The Exit Playbook: Why Acquisitions Are Your Fast Track to Financial Freedom

What if you could skip the 3-year startup grind and scale your business… by buying one instead? In this episode, I sit down with Jeremy Harbour—Wall Street Journal bestselling author, mergers & acquisitions maestro, and founder of the Harbour Club—to crack open the real playbook for buying, scaling, and exiting businesses. With 30+ years and 300+ deals under his belt (including taking a company public on NASDAQ), Jeremy shares why acquisitions—not startups—are the secret weapon for entrepreneurs craving freedom. We dissect how to avoid costly mistakes, structure “no money down” deals, and turn volatile small businesses into exit-ready assets.   5 Takeaways You’ll Steal 1. Stop chasing profits. Freedom comes from selling businesses—not grinding day-to-day ops.   2. Set-and-forget is a myth. Markets evolve—stay hands-on or lose your shirt.   3. Buy for the exit. Document systems, track buyer-friendly metrics (recurring revenue, margins).   4. Replace outdated tactics FAST. Fax blasts worked in the 90s… today’s buyers want modern growth engines.   5. Win-win deals exist. Use “work-in-buyout” strategies to acquire businesses while they pay for themselves.   If you could acquire one competitor tomorrow with £0 down… would you know where to start? Learn how to scale and exit faster by applying to join our waitlist for our next cohort to the game changers inner circle business mastermind go to https://bit.ly/business-mastermind-waitlist for more info Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Mergers and Acquisitions 03:29 The Reality of Buying Businesses with No Money Down 06:14 The Startup vs. Acquisition Debate 09:15 Understanding the Risks of Small Business Acquisitions 11:56 Creating Asymmetric Opportunities in Acquisitions 15:01 The Importance of Exit Strategies 17:34 Researching Potential Acquisitions 20:30 Navigating Employee Relationships Post-Acquisition 29:28 Transforming Obstacles into Opportunities 31:09 The Challenges of Selling Baby Boomer Businesses 32:41 Understanding Business Valuations 34:52 The Risk-Weighted Return on Capital 36:24 Structuring Win-Win Deals 39:52 The Wibo: A New Acquisition Strategy 41:52 Valuation: The Art of Justifying Numbers 46:12 When is the Right Time to Buy a Business? 47:30 The Harbour Club: A Pathway to Acquisition Success 🙏 How To Support The Business Strategist 🎙️ If this is the first time you’re listening congrats, if you like today’s episode please subscribe, listen and leave a review on 👉 Apple, Spotify ABOUT THE GUEST Website: https://www.jeremyharbour.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyharbour Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harbour.jeremy YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theharbourclub9544 21 day email course: https://www.harbourclubevents.com/email-course ABOUT THE HOST LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamistrong Learn how to scale fast by taking the business growth quiz: https://howtogrowabusiness.scoreapp.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamstrong Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices