Seeking Insights: Buying Small Businesses (~$500K Revenue)

March 27, 2025

by a searcher from University of Leeds in Florida, USA

Hi everyone,

I’m exploring the idea of acquiring a small business (~$500K in revenue) and would love to hear from those who have experience with deals in this size range. Most advice I’ve come across leans against it, but I’d love to go beyond the usual "it's a bad idea" take and dig into real-world experiences—both the challenges and opportunities.

If you’ve pursued (or passed on) a deal like this, what were your key takeaways? What made it work (or not work) for you?

Looking forward to the discussion—appreciate any insights!

Rob

Reply by a professional
from Pace University in New York, NY, USA

Hi Jason, my clients have also purchased deals with this revenue but typically it is because they 1) believe in the overall concept of the business and 2) have a plan to take the business to the next level. How is the current marketing for the business? Do you believe that you can come in, set up a trusted team and increase revenue? will the current key employees be on board to come along to help? These are just some of the things that I believe would be vital in you making a decision. If you want to connect, you can reach me at redacted

Reply by a searcher
from Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, USA

Curious what others would say, but I'm turned off by businesses of this size because I'd like enough profit line buffer to have a healthy take home pay, weather any operational difficulties and be able to reinvest in the business. As a first time searcher / operator, the capacity to make some mistakes knowing that I have buffer is critical.

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