Buying a $5m+ Business that Collapses | John Ikalowych Interview

After a professional life filled with success, John Ikalowych decided to try entrepreneurship by acquiring a business. He found an automotive hail-repair business with $2m in earnings and jumped at it. The next two years would see John pounded by crisis after crisis, culminating in the decision to shutter the business. And yes, John had a personal guarantee, the dreaded condition of an SBA loan that says the bank will come after your personal assets if you fail to pay it off. This trial forced John to confront his sense of self-worth and, while excruciating, he emerged stronger, wiser, and eager to help others avoid or survive a similar fate.

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00:00. John’s background
02:10. John finds a business partner
09:17. John chooses a car hail repair business
11:45. HailCo’s business model
18:45. Acquiring during the off-season
19:45. Half his staff leave
26.40. John pivots the business to B2B
30:48. John shuts down the business
34:00. John’s perspective on entrepreneurship
40:18. How the business failure changed him
45:37. Closing a business with a personal guarantee
49:55. Telling the staff the business is closing
52:19. John’s advice to searchers
57:44. Mismatch in cultural values
1:00:33. The importance of a company’s age
1:05:57. John’s advice about early red flags
1:10:16. Identifying deal breakers in a business
1:17:31. Importance of peer support
1:24:06. End

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ABOUT Acquiring Minds
Acquiring Minds is a podcast about buying businesses. Acquiring an existing business is an awesome opportunity for many entrepreneurs, and host Will Smith talks to the people who do it. New episodes 2x per week.

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