Business Buyer Advantage: Online Training v4.0: How to find, analyze, make offers and finance your small business dream.

NEW- July 2025- The original BBA modules that cover the 'purchase journey' have been expanded and enhanced with several hours of new content.

You want to be in business. 

Somewhere in the back of your mind you hear a voice saying, 'This is risky, what if it doesn't work?'

That's why millions of prudent entrepreneurs get into business each year by buying a successfully operating business rather than starting one.

But where do you start? How do you know which business is right for you? How do you know what the process is?

Business Buyer Advantage is a full workshop that follows one example company through the entire process.  Discovery, examination, offers, financing, due diligence, closing and deal structure. Most people take weeks to consume all the content including the ever-growing number of bonus modules.

What began as a full-day seminar has grown over the last decade to be one of the most comprehensive and 'real' programs out there designed to help you buy a small business while controlling risk. It's not full of hype. We try to keep you grounded and out of trouble.

This course has been recommended time and again from one student to another.  It has always featured a money-back guarantee and only a handful of people have ever asked me for a refund.  This is how certain I am of the quality of this material.

If you've ever dreamed of owning a business but are afraid to start one because of the risk, this class can help open the door to buying a successful, established business that already produces a profit.  

Students in this course will learn:

Why would you want to own a business
Buying vs. Starting a business
How to start looking for a business
Understanding buyer and seller motivations
Negotiation fundamentals and BATNA
The steps in the buying process
Finding GOOD businesses for sale
Using Intermediaries
The initial contact with the seller
Understanding business processes in the interview
The seller’s mindset
Examining the business
Businesses vs. Companies what are you buying?
What is a business?
Normalizing financial statements (recasting)
SDE vs. EBITDA cash flows
Identifying problems
SWOT analysis and small businesses
Simple forecasting
Determining the value of the business
Methods of business valuation
A sample case study
Dozens of examples and stories from real clients
Financing methods
Proper deal structure
Qualities of vendor vs. Institutional debt
Making offers
Actual deal examples from my business brokerage practice
Understanding asset vs. share purchases
Building your team
Due diligence
Franchises
Understanding risks
Buying a business in a recessionary economy

Learn as we follow a sample company from discovery to seller interview, to analysis, to normalization, to evaluation, to offer, to financing...

Buying a business is a complex task. You need the advantage of education on your side.  The seller has years of experience and knows the business inside and out.  Learn how to protect yourself by following a proven process and setting up a deal structure that protects you from the most common problems in small business transactions.

This small investment could literally save you hundreds of thousands of dollars by helping you to avoid getting into a bad deal.

*** NEW MODULE ADDED Nov 2019. Buying a business in a recessionary economy.

*** March 31, 2020 New Covid-19 section on buying businesses during the pandemic (and being prepared for when it ends)

***April 13, 2020 New Module added on buying distressed businesses.

***October 2021, Covid-19 update on normalizations and spotting the impacts of government assistance.

***December 2021, Share Purchases and Normal Net Position in Working Capital.

***June 2022, Introduction to Financial Statements, a tutorial on how the four financial statments work and are created.

***April 2023, Understanding Cash Flow Levels. An in-depth analysis to help you better understand SDE, EBITDA, EBIT, Free Cash Flow and how/when these tools and 'multipliers' should and should not be used in your purchase offer.

***April 2023, The BBA Analysis Tool. A powerful excel spreadsheet that will make it easier to you to make smarter offers. Includes two hours of video case study tutorials to help you master it's many functions. Learn more about this tool in this video: https://youtu.be/155FlwJj5tA

***February 2024, Bigger Businesses Bonus Module. I show you the details of sale transaction data showing how multiples change as revenue and cash flow grows and if this makes sense from an investment point of view. We'll calculate the effects together.

***April 2024, Due-Diligence. An expanded tutorial on understanding this process and how to prepare for it given the short timelines that may exist post-offer acceptance. Includes 4 interviews on the topic with guest speakers from the group coaching program. Covers business, financial and legal due-diligence topics as well as curating your due-diligence request list.

***January 2025, Raising Private Capital on Main St. How to get investors into your acquisition deals.

***July 2025, Updated SBA Financing Module with interviews from industry veterans that have not been heard publicly before.

***July 2025, Updates to the original teaching modules with 80% more content added including sections on Earnouts, Franchises, Closing Day, the Personal Financial Power Calculator and more.

New: Add a phone consultation with David Barnett. Choose the consulting option at checkout.

What others are saying:

Hi David,

I just completed your course and left a 5 star review on Gumroad. Well done. I am a "sales guy" and have endured a lot of snake-oil like courses for sales professionals and business people over my career in sales management and individual sales. Your candor and matter of fact approach was a breath of fresh air. To be frank, I discovered your podcast during my process of researching [loud online guru] and after I heard you on "The How of Business" Podcast. I am glad to have found a legitimate source of information in you, relative to my professional goals. 

Will the link to schedule my 30 minute call with you expire soon? I want to go through Business Buyer Advantage one more time (and while not traveling for work) to take better notes and to have a more thorough discussion with you. 

Thanks,

-Treven K

Hey David,

My husband and I completed your program. We both feel that we have learned quite a lot from it and feel better able to evaluate and negotiate businesses and purchases.  We appreciate your ability to explain concepts in a way anyone can understand them and the fact that you update the program with extra modules as the economy changes.

I would definitely like to advance to the Buyer Adventure Program as soon as we are able to. I plan to go online and rate your product with the highest rating. Thank you for all the work you have put into your programs. 

Warmest Regards,

-Patty and Troy M.

David,

I really did enjoy the course – believe it or not I watched in one long
sitting (at 2x speed).  I have been buying apartments with syndication
groups for several years, so concepts/terminology/etc were not new, and cash
flow is king.  But, with cap rates on apartments (especially in Dallas/Fort
Worth, and really all markets in TX) compressing / values tripling in the
B/C space over the past 6-7 years, it’s a lot harder to buy and cash flow
honestly is not that great.  I’m a mechanical engineer/MBA by training and
have been in high-tech/software sales for 20+ years, and have toyed with the
idea of owning a mfg business or multiple auto repair businesses, so that’s
where I am looking. 

Key takeaways from your course:
1.      The concept of BATNA – knowing/assessing your current state and
comparing that to what a particular business opp offers
2.      Normalizing financial data – the examples given are extremely
helpful, and really illustrate not only the importance of getting to
apple/apples numbers
3.      Methods of valuation – I liked how you
illustrated/compared/contrasted the different methods with a real example
4.      Offers/Sample Offer Letter – It’s evident that years of real-world
deal experience went into the offer doc.  I really like the concept of
seller warranty

I will look into your coaching program – thank you.
Best Regards,

-Greg G. in Texas.

Hello David,

I just finished the Business Buyer Advantage, How to find, analyze, make offers and financing program and it was fantastic. 

I have to say this program was the best program I have ever taken part of.  Yes, I really mean this because personally  I went to Northeastern University undergrad (Cum Laude), I have a MS in Facilities Management  from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and I was cut short of my last 3  MBA classes over the past 5 months because of this pandemic virus, over at the University of Mass at Boston and I will need to finish next year and as you can see,

I have taken many college classes and many graduate classes and not one them could compare to the real-life situation that you presented in this great program. The real-life situation and all the examples that were provided were great. 

The best part for me was that I could stop and rewind the information to watch and listen to the materials again and make sure to absorb what was actually being presented at the time,  I did this  plenty of times and I will refer back to the modules many more times too.   I really got my money's worth for this program!  Well done!  

Best

-Joe R. Boston, MA

David,

I binged your program over a few days.  It was a great primer on buying a business.  Thank you.  Just when I thought I knew what to expect and where you were going, you would put in a twist or an unexpected additional tip that was illuminating. Great job.  I really appreciate your work and the style of your presentation. 

My background is that I have been in the international shipping business my whole life rising to various levels of responsibility over the past 30+ years within a number of private and public companies.  Shipping investment and finance is a very capital intensive industry while freight trading is very entrepreneurial at the same time.  So my career has provided me with many lessons in capital budgeting, asset acquisition, sale and purchase transactions, project finance, risk management, financial derivatives trading, etc.  

The recent economic downturn caused by COVID19, however, has resulted in my becoming unemployed.  So as I contemplate reinventing myself as a late-stage executive my thoughts echo many of the sentiments you expressed in your program.  1.) I would like more control over my time and how I invest it, 2.) I prefer a role/position that will transition into the pre-retirement stage that is not constantly at risk of redundancy, 3.) I would like to put the knowledge I've gained along the way to work building a business, that in turn will work for me.

Given the typical timeline for finding a candidate business worth pursuing and structuring and negotiating an actual purchase, I will need to find some replacement employment in the short term so that I don't have to deplete my savings and potential investment equity.  As a stop gap.  But I will eventually like to join your Business Buyer Adventure Group. 

Thank you again for the excellent material and reality check,

Thomas M., North Carolina

Thank you David. 

I’m very much enjoying your course and more importantly I’m learning a lot.  I appreciate your true expertise in the field and your no nonsense delivery of the material.  

I anticipate following up this course with your systems class and your invest local class.
Thank you again,

Mike V, USA

Hi David,

Hope all is well. I really enjoyed Business Buyer Advantage. It was full of great information. Your business model seem very comprehensive and I am sure that I can benefit from such a great system. I have been holding off because I am not sure which direction I will take at this moment. With all that's been going on and other personal and professional matters it's kind of put me in a holding pattern. I know that I will have to make a change in the near future and I'm trying to be open and position myself to be led by something bigger than my limited perspective at this moment. 

Let's stay in touch as we walk through these days together.

All the Best!

Alfonso A.

I just finished the course last night, and I am floored! I feel like I got thousands of dollars worth of education in nine hours. 

I am excited to start putting the ideas into action. You have given me the confidence to move forward and start doing something at 48 that I have been dreaming about my whole life.

Thank you so much!

Steve J.

David,

I purchased Business Buyer Advantage on September 4, 2020 and today I closed on my first business (Nov, 2022).  I wanted to let you know that your videos really helped me navigate the very complex process of finding, making an offer on and eventually closing on the acquisition.  So you can officially add me to the list of students who are now business owners.  Here are some of the details: The purchase price was $2.4MM.  SDE is $1.15MM. The seller carried $240k @6.25% for 10 yrs with a 5 yr balloon.  I did an SBA loan (10 years @ 8.25% variable) and put down $260k.  Additionally, I got $100k in working capital and a $100k line of credit.  

So if you're ever in Boone, NC please stop by and see me at [Top-Brand Dealer in the Blinds Industry] and drinks are on me.  

Thanks, 

Eric, N. Carolina. 

Note- All products priced in USD.