On today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, we’ll talk to serial entrepreneur Justin Hartzman about how we can grow a business and why we should do it with the possibility of an acquisition in mind. Justin is the CEO and co-founder of Needls.com, the Internet’s first RoboAgency. It is the easiest and most effective way for small businesses to advertise online and bring in more sales. By answering just six questions, Needls.com knows who you are, who you want to sell to, and what you want to sell. It can create 50-500 ads in real time, deliver them to the network, and show them to your ideal customer.  THE BOTTOM LINE OF ANY BUSINESS Some of us seek the independence that comes from being our own boss while others desire flexibility and creative freedom or want to achieve a sense of personal fulfillment. [1:59] The bottom line of starting any business though, as Justin explains, is to earn the financial freedom to live our lives the way we want. A successful business puts more money in our pockets and allows us the time to enjoy it. Trying to start a new business, however, is tricky. While there are more people now looking for opportunities to fund, there are also more people competing for those funds. The common approach is to build the product first. Then you find the money to produce the product next and then sell the product. Justin recommends the complete opposite approach. IF YOU SELL IT, THEY WILL COME. Sales are always first. Find out if people want your product and if they do – sell it to them.   With the sales lined up and letters of intent in your hand, it becomes much easier to find people to fund your product. [3:19] For example, Justin’s fiance’ told him that a friend on Facebook was looking for someone to build an iOS app. When that need for an app turned into an immediate $60,000 contract, the light bulb turned on and Needls.com was born. People always have questions and they will always ask other for answers. Justin and his team created a software program to scan their Facebook feeds for specific words that could lead to other sales. [4:32] They soon realized a 300% increase in their business. Those sales gave them the funds they needed to takeNeedls.com where it is today. PLANNING FOR ACQUISITION Ignore those instances when a fledgling business did well and was acquired without planning for it because those are few and far between. Instead, Justin firmly believes that you need to be organized and to plan for an eventual acquisition from Day One. [8:02] Have your data in order from the start because trying to organize it later is not only time-consuming but expensive. Instead, be sure you are incorporated correctly and have a handle on your finances. Build the processes you need and scale your business at the proper cadence. Make sure your books and contracts are in order, your IP is buttoned up and all the proper NDAs are in place. Simply put: Expect to be successful and plan accordingly.   ATTRACT ACQUISITION OFFERS Justin’s success has come from partnering with other businesses who can help him as he helps them. [9:01]  It all comes back to sales. Sell yourself first. Make yourself useful. Find partners who will benefit from what you have to offer and take advantage of the networking opportunities, learning experiences, and industry insight they provide in return. Then when an acquisition situation arises, you are in place and you are ready. “GROW A BUSINESS RIPE FOR ACQUISITION” EPISODE RESOURCES Justin truly believes that making oneself useful to others is the key to success and, as such, he is always happy to chat or answer your questions. He can be reached at JH@needls.comor you can find him on LinkedIn.    He is also offering 35% off his entire platform for a year via needls.com/salesevan and his team is on standby to answer questions and to help you make the most of it. Check out our previous episode about why buying your competition might be a good option for your company. This episode is brought to yo