Michael Girdley (@Girdley) and Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA) are joined by Joe Cassandra (@JoeCassandra) to hear his lessons learned in SMB ownership, running a children's retail store, owner-employee relationships, building a HoldCo, hidden expenses, and more.-----Thanks to our sponsors!Fleetio's suite of cloud- and mobile-based fleet management solutions enables fleets of all sizes to automate fleet operations and manage asset lifecycles. Users can instantly access and update data regarding planned and unplanned maintenance, fuel, inspections, parts, and much more. Fleetio improves communication and streamlines issue resolution with its mobile app, email notifications, and reminders. Fleetio integrates with telematics solutions for automated odometer updates and DTC handling, and pairs with fuel cards to automatically log transaction data. Fully optimize your fleet by giving fleet managers, drivers, technicians, and other personnel access to the tools and information they need anytime, anywhere.Questions? Call us at 1-800-975-5304 or email hello@fleetio.com—--* Do you love Acquanon and want to see our smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel.* Do you enjoy our content? Rate our show!* Follow us on Twitter @acquanon Learnings about small business acquisitions and operations.-----Show Notes:(0:00) Intro(2:09) What is the story on buying a Business for the first time?(4:39) Why did you think this was a good deal?(8:08) How did you evaluate the business on ROI and mitigating risks?(9:56) The business was cheap, it was an asymmetric bet.(13:05) How did you evaluate Location potential and value in the deal?(14:41) You bought the business. What happened next?(16:45) Offline & online marketing strategies(18:00) Owner-employee relationship management and incentive plans to build salesperson loyalty(21:21) What size does the business have? Which are the business numbers?(23:32) Who is the CEO of the business? How much time do you spend weekly?(25:02) What advice would you have on someone trying to replicate your story?(27:36) Fleetio sponsor - Fleet management service - Check them out!(30:49) How does the retail store fit into the HoldCo strategy?(35:45) How do you consolidate your income streams?(37:23) What is your vision as a growth?(38:19) What is it like to own a retailer?-----Links:*  www.Fleetio.com - Fleet Management Solutions - Questions? Call us at 1-800-975-5304 or email hello@fleetio.com-----Past guests on Acquanon include Nick Huber, Brent Beshore, Aaron Rubin, Mike Botkin, Ari Ozick, Mitchell Baldridge, Xavier Helgelsen, Mike Loftus, Steve Divitkos, Dzmitry Miranovich, Morgan Tate and more.-----Additional episodes you might enjoy:#62 Two Landscaping Businesses for Sale - Mike Loftus CEO of Connor's Landscaping#66 Analyzing Software Businesses for Sale with Steve Divitkos, an experienced industry CEO---