Learn How to Buy a Small Business
This is everything I wish I knew before doing my first deal.
Skip the hard part of entrepreneurship and go to the money making.
Starting companies is hard.
If you are here, you probably already know that.
Startups fail 90% of the time.
And if they survive they rarely reach $1 million in sales and even more rarely $100k+ in profit for the entrepreneur.
I know because I’ve been there. Dozens of times.
Wandering in the wilderness with a new startup. Trying to find the elusive product-market fit.
You work really hard just to find a few customers. Way harder than anyone ever should.
Here is me driving for my sharing economy startup before it went under. I was basically a low paid Uber driver.
And in the end, you rarely have anything to show for it.
What if you could skip the broke wandering in the wilderness phase?
And instead, make real money on day one.
This is what I am here to teach you. How to be an entrepreneur through acquisition.
Buying a small business may seem scary, but it doesn’t have to be.
I’ll share all I've learned during these last 10+ years buying and building businesses.
This comprehensive step-by-step course will teach you how to buy a small business and save you from some of that time and frustration.
I have an MBA from the University of Chicago, but realistically I figured most of this out by trial and error.
I wasn’t handed anything and you won’t need to be either.
This is the path that no one ever tells you about. Not your boss. Not your teachers. Not your parents.
It took many years of observing how others approach buying businesses, doing my own deals, making a thousand mistakes, and finally finding solutions that work.
Eventually, I got it down pat.
Cash flow delivered while you sleep.
Although I’m constantly learning something new, I have discovered many things that work for me every single time.
I will walk you through my entire process. From the way I find businesses to buy, my thoughts on what to look for when evaluating a business, how to negotiate a price and creatively structure a deal, and finally how to close and ensure a successful transition.
I’ll share my templates for everything and walk you through sample deals. You will see my thinking each step of the way so you won’t have to guess what to do next.
This is not a course for entertainment.
I am here to help you buy a small business yourself. Not waste your time with high-level stories.
I want to change your life and make you an owner.
We will outsmart the startup hustle culture while still achieving the business owner’s lifestyle.
This isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. It takes work.
But together we will put you on a path that all private equity people know to consistently generate wealth and freedom.
You can replay these videos and return to these templates as many times as you wish. No rush.
At the end of this course, you will have the confidence and tools to buy your own small business without fear.
See what's inside our step-by-step course
Build Your Plan
Understand your skills, decide on what your target deal looks like, and set up your legal entity to be ready for your acquisition.
Source the Business
Finding the perfect business to buy and grow is hard. I'll show you where to find them and how to build top-quality deal flow. You don't have to settle.
Diligence the Company
How do you know if you've found a great deal? We go through how to diligence your deal qualitatively and quantitatively with financial forecast modeling templates and diligence checklists.
Negotiate the Best Deal
Deciding on a business to buy is just the first step. Now you have to settle on a price, negotiate the terms of a deal, and close. I share valuation strategies, legal templates and real-life negotiation scripts to get you the best deal.
Finance Creatively
We go through creative ways to fund and structure your deals for maximum returns and minimum money upfront. You don't need as much money as you think you do.
Grow Your New Company
After you secure the business of your dreams, you have to grow it. I'll share how to build a repeatable playbook for growth and how to hire, incentivize, and manage operators.
100s of happy alumni are now their own boss
In the age of rising prices, Colin’s MicroPE course is the highest ROI you’re going to find in your search for a business to acquire. It’s full of real ‘meat and potatoes’ content, actionable, real world advice and is a blueprint for searching for and closing on a micro SaaS or other digital business. Never mind the added bonus of plugging in to a community of people with the same goal!
I took the Micro PE course because I am looking to acquire a SaaS company and was in need of advice on all aspects of the acquisition process. Indie PE exceeded my needs in every respect. The course outlines every aspect of the acquisition process, provides in depth templates / models (that I actually use) and has clear training videos. I love the template/model for valuation analysis...very helpful!!! Plus the founder Colin is very responsive to any follow up questions. This is a can't miss to anyone looking to do micro acquisitions!
As someone coming from a business background, Colin brings a lot of value to the Micro-PE industry with this essential course that covers all the basic things you would need to get your foot in the door of Micro PE. His simple and well-organized approach making it easy for you to understand the whole life-cycle of an actual micro acquisition. I recommend the course to anyone interested in the world of Micro PE. Also to founders to know the do's and don'ts when selling a business
Not coming from a 1) Technical & 2) Traditional banking background had been barriers to entry evaluating Micro PE opportunities. Those days are gone thanks to courses like Colin's.
Great course! It's a great overview of the microPE space — I especially loved the "Structuring a Deal" section with sample deal structures, super helpful! 🙌
Lifetime Community Access
Join the alumni-only Discord community where we share ideas, deals and feedback on how to buy, sell and build businesses.
Ensure your success by engaging with like-minded individuals working towards the same goal of freedom through small business acquisition.
All current students have unlimited, lifetime access to the community for no additional cost. Future students will have to pay an annual fee.
All the Templates & Resources to Complete an Acquisition
Letter of Intent Template
Show that you are serious about continuing towards a purchase.
Non-Disclosure Agreement Template
Enforce the confidentiality between the buyer and seller.
Purchase Agreement Template
Put the terms of your acquisition into writing with this contract.
Deal Structure Examples
Be inspired by how others are structuring deals with these real-life examples of low upfront investment.
Outbound Email Scripts
Use these templates to find new businesses to buy without competition.
List of Deal Sources
An ever-growing list of marketplaces, brokers, and other sources to find opportunities.
Diligence Checklist
(Asset & Equity Purchase)
Make sure you dot all the I's and cross all the T's before closing a deal with our checklist.
General Transition Guide
After you close an acquisition, make sure it is smooth transition and nothing is lost.
Financial Modeling Template
Model out your acquisition financials in this simple to understand sheet. No MBA required.
Building Own Dealflow Live Example
We walk through building out a list of prospects that fit your ideal business to buy and how to find their contact info.
Negotiation Walkthrough Live
Be ready with responses for all the different possible situations that come up in a negotiation.
Business Valuation Cheatsheet
Not sure what a business is worth? We walk you through what different types of businesses are worth so you get a great deal.
Say goodbye to working on someone else's business
The Micro PE course clearly and concisely covered a wide range of topics at a depth that fast tracked my comfort level in jumping into the micro-PE world. The Indie PE team's ability to cover best practices as well as more complex ideas strikes a balance that I think both beginners & folks more well-versed in the field would find extremely beneficial.
The course was very helpful and well worth the low price. Increasing the price to potentially a price of several thousand dollars would be fair btw. Anyone considering dropping millions or even thousands on deals should pay $2k easy for this to avoid making costly mistakes.
Great course that I would recommend to anyone that is looking make a micro acquisition. There were lots of different parts covered in the course from searching for deals to transition and post-acquisition. There were also lots of templates to help guide anyone through the process.
The Micro PE course was great. Colin's teaching was excellent. He was super quick to the point but seemed to get everything across that I needed to know.
Get the How To Buy a Small Business Course
Lifetime access to the course, community, templates, & future updates!
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Enroll Now for Only $299Hello! Colin here 👋
I wish I discovered acquisitions earlier. I wasted years on countless projects struggling to get off the ground.
Until I learned that you can just buy a working company. And creatively structure the acquisition so you don't need much money to do it.
After my first acquisition I was hooked. No more elusive product-market fit. Instant customers and a business with real revenue to grow.
Now we get cashflow from every acquisition on day one. It has been life-changing for me and I know it will be the same for you.
I can't wait to see you on the other side.
Have questions, we have answers
Will this course be updated?
Yes. We plan to continue to add lectures and guest lectures based on student demand. This is very much a living course.
Do I need to be "rich" to buy a business?
No. Small companies transact for all different amounts. You can also negotiate for "seller side financing" (covered in the course), which let's you buy the company with the company's own profits or get a loan from the government (SBA). We cover creative financing in the course.
How long will it take me to get through the course?
The course is dense. You can run through it in a few hours, but you will likely spend many times that reviewing the relevant material and templates as you move through acquisitions.
Is this focused on SaaS businesses?
No, I know SaaS the best, but this works for acquisitions from online content businesses to the donut shop down the street. Some lectures on hiring and managing writers and developers are more focused on internet companies.
Is this for US residents only? Is this internationally relevant?
The legal templates are aimed at doing business in the US, but everything else is applicable worldwide. If there is enough demand, I'll look at bringing on guest lecturers for non-US focused content.
Will you help me find businesses to acquire?
Yes, included in this course is a list of great marketplaces, brokers, and communities with more deal flow than any one person can possibly go through. I'll also teach you how to build up your own proprietary deal flow.
I've never bought a business before. Is this for me?
The ideal buyer has some marketing experience, but it isn't required. Buying and growing a business is much easier than starting one from scratch.
How long does it take to buy a business?
That depends on how targeted you are in your search, the amount of time you commit to the process, the size of the deal and financing. We have had some members complete their first deal in under a week while other take several months.
Do I need to know how to "code" to buy an online company?
No. I don't know how to code much at all. It helps when buying a tech company that requires managing developers to speak their language, but that doesn't require coding ability. Many small companies don't require developers as well.
Can I request a lecture? Suggest a guest?
Absolutely just shoot me a DM on Twitter @ColinKeeley.
Money Back Guarantee
We want this investment to be 100% risk-free. If you watch the lessons, complete the deliverables, and still don’t find the course valuable, we’ll happily refund your full payment within 30 days.
Get the 5 most common business buying mistakes for free
Avoid these common mistakes on your first acquisition and you will be well ahead of the game.