Everyone talks about buying a business with no money down.
But how many people have actually done it?
In this episode of Jackquisitions, Jack Carr breaks down exactly how he acquired his first plumbing and electrical business with 0% down. From finding the deal through his network to structuring a creative seller-financed agreement, Jack shares the real story behind his first acquisition.
Most buyers focus on price. The best buyers focus on structure.
Jack explains how understanding the seller's goals, using revenue-share agreements, and thinking creatively helped turn an impossible deal into a successful acquisition.
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In this episode, Jack breaks down:
• How he found his first acquisition opportunity through networking
• Why the best deals rarely come from brokers or online listings
• The importance of understanding seller motivations
• Seller financing vs. traditional SBA financing
• How a 0% down acquisition can actually work
• Revenue share agreements and creative deal structures
• The principle of "Seller's Price, Buyer's Structure"
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Here is how I actually bought my first plumbing business with zero dollars down. So we hear this all the time on all these channels that you can buy your first plumbing business or you can buy your first business with zero dollars down. Here's how. But how many of those people have actually done it? I have. So here's the real way that I actually bought my first plumbing business with zero dollars down. Technically, plumbing and electrical. So here's how it happened.
First off, the deal. Because if you're scrolling biz, buy sell, if you're talking to brokers, good luck. You're not gonna get a zero dollar down business. It's not gonna happen. This deal came through uh a friend. So an industry friend. I am in industry. I had a friend that was out of the market, multiple states away. He said, Jack, I have a buddy who's selling his business near you. Would you be interested in buying it? And you know I said yeah. So that's what we did. We started that conversation. I told him yes. He sent me the guy's information and we started that process of actually buying this business. Most good deals come through networking, not through listings online. So if you're looking for good deals, make sure that you're networking with people in
the industry. Number two, the next step. I focused on his goals. When you focus on price, price, price, price, you drive away the seller because they're obviously wanting the best price. So I always focus on the goals to know how to build the best deal for us both and create a win-win situation. This guy wasn't retiring, he was still young, he wanted long-term wealth, but he was burnt out in the industry. So he wanted to stay in, but he wanted partners, he wanted someone to work with, he wanted some fun in his life, and that's what we were able to provide him. We couldn't give him the valuation that he wanted. So what
did we have to do? We had to get creative with how he structured this deal. I couldn't write out a multiple million dollar check in cash. I didn't want to go to the SBA and pull more SBA debt. So I couldn't write the check that he wanted. End of story. We were a newer business, we were young, so we couldn't come up with millions of dollars in cash on hand. And realistically, his business probably not gonna get funded by the SBA just because of SBA requires some very stringent reasons, and not to mention, it can be a 30, 60, 90 day process to close out the SBA. So again, I had to get creative. And my old rule with creativity is seller's price buyer structure, which means that I'm not gonna sit there and argue with him over what he thinks his business is worth. I'm just gonna make it possible through structuring the business in the correct way. And the way that we were able to do this was 0% down and a revenue share agreement. He was a plumbing business and electrical business, which means that he had a lot of margin in his jobs. That's great because that allows me to take a structured approach where I can say, hey, I will give you X percentage of all jobs in plumbing and electrical that we sell, and that will be how we pay you up into a certain point. And that's exactly what we did. We said, hey, your price, if your price gets hit in the next five years, or when your price gets hit, the note is done. Seller's note's all gone. I've been paid, or you've been paid, and I own the business. And that's exactly how we bought the business because price is just one lever, structure is the other. You can come up with a lot of creative, different structuring with earnouts and clawbacks and revenue share agreements, and all of this is great to solve both problems and make a win-win situation for both people. Before I go on to the next one, like and sub, guys. I mean, this is my life, this is my real story, and this helps out the channel so much. Comment, like, sub. Let me know how you bought your first business or why you think that this won't work for you. Just anything so that my mom knows that I'm semi-successful in
life. Um, number four, how we close 30 days later. So the interesting part here is because there's no banks involved, because there was no um like third-party audits that we had to do, we were able to close really fast on this business, which is awesome. There's no endless negotiations, no bankers, road showing, and hey, the banker won't get back to me, blah, blah, blah. It's a fast process. Still, though, it is extremely important that you're doing due diligence, financials, Q of E, making sure that once we align on structure, we can move fast, but we still have to do all the necessary items. Most deals die because people overcomplicate all of this. They see, hey, this business is uh unbankable, and they go, next, they said this business is too expensive, next, and they never have the chance to get creative with the buyer or with the seller who's maybe gone through that two or three times with multiple buyers, and now it's your time to shine. You get in there, you do a good structure that works for you, works for the seller, and boom, now you're owning a business for zero percent
down. So, to recap, you know, I didn't have a giant pile of cash, I just found the right seller because I'm in industry. The hard part with this way is it's very difficult to buy a business with 0% down if you don't already own a business in this industry. It's possible, not probable. This is the outlier, not the norm. So make sure that this isn't the only thing you're working on. You want to still stack cash to have a down payment just in case, even if it's a small one. So that should be your first focus. But once you get there, you understand the seller's goals, you understand your goals, you work together, you want to create a win win situation, even though you guys are technically opposing sides. Guys, if you like what you heard, the story was interesting to you or helpful, like, sub so you don't miss the next episode.
