The Main Street Deal

Greyson Boerner spent years chasing startups before a vague listing for a "furniture repair company" turned out to be a 28-year-old church pew restoration shop doing $400,000 in SDE. He paid 3x, financed it self-funded SBA to keep 89% of the equity, and is on pace for $2 million in revenue in year one — up about 50%.

A 1982-vintage independent auto repair shop in Mahoning County, Ohio is listed at $295,999 against $152,961 of SDE. That is 1.94x, below the bottom quartile for Ohio auto repair. Jordan walks the SBA math, the 40.2% margin question, and the one thing that decides whether this is a bargain or a job with a note attached.

After 25 years in corporate IT, Gina Rosen bought Seasons Jewelry, an Atlanta wholesaler she'd been a customer of, for about $425K with no SBA loan. She took no salary, found the missing sales function, and grew sales 42%

A four-year-old residential HVAC company in Fort Myers, Florida, asking $350K on $127K of SDE. We run the multiple, the full SBA math, and whether the license leaves with the seller.

Enrique Rodriguez bought MAC General, a Sterling, VA electrical contractor, for $450,000 all-cash. One year later revenue went from $1.35M to a projected $4M.

A single-site car wash in Tracy, CA asking $550,000 on $102,000 SDE. We run the SBA math, and the post-debt cash flow tells the story.

Patrick Beal left tech to buy a sub-$1M HVAC company from a retiring neighbor in Northeast Ohio — $370K, 90% seller-financed, no SBA. Two years later it's doubled to $2.5M and on pace for $3.5M+.

Jordan breaks down a current BizBuySell listing — an off-premise catering company in Westchester County, NY, asking $550K on $214K SDE. Full SBA 7(a) math, three due-diligence priorities, and a conditional pursue verdict.

Evan DiLeonardi bought a rural-Ohio commercial cleaning company for $1.6M with a 90% SBA loan, 5% seller note, and 5% down — then watched a six-month closing delay and a rotten inside crew nearly gut it. How he defended a $500K SDE in year one, and why the transition is the real risk.

Jordan breaks down a real BizBuySell laundromat listing in the New York City metro asking $340,000 on about $90,000 of SDE, runs the full SBA math, and delivers a binary verdict on whether the thin post-debt cushion is worth it.

Truc Nguyen, a Harvard-educated management consultant, bought two nail salons in Austin, Texas at ~1.5x SDE — a category priced at less than half the multiple of most main-street trades. Year one on the first salon: 33% revenue growth through professionalization — SOPs, customer database, consistent pricing, trained techs. Second salon closed within the year — ~$500K revenue, ~$90-100K SDE, ~$140K...

Jordan walks a real BizBuySell Texas plumbing listing — 18 years in business, 6-person crew, $1.4M revenue, $220K SDE, asking $625K. The multiple works out to 2.84x, sitting right on top of the Texas plumbing median of 2.85x. Full SBA 7(a) math at 10% down, 9.3%, 10 years. Three DD priorities center on the Texas RMP license question, revenue mix, and fleet age.

Dom Smith left a $500K–$1M/yr private-equity job at 29 to buy Printmoz, a declining large-format printing business in Southern California, for ~$2.8M. Diligence, deal structure, and a 30–50% year-one turnaround.

A route-based landscaping and snow removal company in Elizabeth, New Jersey asking $199,999 on $75K of SDE. We run the SBA math, expose the buy-a-job trap, and land on a verdict.

Justus Luttig left venture capital to buy and merge an HVAC and a plumbing business in Dallas-Fort Worth — an ~$8M deal at 5.5x EBITDA, financed entirely without the SBA.

A residential HVAC company in Suffolk County, New York, listed at $1.49M on ~$400K SDE. We run the multiple, the full SBA math, and whether 3.7x is worth chasing.

Ryan left a finance-and-sales career to buy a 30-year-old shutter manufacturer in South Carolina for $5.5M, financed almost entirely with personally-guaranteed debt. Three years later it's grown from $3M to $4.7M at 32% EBITDA. The lesson: earn the confidence before you take the risk.

A Honda and Toyota auto repair specialist in Walnut, CA, asking $258,000 on $150,000 of cash flow — a 1.72x multiple that sits below the market floor. We run the SBA math and figure out whether that price is an opportunity or a warning.

Sarah and Matthew — childhood friends, aerospace engineers, and former VCs — bought the only auto repair shop in Aspen, CO for $1.5M and survived their manager quitting six weeks after close. Source: SMB Deal Hunter (published 2026-06-12).

A 40-year-old residential and commercial HVAC company in Austin, TX. Asking $675,000 on $254,696 average annual cash flow. Verdict: PURSUE, pending year-by-year SDE confirmation.

David Graf paid $2.1M net for Danhard, a 61-year-old specialty HVAC manufacturer in Dallas, using an SBA loan with no seller note. Nineteen months later, EBITDA grew from $750K to $1.2M. The lesson: growth is chronically underpriced in SMB deals.

A 22-year-old self-serve car wash with two new in-bay automatics in Maryland asks $1.4M at 3.03x SDE. SBA-eligible. Jordan walks the SBA math, flags competitive density and utility costs, and delivers a pursue verdict.

Dan Burnside bought a rural Colorado HVAC company at a sub-3x multiple. Within days, the earnings unraveled. A hard, honest look at quality of earnings and tertiary-market risk.

Jordan breaks down Big Bear Auto Repair, a NAPA-certified shop in Big Bear Lake, CA, asking $350k on $125k SDE. Full SBA math, three diligence priorities, and a binary verdict.

Thursday Operator Story features Zack Mutnik, a Navy veteran gas-turbine electrician (age 32-33 at acquisition) who bought Jeff Masters Electric in Fort Myers / Cape Coral for $1.651M via SBA 7(a) — funded by selling two properties for the down payment. Source: Acquiring Minds (2026-05-14).