Dan Burnside paid under 3x for an HVAC shop throwing off $800k of SDE. The day after close, the questions started. It was a harbinger.
Parker Mechanical looked like the SBA dream — a hot-category HVAC business at less than three times earnings. Burnside closed on a Friday. By Saturday he was finding what the diligence missed.
Joe Cole Plumbing: 35 employees, high-end residential and mechanical work, an hour from the buyer's home and his two small kids. The all-hands was called to introduce him. He wasn't in the room.
A home-services operator on this paper’s standing six published the miss, not the dunk. John Wilson wrote that his company hit $3.5 million and assumed it had outgrown the market.
This paper’s best-of is a standing six, not a trending chart. The names are public operators and shows already in the graph. Huber is rejected in code even if a file sneaks in.
A customer came to Direct Outlet Mattress after sleeping on an Amazon mattress. For months her back hurt. She wanted a King and did not want to spend thousands.
John Wilson published the questions he wants answered before a shop moves into another trade or market. Predictable leads. CAC by channel. Whether the current market is actually saturated.
A customer came to me after sleeping on an Amazon mattress.
For months straight, her back had been hurting and she couldn't get the quality sleep she needed.
She knew she wanted to upgrade to a King, but she also didn't want to spend thousands of dollars to do it.
We talked through what she was sleeping on, what wasn't working, and what she actually needed.
Got her taken care of with a King mattress for UNDER $1,000.
A customer reached out to me after being quoted $11,399 for what they wanted.
We went through the mattress guy questioning and were able to put together an option that fit their needs for $4,439 TOTAL.
They also got two pillows which wasn’t included in their first deal
Their quote: $11,399
My price: $4,439
Money saved: $6,960
People ask how I compete with giant furniture stores, Mattress Firm, Ashley Furniture and every online mattress company imaginable
Simple
They sell whatever mattresses they want
I sell whatever mattress you need
They listen to respond
I hear to resolve
I know what’s inside the mattress
I know which components matter
I know where companies cut corners
I know when you’re overpaying
I know when you’re underbuying
And I’m perfectly comfortable telling you not to buy from me
That’s led to truly helping a lot of people!
Only move into another trade or market when you can answer a few important questions:
> Can we predictably generate enough leads to support the existing operation?
> Do we know our CAC and acceptable acquisition cost by channel?
> Is our current market actually saturated, or have we stopped finding ways to grow within it?
> Do we have the people and systems to handle more demand without the owner becoming the bottleneck?
> Can our marketing operation support another set of campaigns, budgets and performance targets?
People ask Hancock how he competes with giant furniture stores, Mattress Firm, Ashley Furniture, and every online mattress company. His public answer is short: they sell whatever mattresses they want. He sells whatever mattress you need.