34 Ways Veterans Can Buy a Small Business

Estimated reading time: 15 minutes

According to the Small Business Administration, there are 2.4 million veteran-owned small businesses in the US. They also report that these businesses employ more than 5 million people, generated revenue of $1.14 trillion, have an annual payroll of $195 billion, and they represent 9.15% of all U.S. businesses. And even though the veteran population in the US is equal to 7% of the population, veterans account for 14% of the franchise owners in the country.

Veterans can make great small business owners. According to Entrepreneur.com, there are five traits that make someone successful in running a small business:

Bravery

Self-motivation

Transparency

Enthusiasm

Accountability

I don’t know about you, but those sound like traits that veterans are likely to have in spades.

Military service instills a sense of grit and resiliency that anyone running a small business or trying to start a company needs. Veterans also understand the importance of discipline, teamwork, and standards. When put together, this makes for a powerful combination for someone looking to run a business.

The Appeal of Being a Veteran Small Business Owner

I think it’s hard to argue against the idea that owning a business is inherently wrapped up in the idea of “the American Dream.” We as Americans value independence. And we also love a story of someone beating all the odds or throwing caution to the wind to pursue their dreams. That’s why we love entrepreneurs- because they took the risks and succeeded.

Owning your own business can have a number of benefits:

Independence: When you work for yourself, you are your own boss.

Now, this statement is not wholly accurate. You will have various stakeholders who all require work from you — investors, co-owners, employees, customers, etc. But when you are sitting at the top, you can define how you are going to address each one of these stakeholders. That sense of freedom can be overwhelming for some, and absolutely liberating for others.

Flexibility: With that independence, you can make your own schedule. Want to work and then coach your kid’s soccer team? Great-your call. It might mean you are getting up earlier or working some in the evening, but having that type of flexibility can bring work-life balance to you in however you choose to define it.

As I’ll show later on, there are also a lot of ways you can get into running a business that is entirely online — meaning you can do it anywhere you have an internet connection.

Creative freedom: When the business is yours, you can decide whichever way you want it to go. That pressure may be a lot for some, but it can exhilarating for others.

Opportunity to build wealth: When you run a business, not only are you earning an income from that business but (hopefully) you are running it well and making it grow. In doing so, you are building an asset. The business becomes something you can pass off to your kids, sell off to finance something new or fuel your retirement.

If you want to better understand the wealth generation possibilities of business acquisition, as well as ALL the details you want about how to find these businesses, how to fund the acquisition, and then what to do after…you HAVE to read Buy then Build by Walker Deibel. Everyone I’ve ever spoken to in this space mentions this book within the first 10 minutes. Seriously. So check it out.

It’s worth noting that more and more, companies are looking to bring these qualities to their employees. Meaning you may be able to strike the balance you need by being an employee, and not the actual person running the show. That path is for sure more stable and less stressful. As you look into careers after the military, take these dynamics into consideration.

When you run your own business, your earning potential is also only capped by how successful the business is. You don’t need a new promotion or go back to school to get a new degree — you just need to improve the business and you will earn more money.

But if you see something that you know you can do or a problem that you just have to solve, then you may NOT be able to avoid running your own business.

Starting vs. Buying a Small Business As a Veteran

Ok, then how can veterans run a small business?

You can either start one or buy one.

Read more on paths to veteran entrepreneurship HERE.

As you can imagine, starting one is a lot more challenging. You will have to create everything from scratch. It may also be months, or even years, before you are able to give yourself any money from the business. And the business may just never take off.

A man moved near a river and, wanting to find a way to travel across the water, spent ten years forming a type of levitation that would allow him to float across it.

Buddha, who was preaching in town, was confronted by this man, who said, “Look master, look what I have achieved. I can walk across the water.”

And Buddha said, “Yeah, but the ferry only costs a nickel…”

Moral of the story? You don’t have to take the hardest path to get where you want to go.

Buying a business can be part of a strategy to pivot into your main idea. You could look for a business that already has the operational capacity, customer relationships, or is in a similar market to what it is you really want to build. When you buy a business, a lot of of building blocks are already in place and now you can shape them to what you want.

So buying one can be a lot more attractive for some people.

If you don’t have an idea for a business, one that is going to motivate you through months and years of hard work, then buying a business can be a way for you to access entrepreneurship without the uncertainty of a startup.

Are you a veteran interested in acquiring a business? Or maybe you like the idea of running a business but it sounds too risky to go about buying one. Check out our Job Board HERE. The first thing you will see are job postings for General Manager and CEO positions. These are for small companies that someone recently acquired where they are looking for a veteran to run the day-to-day operations. The next thing you can do is apply for the Talent Collective HERE. The Talent Collective is reserved for people serious about buying a business and looking for investors to connect with.

Ways Veterans Can Fund Buying a Small Business

You may be reading all this and thinking, “OK, great, but I don’t have millions of dollars laying around to go buy a small business. What is this guy talking about??!!”

I know, it sounds crazy. When I first heard about this as an option, I though “No way.”

But I’m here to tell you that is is a lot more approachable than you think.

A LOT.

I’ll show you some places where you can buy a business that is already making money for a few thousand dollars.

But how do you pay for this?

Your personal money:

Like I said, I’ll show you some websites later on in this article where you may be able to buy a business using nothing more than your personal funds.

Huge disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor. You and your money are in your own unique situation and I am in no way qualified or certified to tell you how to use your money effectively.

But I’ll tell you what I did. I cashed out some savings (a very small percentage) and bought a business.

Now, you may be saying, “Mark-you could be investing that and earning money on compound interest. You idiot!”

And yes, you are right. I could be. But scared money don’t make money.

I took a calculated risk and used some savings that I had built up over deployments and TDY trips to acquire an asset that will provide me additional revenue. Now, that asset requires a lot more work than does just having some money sitting in account. But I like having the ability to directly influence how I can make money.

Friends and family: Look, if you have a rich aunt/uncle that you can go to and they can single-handedly fund your business ambitions-awesome for you. Tell them to give me a call as well, if you don’t mind.

But it doesn’t have to be. With just a few thousand bucks, you can own a business. Spread across your family and friends, that’s not a huge ask.

And asking them for money can be as simple as asking for a loan. You are likely going to get a better rate at the Bank of Mom and Dad then you will anywhere else.

SBA Loan– First of all, it’s important to note that the Small Business Administration (SBA) doesn’t actually make loans. They just back them.

But in working with the SBA to get a loan to buy a small business, they will help you to manage the risk by requiring you to have a business plan. They will also work with you in running the business and can increase your chances of success.

Seller financing– This is a very attractive option in buying a small business.

How does it work?

Basically, you take out a loan from the person selling the business. They may require a down payment of some type, but then they hand the business over to you with the expectation that you pay off the rest,

This can provide a few serious benefits to you as a buyer:

Lower upfront costs: Instead of forking out all the dough at the start to buy the business, you are able to get in for a down payment (or even nothing).

Mentorship and resource: In using seller financing, the previous owner is now one of your investors. So they want you to succeed because that’s how they continue to get paid. Now you have them as a resource to go for questions about running the business.

Investors: You can also raise money from investors. There are people all over the country who help fund the acquisition of a small business. Look up “angel investors Smithville” (or wherever you live) to find people you can connect with who can fund your acquisition.

If you are thinking, “Mark- why the hell are investors going to work with me?” then read HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business. It does a fantastic job of explaining the economics of this decision for both the entrepreneur and the investor. The book also covers all other aspects of this process. If you’re looking for the closest thing to a Field Manual for business acquisition…look no further.

How Veterans Can Think About Buying a Small Business

Ask yourself a few questions before you decide to acquire a business:

Do I actually want to run this business?

Would I use this product or service?

Is the business already successful?

Where can I add value?

This might be the most important question. I’d caution anyone against buying a business where they don’t know exactly how they can make it better.

Example:

A small manufacturing business has been run by the same person for 35 years. They know a lot about manufacturing, but they are tracking customer orders the same way they did 35 years ago. You, feeling more comfortable with technology, see an opportunity to update their customer service systems, cut costs, and grow the business.

Where can veterans buy a small business?

First, I’ll start off with brick-and-mortar businesses. These are businesses with physical infrastructure that likely focus on serving the local community.

Business brokers:

There are people who focus solely on connecting people looking to sell their business with those looking to buy one. To find them, simply search online for “business broker” in your target market to find someone to connect with. It’s worth noting that these brokers work off commission, meaning that they will take a cut of the deal size. Which means they want larger deals, meaning you will need more money to actually acquire the business.

Digital Exits- I’ll go ahead and tell you that if you come here, don’t expect to buy a small business for a few thousand. Digital Exits is for more established small businesses with proven track records and you’ll likely need some investors.
Benchmark International– Much like Digital Exits, you won’t find many cheap businesses here.
Website Closers– Professional business brokerage services for online businesses.
Link– Professional business brokers.

Veteran-Specific Services

5. Veteran’s Business Project: The Veteran’s Business Project is a nonprofit focused on helping connect veterans looking to buy a small business with people trying to sell their business. They also offer resources and information to help in the process.

6. VetFran– I didn’t get into all the intricacies of franchising, but this is also a way to enter into small business entrepreneurship. VetFran is a nonprofit focused on connecting veterans with franchise opportunities.

If you have ANY interest in franchises, you NEED to follow The Wolf of Franchises. You can register for his newsletter (which is FREE) here.

All-Purpose Business Marketplaces

7. BizBuySell– BizBuySell is an online brokerage where people list their business for sale. These are usually brick-and-mortar businesses, but you may also find some that are entirely online.

8. BusinessesForSale– Online and offline businesses to be acquired.

9. Smergers

Marketplaces for Online Businesses

Important note: The marketplaces for online businesses can be like the Wild West. People will post straight garbage for sale. Others are scammers. There are people out there who make a business out of starting websites just to sell them on here. But hidden amongst the distraction you can find some rough gems that just need a little bit of polish to make them shine. Point is, be deliberate and do your homework.

10. Shopify Exchange- If you haven’t heard of Shopify, they are the software company that just about everyone uses to run their online store. They have a marketplace on their site where you can look for businesses to buy. Like Flippa, there’s a lot of worthless sites. You’ll have to look to find a good one, but be patient and be deliberate.

11. Blogsforsale– Interested in running your own blog? It might be worth looking into buying an existing one and seeing how you can improve it. Blogs for Sale lists, well, blogs for sale.

12. Flip WP– Many blogs and other great sites are run on WordPress, which powers 70% of the web. You can find all kinds of businesses built on WordPress on Flip WP.

13. Empire Flippers- Empire Flippers is the gold standard when it comes to buying an online business. They thoroughly vet each business and verify all their numbers. Now with that additional knowledge comes a higher price. I’ve seen businesses on there from $15,000 to in the $3 million+ range. But you can trust that the businesses on there are what they say they are.

14. Microacquire– This site is focused mainly on software businesses, but that may be what you are looking for.

15. AcquireBase– Many of the same types of businesses you would find on Microacquire can also be found here.

16. Digital Exits– They can help buy or sell a business up to $10 million/year in revenue.

17. FE International– Use a professional to buy or sell an online business.

18. Quiet Light– Buy and sell online businesses.

19. MotionInvest

20. Latona’s

21. Investor’s Club

Digital Assets

I use the term “asset” because there can be any number of businesses opportunities here:

Blogs
Ecommerce sites
Newsletters
Digital books

You can buy a business or acquire an asset and get paid when people use it.

22. Letter xchange- You may not know it, but people can make some solid money on email newsletters. Letterxchange lists newsletters for sale. Think this sounds crazy? Check out this article on how they can be wildly profitable.

23. Duuce– Like Letterxchange, duuce.com is another place where you can buy and sell email newsletter businesses.

24. Flippa– Here you can find just about anything: blogs, e-commerce stores, apps, software services — you name it. If it’s an online business, you can find it here. There is definitely a lot of garbage here, but also some gems.

25. Sideprojectors- Much like Flippa, you can find just about every type of online business here. Sideprojectors is a good place to look on a regular basis if you are thinking of buying an existing internet business.

26. IndieMaker– Lot of food small projects and other types of digital assets on here as well.

27. Tiny Acquisitions– As you might have guessed from the name, Tiny Acquisitions is focused on smaller businesses, defined as selling for less than $10k.

28. Fameswap– You can buy Instagram and YouTube accounts here.

Buy Apps

29. App Business Brokers– Buy and sell apps.

30. Sell My App– All kinds of apps and games for sale.

Get Creative

31. Reddit– Reddit continues to amaze me with the communities that are on there. Although the r/sellabiz sub-Reddit isn’t super active, people do list their business for sale on there.

32. Reach out to the owner- This way definitely takes more effort, as it’s best to go to them with some knowledge of their business and an idea that they may be in the market to sell. But it doesn’t hurt to ask.

33. Facebook- For a lot of big cities, you may be able to find Facebook groups where people in that market are trying to sell their business.

34. Bits for Digits– This is a really cool marketplace where you can buy into an existing business. Think of yourself as a one-person private equity shop and find your way having ownership of an existing business.

The reality is, for a lot of the businesses that you find via the above methods, they will be more costly. These businesses typically have inventory, property, and other assets that will make the asking price of the business higher.

Now, you can overcome those hurdles by working with investors or using an SBA loan, but it’s going to be more work to get the financing you need to acquire the business.

I’m a big believer in veteran entrepreneurship. Veterans are hard-working, disciplined, know how to work on a team, and don’t mind a little adversity. This makes them prime candidates for entrepreneurship.

As you look past getting your DD-214, think about small business ownership as a legitimate option. It doesn’t even have to become your full-time gig, but could definitely become that if you so choose.

Go crush it.

P.S. Are you thinking of buying a business? I recommend taking a look at Acquira and its accelerator as a way to get started. They place you in a cohort with other business buyers, help you vet deals, and then help you put together the financing to close on a business. Take a look HERE and use the link to get 10% off.

10 Lessons Learned in 10 Years as a Veteran Small Business Owner

How the DoD Skillbridge Program Works

What I learned Working at a Startup

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