I acquired Advanced Control Solutions earlier this year and am running the company alongside the Founder / President.

We are a independent building automation contractor that specializes in building controls and automation systems for Class A commercial properties in the New York City metro. Think of what a Nest Thermostat or Apple HomeKit does for your home - now scale that up to a skyscraper, a hospital, a library, or a municipal building, so building engineers and property managers can control lighting, HVAC, access, cameras, and more. Classic mix of project-based / service & maintenance.

We work closely along other skilled trades like mechanical HVAC, plumbing, etc. and if I had to describe it as a Venn diagram, it would be three circles: IT Networking / Programming, Electrical, and HVAC. I grew up on a farm, spent time in the military, and worked in finance / tech after business school. I am comfortable in the field, but definitely an industry outsider.

Some reflections below:


Unexpected employee turnover was a big stressor at closing. One influential person leaves, and you might have a chain reaction of departures before you blink. Customers and competitors hear about it. Skilled labor shortage is real. We were fortunate to quickly hire a great replacement quickly. Long term, we will live and die based on our ability to train / promote young team members from within.


Cash flow has been strong. We paid down our SBA Express line this past quarter. Results on par with FY23. Big cost savings in insurance (thank you, ^Joshua Richman‌ and Symphony Risk), vehicles, various services were put towards $100K of new run-rate annual wage and benefits spend for the team. We promoted high performers and matched competitors' offers.


Asset sale is no joke - can’t tell you how long it takes to get the entire back office reconfigured for a new entity, lots of state forms and paperwork to complete, transferring titles at the DMV, the list goes on and on.


Diligence point I totally missed - our accounting / ERP software had to be rebuilt for the NewCo after the asset sale. We have a horrible old on-premises software called ComputerEase that took us a couple months to rebuild. Hundreds of dollars per hour for customer support. No software documentation to aid DIY migration. Still not “done” almost three months in. We will escape this horrible software and move accounting and field service to the cloud.


If possible, diligence the compensation / benefits of your local competitors. I didn’t really know “the market” for compensation and benefits until I acquired. If people ask for raises or threaten to leave and you don’t know what the market is, you are increasing risk. Get used to having employees ask for things and saying, “Thank you for bringing this up - I can’t give you an answer on the spot but I would like to review this and we will discuss on [date].” Avoid hasty and ill-informed decisions.


Little things go a long way. first weekend my wife helped me put shelving up in the office so our office manager didn’t have to pile up supplies in an unused shower. Implemented Rippling. Migrated business data and documents from on-premises server to SharePoint so techs now can access files in the field. Cleaned the office. Set up a conference room for All Hands meetings. People notice what you do.


I have a long transition with the seller in a technical field where I am an outsider with no prior industry experience. Seller-dependent business with no processes can either be a disaster waiting to happen, or an amazing opportunity. The quality of our relationship is everything. Our families have spent time together. We are very close. He is still working incredibly hard in the business.


In 3 months, I have a couple sleepless nights due to stress / mind racing on business issues. Grass might be greener on the other side, but as the saying goes “debt makes equity sweat”…maybe the typical traditional searcher sweats a bit less in the operator seat. No PG debt, perhaps more redundancy / management layers, etc. - something to consider for those considering this path.


I am the lowest paid employee at my company right now. Conserving / building up cash. Strongly recommend this for search phase and beyond. Find a way to live on one salary in your household. The position of strength is the ability to forgo salary if needed.


Fragmented industries are great for new operators. I have spoken to operators in my industry in many cities / regions across the US and learned so much.


Rippling. I would promote / recommend their software for free, but they have a sweet referral bonus for demos for both you and me to enjoy. We saved $3K / year annually vs the OldCo payroll system (ADP, which was horrible). Up and running in a week. Incredibly simple / easy to start, but infinitely powerful with automations and workflows and integrations. Big time saver for my office manager every week, and improved the quality of experience of my team (onboarding, corporate cards, time off, etc.). Unless you have some crazy niche use case (like, tons of different hourly prevailing wage rates / classifications) I would recommend them to anybody who is looking to transform their back office. Referral Link>>> https://blue.mbsy.co/6DT3sd


Shout out to ^Searchfunder member‌ now on my Board) ^Searchfunder member‌ ^Searchfunder member‌ at SIG, ^Searchfunder member‌ ^Searchfunder member‌ at Live Oak, ^Searchfunder member‌ at Treewalk, many others who helped make it all happen.


Many of you have been incredibly generous with your time and perspective before and during my search; thank you, and I hope I can pay it forward.