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Seeing the gap

Most people never buy a business because nobody ever showed them how.

I bought one with cash. I bought another with an SBA loan. I built a third from nothing. Now I teach the process the way I actually ran it, line by line, deal by deal.

Free. It is the same process I walk students through.

Where this comes from

Three ways in. I have done all three.

Cash

Bought a business outright. No bank, no lender, no permission needed.

SBA

Bought a second business with an SBA loan. I know what the bank actually asks for.

Built

Founded a third from zero. I can tell you honestly which route I would pick again.

The idea

A business for sale is a business with a gap in it. Somebody stopped answering the phone. Somebody never built a website. Somebody has run the same route for thirty years and never raised a price.

That gap is the whole opportunity. It is why the price is what it is, and it is where your return comes from. Learning to see it is a skill, not a talent, and it can be taught.

Most acquisition content stops at motivation. This does not. You will read real listings, take apart real numbers, and learn what to walk away from.

The process

Ten steps, in order

From first contact to owning the thing. No step skipped, no step assumed.

01Express interest and contact the broker
02Complete the NDA
03Receive the CIM
04Meet the broker and confirm what the CIM claims
05Complete a buyer profile
06Meet the seller and tour the business
07Prepare an offer and place a deposit in escrow
08Complete due diligence
09Finalize financing and the lease
10Fund and close

Step eight is where most deals die. It is also where most people find out they were never taught what to ask for.

People I have worked with

It works when they do the work

Zoe O'Neal

Bought a beauty supply store

We read her listings together, went through the numbers line by line, and found what the CIM was not saying. She closed.

Rashad Evans

Started a cleaning business

Not every path is an acquisition. Sometimes the gap you find is one you are better off building into.

Tre' Jester

Founded a recruiting platform

Vets and places candidates for plumbing and HVAC shops, the small operators who have no time to hire.

Where to start

Three ways to work with me

Seeing The Gap

Podcast and the live teardowns

Every week. Real deals, real numbers, and the occasional live CIM read where we take a listing apart on camera.

The Skool community

$39 / month

The frameworks, a weekly live call, and a room full of people actually looking at deals. Ask a question, get an answer from someone who has closed.

The Business Buyer's Blueprint

$3,500 or three payments

Six courses, taught live, twelve seats. You bring a real target and we work it together through all ten steps.

Start with the ten steps

Send me your email and I will send you the full process, written out, plus the questions to ask a broker before you waste a phone call.

One email to deliver it. Then the podcast and the occasional deal breakdown. Unsubscribe whenever you want.

Questions people ask

Do I need money to buy a business?+

You need less than you think and more than nothing. Seller financing, SBA lending, and creative structures cover most of it. I bought one with cash and one with an SBA loan, so I can walk you through both honestly, including what each one costs you in leverage.

Is this for people who want to start something instead?+

Partly. Two of the people I have worked with started businesses rather than bought them. The skill of finding a gap in a market is the same either way. The transaction mechanics are what differ, and that is what the Blueprint covers.

What is the difference between the community and the cohort?+

The community teaches you how to think about a deal. The cohort walks you through one. In the community you get the frameworks and a weekly call. In the cohort you bring a real target and we work it together, live, with the templates and checklists I use.

Are you going to promise me a specific return?+

No. Anyone who does is selling you something. Buying a business is real risk with real money, and plenty of people look at deals for a year and correctly decide to walk away from all of them. What I can teach you is how to tell the difference.

Who are you?+

Dr. Matty Herrera. I have bought two businesses and built one. I teach, I host the Seeing The Gap podcast, and I run a small group of people working through live deals. I have been broke, and I have been doubted, and I am not interested in pretending this is easy.