Ups and Downs of Buying Small (and Keeping a Job)

Toni Kononova bought a ghostwriting business for $500k to experiment with buy-then-build while limiting her downside.

Topics in Toni's interview:

• What to love about a ghostwriting & editing business
• The business of self-publishing
• What is "vanity press"?
• Why a terrible website can be OK
• Getting close on a small B2B SaaS business
• Lowering her SDE criteria
• Numbers & terms of her acquisition
• De-risking an acquisition
• Buying a business while having a full-time job
• Why keeping her full-time job helped get the loan
• Running the acquisition as a side hustle
• Employee turnover & sales decline during transition
• The popularity of search among Silicon Valley workers
• Search in Russia

Links & how to get in touch with Toni:

• Write My Wrongs
• toni AT writemywrongs DOT co

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter