🆕 Golf Simulator Business, A Great 1st Acquisition!🥇

Welcome Back to The Corporate Pivot!

Still holding out hope that a new title will magically fix your job? At The Corporate Pivot, we know better. We’re here to help you turn that steady paycheck into real ownership and freedom—because "Assistant to the Regional Manager" is not the legacy you want to leave.

Confusing Corporate Saying of the Day:

“With all due respect…”

Professional Translation: “I respect your comment, but I have a differing opinion.”

Corporate Pivot Translation: “I can say literally whatever I want, as long as I start with 'with all due respect.'“

Here’s what we have for you today:

Sam’s Perspective (1st Time Buyer)

🆕 Status Update: Tree business (JEEZE does this guy ever stop talking about the tree biz?!). Okay, Okay, I sound like a broken record, but they rescheduled last week and this afternoon I get to talk to the owner. It’s pretty exciting and I’ll have some awesome updates for you in Thursdays edition. I’ll be able to put the due diligence checklist into action and understand what it’s actually like. This one’s a huge opportunity, especially because it’s one where there is a manager already in place that could stay on and oversee the jobs 👀

📚 Cool Business Idea: Local Junk Removal

I was talking to a friend this week and he mentioned a cool local junk removal business. Sounds simple enough, and as we all know, simple usually means repeatable. After diving into it a bit to see how these businesses really operate, I realized they’re actually amazing opportunities. I’ve seen businesses like this for sale before but never thought to dig deeper—until now!

Here’s how it works: They rent dumpsters for $199 to $299, with dump fees of about $120 per load ($60 per ton). So, after expenses, they’re clearing roughly $179 per load, minus gas and labor. The kicker? It scales easily. Add more trucks, do more jobs, and you’ve got yourself a money machine. It’s a simple, no-frills operation, and that’s exactly what makes it so great—just a truck, a trailer, and some manual labor (which you can outsource once you grow).

And added bonus is people tend to like local small businesses then the larger operations. Use that to your advantage and outwork the competition!

Tyler’s Perspective (Multiple Businesses Owned)

🚨 Tip of the Week: You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, and know when to fold ‘em. As frustrating as it can be to have to pass on a deal (on many fronts, but certainly for the time/money spent during diligence, and the emotional rollercoaster of losing out on perceived future income), often times passing on a deal can be the best deal you make. It looks like Sam and I may have to pass on the deal we’ve been evaluating…bummer. On the bright side, when you’ve already established a relationship with an owner/seller, it can make it easier to re-engage if circumstances/red flags of the business change. We’ll see what happens.  

💰 Deals < $500k

Business Name: Golf Simulator Lounge
Revenue: $240,000
Asking Price: $199,000
Profit: $112,000 (Profit Multiple = 1.78x)
Location: Sarasota, FL
Established: 2022

✅ Pros:

• Unique concept: Combines golf simulation with a wine and beer bar, attracting a diverse clientele.

• 24/7 access: New keypad system allows customers to use the facility after hours, increasing revenue potential.

⚠️ Cons:

• Owner involvement: Current owner works 75 hours a week, requiring a significant time commitment.

📈 Growth Opportunities:

• Membership growth: Newly launched membership program presents potential for recurring revenue.

• Merchandise sales: Opportunity to expand revenue through apparel and golf equipment sales, leveraging drop-shipping.

💰💰 Deals $500k - $2m

Business Name: HVAC Company
Revenue: $1,615,000
Asking Price: $749,500
Profit: $358,000 (Profit Multiple = 2.09x)
Location: Westfield, MA
Established: 2007

✅ Pros:

• Statewide reach: Business operates across Massachusetts with a fully trained team, ensuring operational scalability.

• Recurring clients: Extensive customer database ensures a steady stream of repeat business.

⚠️ Cons:

• Leased real estate: Dependence on leased space may require renegotiation or relocation in the future.

📈 Growth Opportunities:

• Expand services: Enter new HVAC niches to capitalize on additional high-margin opportunities.

• Increase marketing: Boost brand visibility through digital marketing to attract new clients statewide.

💰💰💰Deals $2m-$10m

Business Name: Engineering & Fabrication Business
Revenue: $2,009,655
Asking Price: $2,100,000
Profit: $611,456 (Profit Multiple = 3.43x)
Location: Illinois
Established: 2008

✅ Pros:

• Precision fabrication: Specializes in critically dimensioned sheet metal, providing a competitive edge.

• SBA financing available: Seller financing options reduce upfront investment risk for qualified buyers.

⚠️ Cons:

• Leased facility: The business operates from a large, leased facility, potentially adding long-term operational costs.

📈 Growth Opportunities:

• Expand customer base: Explore new markets and industries to diversify the client portfolio.

• Automate processes: Invest in advanced fabrication technology to increase efficiency and reduce labor costs.

The Lean Startup: Ch. 7 Part 1

Today we are starting chapter 7, and this one is a doussie! It's a pretty large chapter so we are going to be taking our time to get through it. But I really think it takes time to learn and digest so I think it's a great use of our time! Chapter 7’s title is “MEASURE” and if you were with us last week, I bet you could guess what we are using to measure our success in a startup… if you said innovative accounting you’d be correct!

In the beginning a startup is little more than a model on a piece of paper, the financials and assumptions made on the customer base are from the ideal startup vision… not the reality of the startup in its early days. Eric believes a startup really has 2 jobs in this time of its life:

1. Rigorously measure where it is right now, confronting the hard truths that assessment reveals.

2. Devise experiments to learn how to move the real numbers closer to the ideal reflected in the business plan. 

Even the products that fail generally have some following, think about your favorite pizza joint next door that closed 8 years ago and you can’t get the smell of their amazing sauce out of your head… sorry, did you not have the same experience? Whatever… regardless, it closed, and I was a fan! See, the failures do even have fans. Employees and entrepreneurs can tend to be optimistic by nature, we want to believe our ideas are perfect when the writings on the wall; not to mention the myth of perseverance is just screaming at us. You hear about the founders who stuck in, through all the crap to become massively successful! It makes you want to continue no matter what happens, but because of that optimism you believe you can survive anything, even if it's obvious you're not on the right path.

That's why you need something that can tell you really what's going on. That's where accounting comes in… yes, it’s boring but get over it. It's a necessary evil. 

Under Alfred Sloan at GM, accounting became an essential part of the method of exerting centralized control over far flung divisions. It allowed them to set clear milestones for each division to be able to hold management accountable. They had a goal and were able to measure against that goal. Unfortunately, standard accounting is not helpful in evaluating entrepreneurs, startups are WAY too unpredictable for forecasts and milestones to be accurate. Most milestones are built in a similar way, hit a few product milestones and speak to a few customers and BOOM your numbers go up… you’re good to go. Again, for a startup this isn’t ideal!

Read more at corppivot.com!

Hope you enjoy this week's insights and happy deal hunting! Remember, if you find these updates helpful, share this newsletter with a friend!

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