Deal Structuring 101

May 30, 2025

Hey oh, Happy Friday!  Welcome to your weekly small biz newsletter—the tip-infused power smoothie of biz growth. We toss in real-world examples, sprinkle in lead gen sauce, blend it with white paper wisdom, and serve it cold. All you have to do is sip, scroll, and soak up insights that’ll energize your next move.

This week’s smoothie:

  1. Deal Structuring 101: A love story between buyer & seller (sorta, kinda)

  2. Quick Funnel Breakdown: Content Marketing That Works

  3. The Detroit Sunrise That Hit Different

1. Deal Structuring 101: A love story between buyer & seller (sorta, kinda)

Buying a business isn’t swiping a credit card. It’s more like crafting a prenup with someone you just met on Biz Tinder. The right deal structure makes sure both parties walk away saying “that was a win.” Here’s your cheat sheet:

1. All Cash 💵
 “I brought the bag.”

Buyer Wins: Clean ownership, fast close, less drama.

Seller Wins: Walk-away money, no strings.

But: Buyer takes 100% of the risk—and that risk might have termites.

2. Bank-Financed 💳 (aka Fake It 'Til You Make It Cash)
 “Seller gets the full bag, but I borrowed the bag.”

Buyer Wins: Puts down 10–25% instead of 100%, uses the bank’s money to own the asset. ROI looks spicy.

Seller Wins: Feels like an all-cash deal—gets paid up front and walks off into the sunset.

But: Buyer is now married to a banker. Expect covenants, reporting, and no skipping debt service.

3. Seller Financing 💸
 “You believe in the biz? Great—help fund it.”

Buyer Wins: Less cash upfront, better ROI, skin in the game from seller.

Seller Wins: Interest income, tax deferral, proof they built something worth betting on.
But: You’re now pen pals for 3–5 years. Make sure you like each other.

4. Earnout 🎯
 “I’ll pay you... if it performs.”

Buyer Wins: Only pays full price if targets are hit.

Seller Wins: Chance to prove the biz is a rocket ship.
But: Lots of potential for “creative accounting” arguments at year-end. Bring popcorn.

5. Equity Roll 🌀
 “Stick around and ride the next wave with me.”

Buyer Wins: Less upfront cash, keeps seller invested. (70% - 90% ownership)
Seller Wins: Potential to get a second cash out on their retained equity (~%10 - 30% ownership)
But: Risky if you’re handing equity to someone who now lives in Cabo.

Moral of the Deal?

Structure is strategy. It’s the lever that moves mountains—without blowing up your balance sheet. And like any good relationship… it’s all negotiable.

2. Quick Funnel Breakdown: Content Marketing That Works

Just got hit with a great email content marketing ad from Hex.  Although Hex is B2B healthcare data company, there is a lot we can learn from and apply to B2B or B2C.  

  • Hook: “Wrestling with ad hoc asks and self-serve dreams?”

  • Lead magnet: A downloadable white paper for healthcare data teams

  • Outcome-focused copy: Speed up drug research, improve patient care, reduce costs

  • CTA: “Download the guide now”

Why this funnel works:

  • Hits a real pain point (data bottlenecks + literacy gap)

  • Promises transformation (from chaos to clarity)

  • Gives immediate value (real-world examples + ROI)

  • Collects the potential lead’s email address, who is interested in the topic

How could you apply this playbook to capture new leads and grow your business?  

3. The Detroit Sunrise That Hit Different

Tuesday at 5:45am, I pulled into the gym and caught this sky [See Pic].

The normal empty warehouse district was different this morning. It was buzzing—people from Movement (used the be called Detroit Electronic Music Festival) dancing into the "After," while others like me were just starting their day. Two very different tides mixing: some hadn’t gone to bed, and some had woken up early to hit the gym.

In that moment, I realized something:

For a while now, my chapter has been consistent. Early mornings. Focus. Discipline.

But maybe it’s time to write a new one.

One with a bit more risk. A bit more edge. A bit more movement of my own.

Sunrises don't care if you're ending the night or starting fresh

They show up either way. So should we.

P.S. I’m not a broker. I just buy and invest in real, gritty businesses like yours. If you ever want to chat (no pressure, no suits), just hit reply.