Patrick Dichter bought a bookkeeping & tax business just over a year ago, at the end of 2021. I had him on Acquiring Minds shortly thereafter, and I invited him back on now to update us on how things have gone. Spoiler: quite well. Patrick's acquisition was small, with $330k SDE on $1.2m in sales. A year later, sales are up 60%. We get into how Patrick has done that, plus lots of other topics: why he bought small; his key advice for other searchers; the viability of rolling up accounting & tax firms; and growing by acquisition versus growing organically (Patrick made 2 more tuck-in acquisitions in 2022). We also discuss lots of elements of the bookkeeping & accounting industry, and specifically from the perspective of a buyer of businesses in that industry. This episode is a nice follow-up to my episode with Chris Williams of a few weeks ago — which was also an update with a former guest, and also a searcher who acquired a business around bookkeeping. So if you're interested in this space — and it is appealing — you've now got 4 episodes to sink your teeth into about searchers who acquired bookkeeping businesses. The other 3: First episode with Patrick: ‍Shut Out by Industry Brokers, an Entrepreneur Finds a Way First episode with Chris Williams: ‍Stay Open to the Many Flavors of Search Second episode with Chris Williams: ‍1 Year Later as Buyer of a $1m EBITDA Business Here is Patrick Dichter, owner & CEO of AppleTree Business Services ???

redacted