - 00:46:11:28
I will.

00:46:11:28 - 00:46:13:13
Thank you so much and thank you so much for having me.

00:46:13:13 - 00:46:15:01
It's a real honor. Thank you.

00:46:15:01 - 00:46:16:23
It's been a pleasure. Thanks.

00:46:16:23 - 00:46:17:17
So we wish you well.

00:46:17:17 - 00:46:19:31
And listeners, tune in next time for another interview

00:46:19:31 - 00:46:22:04
with another inspiring acquisition entrepreneur.

00:46:22:04 - 00:46:23:13
But for now, keep on crunching.