BUYER PROFILE

AQUISITION CRITERIA

Finance:

• • Investment: Prepared to invest 10–15% equity into the right opportunity. Exact capital commitment is flexible and structured around deal quality and post-close needs.
  • Financing: Prequalified by Live Oak Bank for SBA 7(a) financing up to $6 million. Open to seller financing and creative deal structures. May explore additional lender or investor partnerships if strategically aligned.
  • Deal Size: Targeting deals in the $2M–$4M total transaction range, with an ideal EBITDA/SDE of $400K–$800K. Focused on post-debt cash flow that allows for reinvestment and operational support. Adjusted up to fit an operator while maintaining the $400,000 SDE.

Personal Goals:

• Timeline: Targeting an acquisition in 2025, with flexibility depending on business quality, cash flow stability at his current company, and strategic fit.
• Envisioned Role: Active owner initially, with a focus on strategy, leadership, and stabilizing operations. Goal is to install or retain day-to-day leadership within the first 12–18 months and shift to a more strategic, portfolio-level role.
• Work Hours: Willing to be highly involved at first, especially during transition. Prioritizes structure, efficiency, and smart use of time. Long-term goal is to shift away from daily execution and focus on high-leverage work.
• Location: Prefers opportunities within 2 hours of his home base in the greater Chicago area. Open to NW Indiana, SE Wisconsin, SW Michigan, and nearby suburbs. Prioritizes drivable businesses due to existing commitments and leadership rhythm.

Business Characteristics:

• • Industry: Open to traditional B2B industries with essential, repeat-use products or services. Strong interest in industrial distribution, MRO, construction supply, and light manufacturing. Also open to service businesses with operational depth and systems potential.
  • Online Businesses: Not interested in Amazon-dependent e-commerce or pure digital plays. May consider online or hybrid models if tied to physical products, essential services, or aligned customer types.
  • Growth Potential: Prioritizes businesses with room to improve operations, branding, and leadership. Interested in businesses where small changes can unlock meaningful gains, especially in marketing, process, or customer experience.
  • Team Size: Prefers businesses with existing teams in place. Open to small teams (5–25 employees) if there is operational continuity or potential to hire leadership quickly.
  • Customer Base: Prefers B2B with essential, recurring needs, especially in industrial, manufacturing, construction, or commercial services. Interested in customer relationships where loyalty and trust matter.
  • Competition: Open to competitive markets if there is a clear niche, strong customer base, or ability to differentiate through better systems, brand, or service.
  • Values: Integrity, long-term thinking, people-first leadership, customer focus, and continuous improvement. Looks for businesses with a strong work ethic, practical value, and room to grow responsibly.
  • Avoidance/NOs: No restaurants, franchises, or consumer-facing services like beauty, pet care, or childcare. Avoids highly regulated industries, license-heavy trades, and businesses built on hype, not substance.
  • Long-Term Vision: To build a group of operationally sound, values-aligned businesses under one umbrella. Focused on creating leverage through leadership, shared services, and smart reinvestment. This next acquisition is the next chapter, not the end goal.

Owner Transition:

• • Duration: Open to a flexible transition period based on business complexity. Comfortable with shorter handovers if strong systems or leadership are in place, or longer transitions if deeper support is needed.
  • Consultancy: Open to ongoing consulting support from the seller post-close to ensure a smooth handoff, especially if key relationships or operational knowledge need to be transferred gradually.
  • Team Retention Goals: High priority on retaining key team members. Seeks businesses with stable staff and values continuity in customer relationships and daily operations.
  • Cultural Fit Importance: Extremely important. Looks for teams with strong values, practical work ethic, and a collaborative mindset. A good cultural fit increases the likelihood of long-term success and smoother transitions.

MEET PETER

Peter is an experienced business acquirer, owner, operator, and creative thinker with a background in sales, marketing, and strategic leadership. He’s currently the owner and CEO of a Chicago-based MRO (maintenance, repair, operations) supply company he acquired in 2018. Peter has led the business through major ups and downs and has built it into a profitable, stable company with a clear path forward.

Before his current company, Peter worked in high-growth sales roles, launched a home improvement startup, and ran a boutique consulting firm. He is hands-on and engaged, especially during key growth phases. His strength is combining leadership with systems thinking to drive smart, sustainable business improvements. He knows how to hire, guide, and support teams while staying closely connected to customer needs.

Now preparing for his second acquisition, Peter brings sharp focus, deep operating experience, and a clear long-term vision. He’s not just looking for another deal — he’s building a connected, multi-business platform that leverages the strengths of his current company to create something much bigger. His goal is to combine businesses that work together, unlocking operational leverage, customer synergies, and shared growth over time. Peter targets businesses with clear customer demand, operational upside, and opportunities to enhance branding, systems, and leadership

Peter's Professional Background:

• Career Overview:
  Peter has over 20 years of experience across sales, marketing, operations, and business ownership. His career began in finance and quickly moved into sales leadership, where he managed high-performing teams. He co-founded a window replacement startup and ran a consulting firm focused on helping small businesses scale through better sales and operations.
• In 2018, he bought a regional MRO distributor, where he now serves as CEO. He leads all aspects of the business, including hiring, finance, sales strategy, and day-to-day operations.

• Industry Expertise:

• • MRO (Maintenance, Repair, Operations) Supply & Distribution
  • Industrial & B2B Products
  • E-commerce & Home Services (past exposure)
  • Sales & Marketing Strategy
  • B2B Relationship Management
  • Small Business Operations & Systems
• Leadership & Management Experience:
  • Peter has managed teams of 10–25+ people in both startup and corporate settings. He’s built sales teams from scratch, led restructuring efforts, and managed all hiring, firing, and training in his current business. At his company, he leads a team of 12 and oversees financial performance, culture, and strategic direction. He knows how to lead from the front and is working toward building a structure where leadership is shared and scalable.

Peter's Key Attributes:

• Operational Leadership: Deep experience running day-to-day operations in a product-heavy, B2B environment, with strong focus on systems and efficiency.

• Creative Strategist: Unique ability to redesign legacy business models through better branding, design, and customer experience.

• Grit & Resilience: Successfully led a business through economic disruption and emerged stronger, showing adaptability and long-term thinking.

• Team Builder: Skilled in hiring, mentoring, and building small teams with a focus on accountability, growth, and strong culture.

• Vision-Driven Execution: Combines big-picture thinking with practical steps, aligning business growth to personal values and long-term goals.
  

Values & Vision:

Peter values honesty, clear thinking, and building things that last. He’s not in this for a quick flip — he’s focused on owning and growing a strong business that works well, takes care of its people, and has real potential for the future. His vision is to buy a second business that fits well with what he’s already built, adds new strengths to his team, and helps lay the groundwork for a group of businesses that can grow together over time. He’s especially excited by the chance to bring new energy to older industries, improving how things run, how customers are served, and how teams work together.

INDUSTRIES OF INTEREST

Manufacturing
Industrial Supply
B2B Wholesale
Online, Technology & Digital Services
Building, Construction & Trades
Home Services
Business & Professional Services
Retail & Consumer Goods
Automotive

FINANCIAL READINESS

Peter is a highly qualified buyer, ready to move forward on the right acquisition, with a prequalification from Live Oak Bank for up to $6 million, and a clear status as a trusted, financially capable buyer. Comprehensive financial statements are available upon request to provide full transparency and reinforce his readiness to close a deal efficiently.