Podcast Summary: How I Built My Small Business

Host: Ann McGinty
Guest: Nik Hulewsky (Nickonomics)
Episode: "He Put $180k Down. Then Built and Grew $18m in Businesses."
Date: September 23, 2025

Episode Overview

In this award-winning episode, host Ann McGinty sits down with serial entrepreneur and fellow podcast host Nik Hulewsky. They explore Nik's unconventional journey from being an employee in healthcare to buying, growing, and selling multimillion-dollar businesses. The discussion covers practical strategies for business acquisition, lessons learned from failures and pivots, and the personal values driving Nik’s choices—including his focus on family and creating long-term value. The conversation delivers both actionable business wisdom and candid life reflections.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Nik’s Background and Leap into Entrepreneurship

• Nik describes himself as a husband, father of five, and "obsessed serial entrepreneur" primarily in healthcare.
  "I'm a husband, I'm a father of five boys...I freaking love this game. It's so fun." — Nik [01:18]

• After years in healthcare (home health, hospice), Nik decided in 2020 to stop working for others. He leveraged his industry knowledge to purchase a $3.2M medical billing company and later built a home health and hospice business from scratch.

• Personal inspiration: Growing up with a developmentally delayed sister cemented his understanding of healthcare’s impact—and led to a purposeful career path [03:07].

The Pushed-From-the-Nest Catalyst

• Nik shares the dramatic story of being fired by his employer during his wife’s labor, a pivotal moment that accelerated his entrepreneurial plans.

  "My wife's giving birth right now. You're firing me?...It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me." — Nik [05:00, 07:16]

• The COVID shutdown meant Nik could spend time with his newborn and negotiate his business deal in earnest.

Business Acquisition Process and Criteria

• Detailed breakdown of Nik’s acquisition strategy:

  • Chose healthcare due to industry “tailwinds” and personal expertise.
  • Sought a non-patient-facing company with at least $600K/year net income and 15% margins.
    "I wanted to have a business that could do at least $600,000 a year in net income at a 15% margin before I'd even look at it." — Nik [11:07]

• Emphasized direct outreach (cold contacting potential sellers), rather than relying on brokers.

  • Personalized messages led to higher response rates:
    "You have to...qualify the type of business...tailor the message, and really be a person to them." — Nik [09:31]

• Advice for first-time buyers: Use brokers for experience and due diligence; Nik only bought off-market because of his transaction background [10:30].

Creative Financing for Acquisitions

• Nik demonstrates how he purchased a $3.2M business with only ~$180K down, employing SBA loan structures and seller financing:

  "You can get into a business for kind of as little down for your first business as 5% down if you've got it structured the right way." — Nik [14:31]

Operator Dynamics and Management Hurdles

• Divided attention: Brought in a brother-in-law as operator for the medical billing company while Nik launched home health and hospice.

  • Result: Success, but regrets not being more involved in the billing company; worries about selling from a "place of fear."
    "I didn't pay enough... looking back, I don't know that it was the smartest thing, but it did work out for us." — Nik [18:17]

Scaling and Exits

• Scaled both businesses—sold the medical billing company after two years, and home health/hospice a year later.

• On the proceeds: Unable to share exact figures due to NDAs but confirms he walked away with "mid seven figures." "Not eight figures. Mid seven figures is sort of like where the walk away range comes in." — Nik [19:40]

• In retrospect, misses the consistency of his first business:
  "It's consistent...just a great business." — Nik [20:06]

Post-Exit Experimentation and Lessons in Diversification

• Describes "kid in a candy shop" phase—buying or experimenting in RV parks, e-commerce (crypto miners), digital marketing, and tree trimming/lead gen in Dallas.

  • Example: RV park venture (Texas) had attractive numbers but got blindsided by city code issues, reinforcing lessons in due diligence.
    "If you're ever buying in a...RV park...go check with the freaking city..." — Nik [22:03]

The Tree Trimming / Lead Generation Test

• Co-founded a tree-trimming lead generation company in Dallas as a test case with a business partner and a college grad operator.

  • Outsourced fulfillment via subcontractors; focused on fast response and digital marketing for leads.
  • Revenue: ~$700-800K top line, $100-200K bottom line (all reinvested).
  • The playbook spawned others’ success (e.g., a listener turned $250K/year profit from a stump grinding business inspired by Nik’s public advice).
    "We just talked about it and these people listened...now I can't get through Twitter without seeing a bunch of stump grinders in my feed." — Nik [32:37]

Pivot Back to Healthcare & Building a Venture Studio

• After experimenting in multiple industries, Nik decided to double down on his expertise: "Why would I pivot now into vending machines or a home services business? ...I would lose a lot of that compounding knowledge." — Nik [33:13]

• Current focus: launching a healthcare venture studio with his brother-in-law, innovating within their network of skilled nursing facilities.

  • Aim: introduce tools and models from other sectors to modernize healthcare’s antiquated operations.

Entrepreneurial Wisdom and Paths into Healthcare

• Nik’s practical advice for aspiring healthcare entrepreneurs:
  • Entrepreneurs should identify their "superpower" and apply it to healthcare’s vast needs.
    "Any skill set that you have is applicable to healthcare." — Nik [39:45]
  • Two paths to entrepreneurship:
    • Hustlers: Focus on high-ticket repeat services and master marketing.
    • Apprentices: Get management jobs, optimize for experience, later buy or build a business.
  • Reflection on partnerships: For those lacking business expertise, consider partnering with someone who has complementary skills.

Reflections on Purpose, Family, and Loss

• Nik’s long-term goals prioritize raising "hardworking, humble sons," a lasting marriage, and working on worthwhile things with great people: "I enjoy the people that I work with. I enjoy the thing that I do. I'm proud of my family and...relationship with my spouse. If you can say those things, 20 years from now, I'm stoked." — Nik [43:09]

• Experience of grief (losing a sister and a son) fundamentally changed his perspective, reinforcing the value of time and relationships: "There is an upside to the downside...If you can make it through that, you are going to be so much stronger than you can even imagine right now." — Nik [43:56]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "I freaking love this game. It's so fun." — Nik [01:18]
• "My wife's giving birth right now. You're firing me? ...It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me." — Nik [05:00, 07:16]
• "I wanted to have a business that could do at least $600,000 a year in net income at a 15% margin before I'd even look at it." — Nik [11:07]
• "I've never bought a business on market and it's not advice I would give to a first time buyer." — Nik [10:30]
• "You can get into a business for as little down for your first business as 5% down if you've got it structured the right way." — Nik [14:31]
• "We just talked about it and these people listened...now I can't get through Twitter without seeing a bunch of stump grinders in my feed." — Nik [32:37]
• "Why would I pivot now...I would lose a lot of that compounding knowledge." — Nik [33:13]
• "Any skill set that you have is applicable to healthcare." — Nik [39:45]
• "There is an upside to the downside. It's going to be really hard...but...you are going to be so much stronger than you can even imagine right now." — Nik [43:56]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Background & Healthcare Career: [00:40]–[04:19]
• Fired During Wife's Labor & Pivot: [04:30]–[07:16]
• Business Buying Criteria & Financing: [11:11]–[16:40]
• Diversification & RV Park Story: [21:01]–[24:57]
• Lead Gen/Tree Trimming Test: [27:20]–[31:36]
• Healthcare Venture Studio Vision: [32:58]–[35:37]
• Entrepreneurial Advice in Healthcare: [36:41]–[41:25]
• Reflections on Life & Values: [41:44]–[43:34]
• On Grief, Gratitude & Advice to Younger Self: [43:56]–[46:33]

Final Takeaways and Lessons

• Leverage your expertise before chasing unrelated opportunities.
• Focus on industries with tailwinds and look for “unsexy” or back-office niches.
• Be proactive—create your own deal flow instead of waiting for on-market opportunities.
• Creative SBA financing can lower required cash outlay for first-time buyers.
• Experimentation can teach more than success. Always do thorough due diligence, particularly off-market.
• Almost every skill set has value in large, antiquated industries like healthcare.
• Two entrepreneurial paths: Hustler (market and sell), or Apprentice (learn, then build/buy).
• Purpose and relationships matter most—optimize your life and wealth for meaning, family, and control over your own time.

This episode is essential listening for aspiring entrepreneurs interested in business acquisition, the healthcare sector, or simply learning how to combine ambition with meaningful personal goals. Nik’s journey epitomizes resilience, calculated risk, learning from mistakes—and keeping people at the center of entrepreneurial life.