
About this episode
John Wilson bought & grew a very small plumbing business 26x over the last 7 years, and today has plans to reach $100m.
Topics in John’s interview:
- Growing up in his family’s home services business
- Taking over the business at 23
- Acquiring a turnaround to grow his business
- His first time doing layoffs
- Using CertainPath’s model to grow
- Tripling his ad spend during Covid
- Why he believes in buying small
- His take on installing an operator
- His plan to get to $100M
- The taxonomy of blue collar businesses
References and how to contact John:
- Owned and Operated (his podcast)
- The Wilson Companies
- John’s tweet thread breaking down homes services business
- CertainPath
Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:
Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:
Connect with Acquiring Minds:
- See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
- Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
- Follow Will on Twitter
Get every episode summarized
Each time Acquiring Minds publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from Acquiring Minds

First-Timer Buys a $15m Business in Distress
Acquiring Minds
Sep 7, 20261:23:01pending

An Engineer's Mini Berkshire: 2 Auto Shops in 1 Year
Acquiring Minds
Sep 3, 20261:45:04completed

Right-Tail Outcome for a Husband & Wife Search Fund
Acquiring Minds
Aug 31, 20261:43:18pending

The Ferrari of Signage: $9.5m Pipeline in 6 Months
Acquiring Minds
Aug 27, 20261:58:05pending