From 2021 to 2023, I acquired six commercial landscaping companies. Each had annual recurring maintenance contracts ranging from one to five years. While I don’t have the exact figure, an educated estimate is that approximately 30% of the contracts we acquired were unprofitable. Yes, you read that right. If we acquired $1 million in re...

In the SMB eta world, when reviewing a potential business to buy, it becomes en vogue to discuss all of the things that the current owner has not done. "They don't do any marketing!" "They have no sales team!" "They don't answer their phone!" "They don't, they don't, they don't." When I am presented with those 'they don't xyz' as some ...

One of my all-time favorite quotes is from @samhinkie , the former GM of the Philadelphia 76ers, who became famous (or infamous) for 'tanking' to increase their odds in the NBA lottery. Hinkie was terminated (or resigned) from his position, and wrote a letter to the board. This excerpt below is one of my all-time favorites. “We were fu...

Risk vs. Gamble. Very aligned, but so far apart. Risk = poker; Gamble = roulette For me, when a decision comes up, the first thing we should think about is, 'is this a risk decision or a gamble decision?' How I view the two... If it's "risk," I should think through each scenario and assign a probability to it. Then, mentally use a mind...

There are six primary drivers of organic revenue growth: 1) Customer Retention - Keep your current customers 2) Customer Expansion - Sell more stuff to your current customers 3) Market Penetration - Sell your product or service to new customers in your current market 4) Market Expansion - Selling to new customers, in new markets 5) Pro...

When trying to get a deal done, one of the common mistakes I see from people is that they do not think about—or maybe even care about— how the other side has to sell it. Whether it be a promotion, a salary increase, a job offer, an acquisition, etc. There is always gives and takes. When you are on the side of getting something or takin...

In his book, Good Strategy/Bad Strategy, Richard Rumelt describes Bad Strategy. Bad strategy is not simply the absence of good strategy. It grows out of specific misconceptions and leadership dysfunctions. Once you develop the ability to detect bad strategy, you will dramatically improve your effectiveness at judging, influencing, and ...

Business is a series of decisions and choices. Try to make more good decisions and choices than bad ones. Most importantly, avoid dumb. The wider the gap between good and bad with the fewest dumb things as possible, is correlated with the higher probability of success you will reach. Giving yourself a chance.

Understanding unit economics is one of the most critical jobs you have as a leader. It sets the entire tone for the business. It can either provide you with fuel, or it can put you in a constant ‘chase’ mindset. About a decade ago, I was the COO of a large firm, and the CEO would drill this old saying into my head every week. "You can’...

I was named COO of a large company at a relatively young age (late 20's). The CEO and I would meet 2/3x per week and go over anything and everything. Something he did that...I think...helped me. He'd make me send over a 1 sentence list of topics we are going to discuss; and he meant 1 sentence. He created a google sheets doc and format...

When chatting with potential sellers, that are interested in rolling equity, I often get asked ‘what happens at the end of each year?’ — referring to distributions. Here is how we think about that. First, being profitable and having positive FCF is not a given, but it is required. We want to be profitable, and we want to make choices a...

Treat everyone fairly, not equally. High producers need a little flexibility. They like to know they can bend the box. Too often, I see managers go to one extreme or the other. Either there are no guidelines or standards, leading to a renegade style among employees, or there are too many rules and processes, which everyone must adhere ...

Break the glass. Make the change. Don't wait. What am I talking about? I am talking about what to do after you make an acquisition. This is a very contrarian opinion. There are many blogs, newsletters, articles, X posts, podcasts, and just overall advice from people—some who have done many acquisitions and some none—that warn against c...