Why I’m Sharing This Now
I often talk with people who are curious about buying a business but don’t have a clear picture of what that actually involves — or what kinds of opportunities exist beyond starting something from scratch.
I wanted to share a real example: what it took to buy my most recent business, what surprised me along the way, and why — despite the difficulty — I still believe acquiring a business can be a powerful path for the right person.
Months of Looking, Clarity by Elimination
I had been actively looking for another business to acquire for months and had analyzed dozens of opportunities.
Part of why I’m drawn to acquisition over starting from scratch is that the core idea has already been proven. There are real customers, real revenue, and real systems in place. Instead of spending years searching for product–market fit, you can step into a business that’s already working and producing cashflow, and focus your energy on improving, stabilizing, and growing it from day one.
With that lens, most opportunities were eliminated quickly. Some didn’t survive even light scrutiny. A handful made it further, but the numbers, the risk profile, or the timing never quite lined up.
That filtering process creates clarity. Over time, you get sharper about what actually fits — not just financially, but personally. What kind of problems you want to solve. What kind of complexity you’re willing to take on. What kind of responsibility feels aligned rather than draining.
Finding UniHop
In late July, during that search, I came across a business called UniHop.
UniHop is a last-mile delivery service and software platform that acts as a fractional delivery manager for businesses that rely on local delivery — catering companies, flower shops, meal prep services, and similar businesses that don’t want to manage couriers, delivery issues, and vendor coordination themselves.
UniHop sits between the business and multiple delivery providers. It handles order routing, courier coordination, issue resolution, and day-to-day delivery operations, allowing customers to outsource delivery complexity without building an internal team.
What stood out to me wasn’t just what UniHop did, but how the business was structured and where it had leverage.
Why UniHop Stood Out
UniHop isn’t pure SaaS — it’s a service business with a strong software backbone. That means its value isn’t just in code, but in the operational relationships it has built over time: with customers, delivery vendors, couriers, systems, and the internal team.
Those relationships take time to establish and are difficult to replicate. In a world where software alone is increasingly easy to copy, that operational depth creates durability.
Just as importantly, UniHop matched my skill set extremely well.
Much of my work over the years has involved taking founder-dependent businesses with weak documentation, fragmented processes, and unclear financials — and turning them into well-documented, streamlined systems that can operate without constant intervention. That work tends to make businesses more resilient, more enjoyable to own, and more valuable over time.
This is my fifth software-adjacent business. While each one has been different, the pattern here was familiar. I could see a clear path to cleaning up systems, strengthening documentation, and reducing dependency on any single person. I also see many opportunities to apply AI in practical ways — improving visibility, coordination, and execution across operations.
The timing mattered too.
Alongside UniHop, I also own HelpSite — a SaaS business I bought earlier in the same year that helps companies reduce support costs through better documentation and AI-assisted knowledge bases. HelpSite is a longer-term build and turnaround project. UniHop, by contrast, was already growing quickly and generating meaningful cash flow, making it a strong complement.
Aligned by August. Waiting Until December.
By the end of August, the seller and I were aligned on terms and ready to close.
Had the deal been structured entirely between us — especially with more seller financing — we could have closed within days. Instead, we chose to use an SBA-7a loan.
That decision brought leverage, but it also brought time.
From August to December, the deal lived in an uncomfortable middle space: agreed upon, but not complete. The business kept operating. The seller was ready. I was ready. The bank and SBA moved on their own timeline.
That gap was harder than I expected.
A Note on SBA Loans
Buying a business can be far simpler without an SBA loan.
All-cash deals or heavily seller-financed deals often move quickly and involve far less scrutiny. For many buyers, that simplicity is worth the trade-off.
SBA loans are a form of leverage. They allow buyers to preserve capital and often generate stronger returns, but they come with constraints. The business must be U.S.-based. The buyer must be actively involved. Personal guarantees are required. The process is standardized and inflexible.
For the right deal, that leverage can be well worth the effort — but it comes at a real cost.
What the SBA Process Demands
This process was grueling — more than I expected.
The title company told me this was the most disorganized SBA loan process they’d seen in over 20 years, which suggests this experience wasn’t typical. Still, it was draining.
What made it especially difficult wasn’t just the volume of requirements, but the way they surfaced: urgently, repeatedly, and often with little warning.
A partial list included:
- Personal life insurance assigned to the bank
- Multiple business insurance policies (general liability, E&O, cyber)
- Insurance on my home assigned to the bank
- A full appraisal of my house
- A physical inspection of my home office
- Detailed documentation of all personal assets and liabilities
- Three years of tax returns, including K-1s
- Repeated proof of the source of down-payment funds
- Certificates of good standing from multiple states
- Wet-signed documents and mailed paperwork
Many items were requested multiple times by different parties. New requirements appeared late in the process, sometimes after others had already been satisfied. I counted over 200 documents I prepared for them.
Because the business had been growing faster than its historical tax returns reflected, the SBA wouldn’t credit recent performance. I ultimately put down about 15%, with the seller financing roughly 20% of the deal.
One upside of the extended process is that the business continued to grow meaningfully during that time. Even though I missed some seasonally high cash flow before closing, the underlying growth reinforced my confidence in the fundamentals and made the debt structure feel very manageable.
Closing — and Immediate Immersion
We closed on December 15.
That day was spent transferring ownership of accounts, systems, and access. The following week, I worked roughly 60 hours — likely the most I’ve worked on a single project in years.
That time was spent meeting with the former owner, asking questions, documenting processes, meeting the team, and understanding how the business actually runs day to day. How decisions are made. Where things are fragile. What’s working well. What needs attention. Who I need to hire. Where systems can be improved over time.
The transition was fast and immersive.
What Comes First After You Buy
Right now, my focus is on understanding.
It will likely take weeks before I feel I truly understand the business well enough to run it confidently and design thoughtful, high-leverage improvements. That’s expected for a business with this many moving parts.
What I am confident in is the path forward.
Document thoroughly.
Understand deeply.
Reduce dependency on individuals.
Strengthen systems.
Apply AI where it genuinely improves clarity and execution.
I’ve done this work before, and I trust the process.
For Those Considering a Similar Path
Buying a business is a trade — and it can be an incredibly profitable one.
You trade capital, energy, and attention for leverage, momentum, and optionality. For some people, at the wrong moment, it can feel overwhelming. For others, it can be deeply satisfying, creatively engaging, and financially transformative.
In my previous acquisition, I bought a business, improved its systems and operations, and sold it three years later for roughly 10× what I paid — all while working under 10 hours per week on average. That experience shapes how I think about what’s possible when you combine patience, focus, and the right opportunity.
If you’re considering a similar path, I hope this sheds a little light on what it can take to get to ownership.
Of course, finding the right business, knowing what to look for, evaluating risk, structuring a deal, navigating financing, and transitioning into ownership all bring their own challenges. Buying the business is the starting line; improving and growing it requires sustained focus and judgment over time.
And if you want to talk through what that path might look like for you, I do offer consulting packages on a limited basis for acquiring, growing, or exiting your business. However, I’m not taking on new clients immediately. If you’d like to be considered when space opens up, you can join the waiting list below.
→ Join the Acquisition Consulting waiting list
→ Join the Growth or Exit Consulting waiting list
Lesson
I underestimated how grueling the SBA process would be. Perseverance carried me through this one, and it was still worth it — but next time, I’ll push harder for seller financing or alternative funding to keep the path to ownership simpler.
Invitation
If you imagine buying a business instead of starting one, which part of the journey do you think you’d enjoy most — and which part do you suspect would stretch you the most: finding the right opportunity, getting it across the line, or building what comes next?
Pair This Post With…
Buy Then Build by Walker Deibel — A clear, practical case for acquisition entrepreneurship as an alternative to starting from scratch.