Today we’d like to introduce you to Mitch McGinley.
Hi Mitch, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started in Hospitality & Hotel Management…I worked at the Omni San Diego for seven years ultimately managing F&B, Guest Services, and then got into Finance & Accounting. During that time, I finished my MBA at night at SDSU and began to realize I was yearning to get more into entrepreneurship. So, I left the Omni to work with a startup that was buying boutique hotels in San Diego, fixing them up, and then selling them. That was my first introduction to business transactions. My job was to run the hotels, but I was learning about sales, acquisitions, deal structures, and the nuance of buying and selling businesses. A few years later, my wife Karson and I were approached by our favorite yoga studio owner, who told us she was ready to sell and wanted to sell to us. It was a dream that we always had, and the timing was perfect. So, I left my job in hotels, and together with my wife, we owned and operated Happy-U Yoga in Ocean Beach for six years. Three years in I needed a new challenge and was encouraged by my friend and advisor Laura Munkholm to start consulting. She had a thriving consulting business in the boutique fitness industry, bolstered by strong ties to Mindbody, and had work for me that she needed help with. So, I began working with her and hundreds of studio owners all over the world, assisting with things like pricing strategy, sales funnels, KPIs, and retention. When Karson and I reached the point in 2018 that we felt we had done everything we could with the studio and were ready to sell it, I was approached by a local business brokerage about potentially selling the studio for me. Fortunately, I had a buyer in hand and the confidence to make it happen on my own. But when it did sell (very successfully) that same company then recruited me to join them as a business sales advisor, and I pretty much just merged all of my worlds to become the guy who helps studio and gym owners sell. Over the last three years, I’ve sold over 30 businesses spanning boutique fitness, retail, restaurants, and construction. My group, SD Business Advisors, led by Sean Seaman and Dustin Sigall, has sold over 600 businesses totaling hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions. We are proud to call ourselves the Business Selling Experts.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Nothing good is ever easy! There are always struggles in entrepreneurship, but how you react to them is all that matters and all that you can control. Being flexible is key. Five months after getting licensed, covid hit. And covid absolutely decimated the boutique fitness industry. Mandated shutdowns, class size limits, mask requirements, and the rise of virtual fitness options crushed brick and mortar fitness studios. But I still wanted to do everything I could to help every owner possible, so I took on way too much, tried to sell every business that came to me, and ultimately went through a ton of heartache with those owners as many had to permanently close or sell for pennies on the dollar. There weren’t many buyers out there anxious to buy studios that were shut down by the state. But I just kept at it. Fortunately, I am able to work across the country, and some states were much less restrictive. So, I continued to work as hard as I could to build up my reputation on a national level and position myself as the go-to resource for this very niche underserved community. I also began to expand and help business owners in other industries, such as retail, plumbing, HVAC, and flooring.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about SD Business Advisors / Boutique Fitness Broker?
Technically I have two names and brands. First and foremost is SD Business Advisors. But I am also allowed to have my own independent brand, which is Boutique Fitness Broker. It’s nice to have both. Boutique Fitness is my bread and butter, as I genuinely feel like THE expert in studio and gym sales across the country. Supporting that brand, I am a Mindbody Education Faculty member, meaning I travel around the world to teach studio owners how to be more business savvy. It’s taken me to San Luis Obispo, London, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Sydney just this year. I’ve spoken to top CEOs about how to plan your exit at giant fitness conferences such as Mindbody BOLD and Boutique Fitness Solutions The Summit. What sets me apart is that I am the only person I know who has the experience that I have who serves this particular industry. I’ve been a buyer, manager, owner, seller, and landlord. I understand the various stakeholders and what their interests are and why they feel the way they do. Most importantly, I’m empathetic. As an independent intermediary, I make sure everyone feels heard and acknowledged but communicate only what needs to be communicated to move the deal forward. Unlike real estate or an attorney, I most often work for both sides in every deal, so I am mostly a sounding board, communicator, therapist, and advisor. My job is to make sure you know what your options are, what’s normal, and what the pros and cons are of each decision so that the client can make the best, most informed decision possible for themself.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Many people don’t know what business brokers are or that we even exist. One thing I want every small business owner to know is that your business is worth something. Please don’t just close down because you don’t know what else to do. Reach out; maybe it won’t be a ton of money, but after all the blood sweat, and tears, don’t you want your biggest payday to be bigger? Secondly, I want all business owners to know the importance of showing your profit each year on tax returns. Especially in the years leading up to a sale. For a bank to lend money to a buyer, the business has to show enough profit to support the valuation. If you’re hiding all your profit, a bank won’t get behind it, and you’ll shrink your buyer pool and reduce the value of your business. So, it’s worth paying the taxes. Finally, plant seeds with prospective buyers years in advance. Maybe it’s a staff member, client, or competitor. But something to say, “Hey, I’m thinking about my next chapter, no rush, but let me know if you’re ever interested”. Planting those little seeds can provide the perfect timing and much more leverage down the road. Selling a business is an incredibly emotional process. It usually takes upwards of 6 months, and there are many highs and lows. There is a saying in our business that every deal dies three times before it finally goes through. But if you’re prepared and surround yourself with good advisors, you too can maximize your biggest payday.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sdbiz.com / www.boutiquefitnessbroker.com
- Instagram: @sdbizadvisors / @boutiquefitnessbroker
Image Credits
@lynnreneephoto
Shanti Knight (@shantiknight)
