In late 2020, I decided that every extra dollar my businesses made needed to be reinvested, not spent. I wasn’t interested in cash just sitting in a bank account & increasing personal lifestyle doesn't compound—I wanted to put it to work. That kicked off what became an obsessive search for a business to buy.
I spent months scouring broker sites, networking, and digging into listings. I talked to brokers about at least a dozen deals in early 2021. Some were overpriced, some were bad fits, and some just didn’t excite me. But then, in May of 2021, I found a listing that caught my eye—something was different about this one.
At first glance, the numbers on this listing didn’t make sense. The owner was asking way more than I thought the business was worth. But something about the way it was posted told me he had listed it himself, not through a broker. That meant I had a direct line to the seller, and I could find out the real story.
So, I picked up the phone and called. That’s when I met Peter.
Within minutes of talking, it was clear this wasn’t your typical business sale. Peter was a Mennonite and had to sell the business due to reasons within his community. But here was the twist—he could still work in the business, he just couldn’t own it anymore.
That set off alarm bells in my head. This wasn’t a guy looking to cash out and leave, but he had priced it that way. He had building a business and clearly still cared about it. That meant there was an opportunity to get creative.
From the very first call, I had a feeling this deal wouldn’t be a straight buyout. Peter didn’t seem like someone who truly wanted to just walk away. Instead of negotiating hard on price upfront, I focused on something bigger—showing him why selling to me wasn’t an end, but a way to take the business to the next level.
For the next nine months, I had meeting after meeting with Peter. I learned about the business, the customers, and what made it successful. More importantly, I worked on earning his trust. I pitched him on the idea that he could sell, take some chips off the table, and still have a hand in building something bigger than what he had on his own.
After nearly a year of discussions, we shook hands on a deal that fit both of us. The agreement was so straightforward, we laid it out on a single page of paper. No 50-page contracts or endless legal battles—just a simple understanding between two business owners.
Of course, that was just the beginning. Once we had an agreement, the real work started: lawyers, due diligence, and making everything official. The deal finally closed in June of 2022.
Since the acquisition, Sta-Built Construction has grown into something bigger than either of us could have imagined. Sta-built doubled in revenue from 2020 to 2021. We're on pace to do double the revenue we did in 2022.
But beyond the numbers, this deal taught me something important—business isn’t just about buying and selling assets. It’s about understanding people, building trust, and creating deals that work for everyone involved. The best opportunities aren’t always the obvious ones. Sometimes, they come from seeing what others overlook and being willing to play the long game to make them happen. In order to get the Sta-built acquisition done both Peter and I had to give up in areas. Peter took less up front & I created a plan with more upside on the back end than the average deal. From a technical standpoint one would say that I overpaid potentially.
That may be true, but the terms in which the deal was done allowed me to backload risk. I was happy to pay more in the long run & align around the success of the business for the majority of the payout.
Looking back, buying Sta-Built was an insane thing to do the same year as investing in High Point. The hunt, the negotiations, and the months of convincing—it was all worth it. And we’re just getting started.
