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In this episode, Paul breaks down how he left corporate to buy his first business when his wife got pregnant with their second baby, why he's bought 12 businesses in 25 years and refuses to sell the cash cows, and how he's setting up all five of his kids to run the exact same play.

◼️ What he sold (and downsized to) so his pregnant wife could stay home and he could buy his first business

◼️ Why he still works just 5-10 hours a week at the first business he bought 25 years ago

◼️ The lighting store he closed on two weeks before the 2008 housing crash

◼️ The single property he kept after selling the business attached to it (now worth $2.5M and paying him $100K a year)

◼️ The business he built from zero that he could sell for up to $18M (and why he won't)

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Twitter: https://x.com/HelenGuo_
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-guo-06674523/

In this episode, Chelsea breaks down how she bought a $1.7M raw pet food business after 12 years at Boeing and Amazon, the off-market deal that "broke up" and came back to life nearly a year later, and the performance-based seller's note that bridged a valuation gap when bird flu cratered 2025 sales.

◼️ The "Hail Mary" offer she sent the seller nine months after their first deal collapsed
◼️ The one moment that killed the first deal a few months in (and how the seller's son ended up on her team anyway)
◼️ The financing structure — 10% down, SBA loan through Climate First Bank, and a sales-tied performance note — that closed a $1.7M deal with no outside investors
◼️ Why she spent her first year hunting virtual businesses before realizing she needed a local, physical operation
◼️ How her corporate negotiation training saved the relationship with her biggest wholesale customer in month four

Subscribe to the SMB Deal Hunter newsletter (200,000+ subscribers): https://join.smbdealhunter.xyz/

Follow Helen:
Twitter: https://x.com/HelenGuo_
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-guo-06674523/

Want help buying a business? https://smbdealhunter.link/pro-yt

In this episode, Robert breaks down how he bought a $7.3M home care business while living on his wife's salary, the financing structure that closed it without a single outside investor, and the year-one rebuild where he fired every employee he inherited.

◼️ The 24-month deal he made with his wife before launching the search

◼️ The one mistake that killed his only deal three months in, and the conversation that brought it back

◼️ The financing structure that closed a $7.3M business with zero outside investors

◼️ Why he fired every member of his inherited office team in year one, and what it took to rebuild

◼️ Why targeting $300K of cash flow and closing on something 3x bigger is what saved his first year

Subscribe to the SMB Deal Hunter newsletter (200,000+ subscribers): https://join.smbdealhunter.xyz/

Follow Helen:
Twitter: https://x.com/HelenGuo_
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-guo-06674523/