How Scaling with Tech Made Him Millions (60+ Companies Later) | Michael Byars | EP 67

Summary

Episode Summary: "How Scaling with Tech Made Him Millions (60+ Companies Later)" | Michael Byars | EP 67

Podcast Title: The Entrepreneur DNA
Host: Justin Colby, Bleav
Guest: Michael Byars, Acquisition CEO
Release Date: April 14, 2025

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Introduction

In Episode 67 of The Entrepreneur DNA, host Justin Colby welcomes Michael Byars, a seasoned entrepreneur renowned for acquiring and scaling over 60 companies, successfully selling 20 of them. The episode delves into Michael’s expertise in leveraging technology to achieve exponential business growth, the philosophies behind effective scaling, and practical insights for entrepreneurs aiming to elevate their ventures.

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The Foundation of Scaling with Technology

Understanding the Starting Point

Michael emphasizes the importance of assessing a business’s current state before implementing scaling strategies. He states, “I like boring, profitable stuff that I know I can scale going into with tech” (02:00). This approach involves identifying businesses with outdated technology or inefficient operations that can benefit significantly from technological enhancements.

The Role of Technology in Scaling

Michael shares his philosophy on technology, clarifying common misconceptions. He asserts, “Technology is never going to replace good workers, good employees or good entrepreneurs” (04:30). Instead, technology serves to enhance efficiency by automating mundane tasks, allowing employees to focus on revenue-generating activities.

Notable Quote:

“Technology can improve a lot of things in our day to day life... it never has to leave early, doesn’t need the weekend off.” — Michael Byars (04:11)

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Identifying Scalable Verticals

Focus on Service-Based Industries

Michael identifies service-based businesses, such as plumbing, HVAC, roofing, and flooring, as prime candidates for scaling through technology. He highlights that these businesses often excel in their trade but lack the operational efficiency to expand.

Notable Quote:

“A lot of times the service based industry, they're really good at their trade, but they're not really good at running a business or implementing technology.” — Michael Byars (06:51)

Acquisition Strategies

Michael discusses his acquisition strategy, which involves purchasing businesses that are profitable and have the potential for growth through technology integration. He mentions using various financing methods, including owner financing, creative finance deals, and equity partnerships, to facilitate these acquisitions.

Notable Quote:

“It's not always, you know, owner finance, creative finance. Sometimes I'll write a check for it... there's just a ton of different options.” — Michael Byars (07:21)

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Implementing Technology for Growth

Operational Efficiency

The core of Michael’s strategy revolves around enhancing operational efficiency. By integrating technology, he can scale businesses without a proportional increase in expenses, particularly labor costs.

Notable Quote:

“I'm taking and 2, 3, 4x these companies that I'm buying with the same amount of employees. I don't have to go hire more employees.” — Michael Byars (16:33)

Technology in Sales and Marketing

Michael elaborates on the application of technology in sales processes. He explains how chatbots and automated appointment setters can handle initial customer interactions, qualify leads, and schedule appointments, thereby freeing up sales teams to focus on closing deals.

Notable Quote:

“If I can answer all those at 2:00 in the morning while they're sitting on their couch... I can set an appointment with a salesperson or an estimator.” — Michael Byars (28:55)

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

A critical aspect of scaling is the establishment of robust SOPs. Michael emphasizes the necessity of having clear procedures to ensure business continuity, especially when key personnel are unavailable.

Notable Quote:

“If little Bobby that's running the place, if he gets hit by a bus in the morning, how are we going to replace him?” — Michael Byars (18:22)

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Philosophies on Scaling and Growth

Debunking Myths about Scaling

Michael and Justin discuss common misconceptions about scaling, particularly the notion that scaling equates to reduced workload or more leisure time. They clarify that scaling requires significant effort and continuous involvement from the entrepreneur.

Notable Quote:

“Scaling isn't this idealistic. Like, I'm gonna go sit on the beach at some point when you're Elon Musk. Even him, by the way, is not a good example. That guy works probably harder than all of us combined.” — Justin Colby (21:02)

The Importance of Owner Engagement

Both speakers agree that entrepreneurs must remain actively involved in their businesses to ensure sustained growth. They caution against stepping back too much, which can lead to loss of business culture and operational inefficiencies.

Notable Quote:

“You are the culture creator as the founder of this company, and if you remove yourself out of that culture, what's going to happen?” — Justin Colby (21:25)

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Common Pitfalls in Scaling Without Expert Guidance

Overworking Without Leverage

Michael identifies a frequent challenge where entrepreneurs are "stuck in the business," working endless hours without effectively leveraging resources or technology to propel growth.

Notable Quote:

“They’re working 80 hours a week... they can't go any further because there's not any more hours in the day or the week.” — Michael Byars (25:56)

Lack of Technological Integration

Businesses that attempt to scale without integrating appropriate technology often struggle with inefficiencies and cannot sustain growth. Michael highlights the critical role of technology in replacing repetitive tasks and optimizing operations.

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Practical Steps for Entrepreneurs to Scale Effectively

Audit and Optimize

Michael advises entrepreneurs to conduct thorough audits of their businesses, focusing on financial health, technological infrastructure, and operational procedures.

Steps Include:

1. Financial Transparency: Ensuring all cash flows are visible and accurate.
2. Technological Assessment: Identifying areas where technology can replace or enhance existing processes.
3. SOP Development: Creating comprehensive standard operating procedures to maintain consistency.

Leveraging Technology

Implementing technology should be strategic, targeting areas that offer the highest return on investment, such as automating administrative tasks, improving customer interactions, and enhancing lead generation.

Notable Quote:

“Technology is never going to go change your air conditioning unit if it quits. So, you know, technology is going to improve our everyday human experience.” — Michael Byars (04:30)

Building a Strong Team

While technology plays a crucial role, having the right team is equally important. Michael emphasizes hiring individuals who excel in areas beyond the entrepreneur’s expertise and who can drive different facets of the business forward.

Notable Quote:

“You got to hire people in those other fields that you either don't like or you don't know as much about.” — Justin Colby (25:07)

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Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Justin and Michael conclude the episode by reinforcing the idea that scaling a business is a multifaceted endeavor requiring both technological integration and active entrepreneurial involvement. Michael encourages listeners to reach out via Facebook or his website, acquisitionceo.com, for consulting services aimed at growing and scaling businesses effectively.

Closing Quote:

“Technology is going to allow you to buy back some of your time, which is the goal.” — Michael Byars (20:24)

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Timecodes Reference

• 02:00: Michael introduces his approach to scaling businesses with tech.
• 04:11: Michael discusses the impact of technology on daily operations.
• 04:30: Clarification on what technology can and cannot replace.
• 06:51: Identifying scalable verticals in service-based industries.
• 07:21: Discussion on various acquisition financing strategies.
• 16:33: Efficiency gains through technology without increasing workforce.
• 18:22: Importance of SOPs and business continuity.
• 21:02: Debunking myths about scaling leading to reduced workload.
• 21:25: The critical role of the owner in maintaining business culture.
• 25:56: Challenges of overworking without leveraging technology.
• 28:55: Implementing chatbots and automated appointment setters.
• 32:45: Final thoughts on technology's role in freeing up time.
• 20:24: Technology as a means to reclaim entrepreneurial time.

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This episode serves as a comprehensive guide for entrepreneurs seeking to scale their businesses through strategic technological integration and efficient operational practices. Michael Byars' insights offer actionable strategies to overcome common scaling challenges, ensuring sustainable growth and profitability.

Transcript

[Justin]

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[Michael Byers]

I like boring, profitable stuff that I know I can scale going into with tech. In other words, I'm looking for the guys that's got maybe They've got a 15 year old website, maybe they have no technology. Maybe they're still running off a regular cash register that you know you buy at the Sam's Club. Right? Right. You know I'm looking for stuff like that and trying to understand how I can scale it. 2, 3, 4 exit in the first. Really 12 to 18 months.

[Justin]

Yeah. What is up Entrepreneur Family? What is up? I'm super excited about this guest because we are going to be talking all about how to build, grow and scale a business, how to acquire the right businesses, how to bring in the right people. My guest today has bought over 60 companies, has sold 20 of them and is great at growing and scaling. Michael Byers is here. What is happening?

[Michael Byers]

Hey, thanks for having me on today, Justin. Yeah, appreciate it.

[Justin]

Yeah, excited. So what is some of the secret sauce about? You know, you are kind of the expert at being able to scale businesses. I think people have a hard time knowing even where to start at scaling. What would be kind of the foundational rock that you would talk to an entrepreneur looking to scale a business?

[Michael Byers]

Yeah, so normally I'm just going to start off trying to understand where they're at and see what kind of technology we can bring in to be able to scale. You know, you got to understand technology. It never lays out it's grandma never dies three times. It doesn't show up late, it doesn't have to leave early, it doesn't need the weekend off. I'm looking for stuff like that. I started a tech company back when I was 19 and you know, I use it to scale all the businesses that I buy and all of the, you know, like the consulting clients that I have, I use it to scale all their stuff with.

[Justin]

No kidding. So this is something you started years ago and you still use it today?

[Michael Byers]

Yeah, yeah, I still have that company. I just probably will never sell it.

[Justin]

As long it's just a testimonial to the power of tech. I mean. So what's your thought? Since we're leaning into this like out of the gate, what are your thoughts about all the crazy, you know, growth in the tech space and the AI this? I mean, you're way more advanced than I am. But what are your thoughts on all this? Like how fast is this going to move?

[Michael Byers]

But it's moving super fast already. But you know, at the end of the day, people get worried, oh well, tech's going to take my business now. Tech's not going to take your business. You got to think technology can improve a lot of things in our day to day life. Right. But technology is never going to go change out your air conditioning unit if it quits.

[Justin]

That's right.

[Michael Byers]

Technology is never going to change your tire if you have a flat on the side of the road. So, you know, technology is going to improve our everyday human experience. Yeah, right. It's going to help us do things faster, more efficient, streamline stuff, but it's never going to replace good workers, good employees or good entrepreneurs. Never. Zero shot.

[Justin]

I just had this conversation with a friend of mine. So in real estate, since real estate's kind of the vertical I live in day to day, do you ever see tech Being able to do some of the, the people what I like signing docs at Title. Right. Like we're getting it notarized. There's just some things within real estate I don't think it'll ever replicate or be able to come in place of, do you?

[Michael Byers]

No, I don't think so. And you know, I'm pretty big in the real estate space as well. I got about 190 single family homes. There you go. Commercial buildings and.

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Michael Byers]

You know, but I don't think that it will ever replace certain things. You know, it's never going to go to closing for you, it's never going to sign for you, it's never going do your transfers for you. That's right, right. You know, yeah.

[Justin]

And you can't walk like you're not gonna have an AI bot walk the pr. I mean, I guess anything's possible but like to understand what needs to be done to the property, what TI's need to be done to your commercial building, what kind of repairs need to be done to the rental property.

[Michael Byers]

Zero shot that AI can ever do that.

[Justin]

That's right.

[Michael Byers]

Because they don't understand, you know.

[Justin]

So when you're talking to your coaching clients and you, you really help entrepreneurs grow and scale their businesses, that is your expertise. And so by the way, make sure to follow Michael, acquisition, CEO, all over social. It's already on my social. Make sure to follow him. But your expertise with your clients is scaling the business, scaling the operation. When it comes to that, what type of verticals make sense right now? Because I have a tech play myself and that tech play is actually facilitating a large growth in the service space, roofing, flooring, H vac, et cetera. Right, right. Because there's such an archaic model still. And I say that with a lot of love. They still do door knocking. Door knocking just works. It just does. But archaic. Right, right. And so taking data and taking, you know, data driven operations and being able to use that tech to go to the right door to knock, for example, what, what companies do you think have a lot of scalability in them still today?

[Michael Byers]

Most of your service based companies are going to have that through tech because you know, a lot of times the service based industry, they're really good at their trade, but they're not really good at running a business or implementing technology, any of that stuff. They're good at plumbing or they're good at heating and air, but yeah, that's what they're good at.

[Justin]

That's right.

[Michael Byers]

You know, okay. And buying certain of these Small business and the service based stuff, there's really a ton of room for improvement and growth there. By bringing in tech.

[Justin]

Do you just bring in tech? And so when you acquire and I have a couple friends that also are in the space of like merger and acquisitions, is it always a seller? Finance, creative finance deal. Do you come to the check sometimes? Do you use tech as a way to talk to me about how you even go about that?

[Michael Byers]

Do a lot of different stuff. You know, it's not always, you know, owner, finance, creative finance. Sometimes I'll write a check for it. You know, sometimes we work in, you know, creative stuff. Sometimes we work in, you know, getting a piece of equity for bringing in the tech and scaling the company. You know, there's just a ton of different options.

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Michael Byers]

There, you know, to make those plays and those deals. But I mean it's really high. 57 model, you know, there's 57 different varieties to do every deal. That's right.

[Justin]

I love that. I love that analogy. And so, you know, one of the things, what has the most growth that your growth that you're seeing right now, I mean is it just strictly the service space? Is it tech plays that they don't know how to functionally do what they're trying to do? What are you seeing on your side?

[Michael Byers]

So a lot of it is I like boring, profitable stuff that I know I can scale going into with tech. In other words, I'm looking for the guys that's got, maybe They've got a 15 year old website, maybe they have no technology, maybe they're still running off a regular cash register that, you know, you buy at the Sam's Club. Right, right. You know, I'm looking for stuff like that and trying to understand how I can scale it. 2, 3, 4, exit in the first. Really 12 to 18 months.

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Michael Byers]

You know, because coming in and doing that, I might buy it for 3 million bucks, you know, and it might be doing a million bucks a year. Buy it at a 3x multiple. I know if I can get that to doing four or five million dollars a year, EBITDA or net profit, you know, I might get a five or six month of it. Plus I'm going to make that couple of million bucks a year for the next two or three years. So I mean it's, it's a really cool, you know, cool thing that I've developed as to how to grow and grow through that technology and it allows me to grow super fast.

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Michael Byers]

You know, because text there either if my development teams have to Build it. You know, normally we can build out a whole project in six months, eight months. And then, you know, that tech, you build it once and it eats forever.

[Justin]

That's right.

[Michael Byers]

Right. You know, it, it doesn't take days off, it doesn't get tired and want to go do something else. You know, with employees, you train them. You know, I've got a lot of great employees now, but it's taken me years to build the team I've got.

[Justin]

Yeah, right.

[Michael Byers]

So, you know, during that time you're training these employees, you're, you're kind of getting them on the same page. You know, maybe they pass away, maybe they move, maybe they have some sort of health scare or something like that, they decide to go on and do something else. I mean, you just lost all that training you just put into these people.

[Justin]

Oh yeah.

[Michael Byers]

With tech, that's no longer the case.

[Justin]

So let's lean into this a little bit for the people that are scaling. You've already said it, but I want us to dive deeper. You're saying it's not about the people per se growing with operational blow of 20 people being, being paid 60 grand a year is a crushing model. You can replace a lot of that a lot of times with tech.

[Michael Byers]

Let me, let me explain to you my thought pattern on that.

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Michael Byers]

So as I, when I buy a company, I'm not implementing tech to get rid of the people. I'm implementing tech to put those same people that have been there for years to doing revenue generating activities instead of boring, mundane stuff that I can replace with tech.

[Justin]

That's right.

[Michael Byers]

Now we can grow. I mean, it's like, you know, if I can replace some of their daily tasks with tech, I just got a free two or three employees.

[Justin]

That's right.

[Michael Byers]

Because all the BS junk that they were just doing, now they can go do something that makes, that generates revenue, that makes money. Right.

[Justin]

Where does tech usually fit in some of these companies? Is it more on the marketing and sales side? Is it operational?

[Michael Byers]

Operational, okay, is, is where I'm seeing it most. Yeah, you know, operational. There is some marketing and sales. You know, most, you know, most small businesses, or especially service based small businesses, they don't do any marketing. They, they run off word of mouth or you know, Chuck in a truck. We know Chuck over here, he's been doing our plumbing for 30 years. Right. But you know, Chuck can't hand that down to anyone. He, he can't sell it to anyone because it's him.

[Justin]

That's right.

[Michael Byers]

In a truck. Right. You know, and in order for him to scale, he's got to do things differently.

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Michael Byers]

Not saying that these small businesses are bad. I mean, they've been doing what they've been doing for 20 and 30 years, feeding their families. There's just, if you want to get bigger, there's, there's a way to do that.

[Justin]

That's right. You know, should people be reaching out to you right now? If they're like, hey, I'm interested. Are you looking at acquiring? Are you looking at stuff like that?

[Michael Byers]

Yeah. I mean, if they're looking to sell or they're looking to scale. Yeah, always, always looking, looking for new solid companies.

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Michael Byers]

You know, for me, I'm buying cash flow.

[Justin]

Sure.

[Michael Byers]

Right. I don't buy anything that's losing money. I don't buy any turnarounds. You know, it's got to be cash flowing and they've got to want to scale, you know.

[Justin]

Yeah. In my world, especially in the kind of the real estate specific space scaling, a lot of times I believe they do it wrong. They really try to create, you know, they get the nice A plus office, they get the people. And I say, yeah, but you're going to create operational blow. And then if you have a rough week, month, maybe a couple months, back to back, you're in a crushing. Talk to people about your philosophy about how to stay away from that. Obviously tech plays a big part, but how do you implement some of the philosophies that you want to. What are we looking for? How do you implement that? As many of you know, I'm constantly on the move, juggling multiple businesses, traveling and ensuring I get my morning workouts in. Staying fresh isn't just a preference, it's a necessity. But let's face it, after back to back meetings, juggling two kids at home and the hustle and bustle of everyday life, body odor can become an issue. But here's the deal. Mando has revolutionized how I stay fresh. This isn't just another deodorant. It's clinically proven to control odor better than a shower alone with soap. My favorite scent, Bourbon Leather. It's fresh, is subtle and doesn't clash with my clone. And I was surprised by how well the solid stick works. Even after an intense morning workout. Mando's starter pack is perfect for the new customer. It comes with a solid stick deodorant cream tube deodorant, two free products of your choice, like a mini body wash or a deodorant wipe, and free shipping as a special offer for listeners and new customers. You get $5 off a starter pack with our exclusive code that equates to over 40% of your starter pack. Use code [e-mail] that is S H O P M A N D O.com Please support our show and tell them we sent you Smell fresher, stay drier and boost your confidence from the head to the toe with Mando. If you've been having your McDonald's sausage McMuffin with an iced coffee from somewhere else, now is a great time to reconsider.

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[Michael Byers]

So it's good that you brought that up. You know I'm taking and 2, 3, 4x these companies that I'm buying with the same amount of employees. I don't have to go hire more employees. I don't have to go get a better office. I don't have to go get a bigger space. I'm doing three or four more times the revenue and within turn the Profit with the same amount of employees or less.

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Michael Byers]

You know, I really believe it's good to, you know, if you want to have a nice office, that's cool for me, I ran lean for years, man. Probably 15 years.

[Justin]

It's better that way, I believe. Right. People want to have this. You know, we just had a. One of our mutual friends, Dan's here. And people think bigger and better just because they kind of see it.

[Michael Byers]

Right.

[Justin]

It's not always the case. Vastly is not the case usually.

[Michael Byers]

A lot of times it's just a big PP measuring contest.

[Justin]

That's right.

[Michael Byers]

You know, I. I've got to be better than my neighbor keeping up with the Joneses. You know, at the end of the day, the Joneses aren't going to pay your bills. Right.

[Justin]

Ain't that the truth? So, yeah. And then. And then when you start making money and the reason why I brought it in, because we just heard them talk about, you don't go buy two or three of these. You buy one.

[Michael Byers]

Right.

[Justin]

You start making money. You don't need to go outpace everything and get the A plus office space. You can stay in your C plus, B minus office space. You don't need to create more operational bloat for yourself. Right. Right. So lean into something. If someone came into your world as a client, what are the first couple of things that you're going to audit their business on?

[Michael Byers]

Look at their numbers. You know, especially a lot of these small businesses, maybe they don't turn in all the cash. Right. You know, it's. That's worked for them for the last 15 or 20 years. But if they're going to sell, it's never going to work because you can't pay for something you can't see.

[Justin]

That's right.

[Michael Byers]

And I can't buy something that I can't understand and see. Right.

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Michael Byers]

You know, if they're not putting the money and we got to. We got to get them to put in the money, and I'm not going to keep any cash out, so I can't have them doing that as well. Right. Go look at that. We're going to look at what their tech is. Are you implementing technology? Where can you implement more technology? You know, a new employee to do these tasks is going to cost you, let's say at a thousand a week, it's going to cost you 4,000amonth. Right. Can you get text or 300amonth to do the same task? And it never lays out same concept we've been talking about. You know, it Never takes a break.

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Michael Byers]

You know, we're also going to look at, you know, what are their SOPs or standard operating procedures. If, you know, little Bobby that's running the place, if he gets hit by a bus in the morning, how are we going to replace him? How are we going to train somebody to do his roles and responsibilities? Yeah. Because if you don't know that, you know, he is the company. Right. If. If we can't train someone to do his task or to do it like him, man, you're in a bad spot. You don't have tricky. It's not like you've got anything to sell or buy. Yeah, right. You know, because he is the company.

[Justin]

He'S the business, everything.

[Michael Byers]

Right.

[Justin]

Closes I don't understand. I mean, it kind of goes both ways. I'm a firm believer to get to growth, you need to stay in doing the work. Right. There's too many people. And I'm sure you see this all the time, right? The owner fucking. They think they're in the owner's box now. They think they're Jerry Jones and can sit back and let the business just run. And then you go and look at the P and L and be like, you're losing money.

[Michael Byers]

Right.

[Justin]

That same person should be jumping back in the business and actually making the business work. It started with them, it needs to continue with them. Right.

[Michael Byers]

Because they knew what worked.

[Justin]

That's right.

[Michael Byers]

Right. And apparently the culture has gotten away from what they were doing to start with and to make it work.

[Justin]

Yeah, yeah.

[Michael Byers]

And.

[Justin]

And so there's that part, the scaling. The reason why I'm sensitive around scaling. I think too many people hear you or they hear me and they think, okay, if I can scale my business, I don't have to work so hard.

[Michael Byers]

No, that's definitely not it.

[Justin]

That's right. Talk about that. I agree 100%.

[Michael Byers]

That's definitely not it. You know, it's all. All scaling and technology is going to allow you to do is to be able to buy back some of your time, which is the goal. Right. You. You're doing what you're doing in the hours of the day that you're doing it in, and you're only getting X amount done. What if you could double your hours that you had to focus and concentrate on that business? How much more do you think you could grow it then?

[Justin]

Thank you. Say that louder for people in the back. I think they think it's like time off. Like, oh, I get to go sit on the beach. No, no, that's where you have to go to work. Time to go put it in. Right? That's the idea. That's how you grow and scale, by putting in the damn work.

[Michael Byers]

That's it.

[Justin]

You know, and so I'm glad you're saying that, man, because I see too many of these entrepreneurs, whether it be in the real estate space, maybe it's in the branding space, because I'm more in the branding space now with the pot, like. But they just think it's like this thing that you don't have to invest your energy and time in. You are the culture creator as the founder of this company, and if you remove yourself out of that culture, what's going to happen?

[Michael Byers]

It goes away. That's right, Matt.

[Justin]

Yeah. And so we need to lean on that ideology to make sure people understand that scaling isn't this idealistic. Like, I'm gonna go sit on the beach at some point when you're Elon Musk. Even him, by the way, is not a good example. That guy works probably harder than all of us combined. He now is in politics. For guy, like now it's not just business. Now he's a politician. Right? So I. I think people need to really understand that. Give. Give me kind of the second pillar besides technology. What are you kind of helping people re engineer with with this kind of thing? Right? Because like I say, I think that it's more dynamic than just being able to say, hey, put some technology in and boom, you're rich for sure.

[Michael Byers]

You know, if you've been having your.

[Justin]

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[Michael Byers]

It's the right people in the right spots. You know, a lot of the. The consulting clients I have, you know, they might have one person that does something really well, but they got them over here doing something else.

[Justin]

That's right.

[Michael Byers]

And it's. It's about getting the right people in the right positions because, you know, I really encourage all of them to think about, what would you do for free if you didn't get paid now? Who do you have doing that task in the business? Put them. Put them over there. Right. If you have someone that enjoys that more than them, switch them up. Yeah, right. Because if you'll do it for free or you would do it on the weekends when you're off work. You know, that's how I got involved in the tech company. You know, I enjoyed it. I would do it for, you know, I would do it for free. I would do it on the weekends for. For nothing.

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Michael Byers]

I got started by, you know, hey, there's. I can actually make some money doing this. Pretty cool. And it just spiraled.

[Justin]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Michael Byers]

So.

[Justin]

And that is the fun part is, is when you start to realize the things that you enjoy doing and how easy it is for you to do those.

[Michael Byers]

You never work.

[Justin]

You never feel like you're working.

[Michael Byers]

Right. Work.

[Justin]

But again, that's where a lot of times the founders get caught, because they stay in their. Their zone of genius. Right. But then they're not going to ever build a business. Right. Because then it's just them. They produce that they can produce. They don't actually take the time to build out everything else.

[Michael Byers]

You know, you got to hire people in those other fields that you either don't like or you don't know as much about.

[Justin]

That's right.

[Michael Byers]

That are better at those tasks than you are.

[Justin]

Who's your ideal consulting client? Where. Where would you go, and what would you be looking for for your ideal consulting client?

[Michael Byers]

I'm looking for small business owners who are looking to grow using technology or growth through acquisitions. You know, normally they're doing, you know, know, $5 million a year or less, maybe $7 million a year or less.

[Justin]

Okay. And they want to grow.

[Michael Byers]

And they want to grow.

[Justin]

And do they want to exit possibly?

[Michael Byers]

Yeah, some of them do.

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Michael Byers]

You know, some of them want to grow in order to be able to exit to get their ebit up. So they get a higher multiple.

[Justin]

So with that said, where are the downsides that you see people that don't have you as a consultant, they're not with you and they're trying their best to scale. What are you seeing them fail at? Where are their potholes that they, they keep stepping in?

[Michael Byers]

Man, I've seen a lot of them, you know, a lot of them that come to me looking for help. They've tried to scale on their own and there's just not enough hours in the day. They can't. Them as an owner, they can't work on the business because they're working in the business. They've got no way to, to do anything. I mean, they're working 80 hours a week. And you know, yes, they've grown, they've grown, but at the end of the day, they can't go any further because there's not any more hours in the day or the week. That's right, yeah.

[Justin]

They're still stuck in the business and they don't know how to lever. And this is where tech comes in. Right. Now, specifically, if we're talking about your tech, is that something people can pay you to use or is it only within your companies? I don't, I just don't know if it's something that they can go find.

[Michael Byers]

I mean, it's, it's nothing that they can go find because every business is going to need something different. Right. So we're putting together a lot of off the shelf stuff.

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Michael Byers]

I've got four development teams across the world that, you know, I mean, for the right business. Correct. But I mean, it's got, you know, the average bill costs 250,000 to $750,000. So it's, it's not something where you're making $200,000 a year. It's, you know, that won't work. Right.

[Justin]

Yeah, yeah.

[Michael Byers]

You got to concentrate on the stuff that's making. No netting a couple million bucks a year. You can afford to spend that if it'll 3 or 4x you, of course. Right.

[Justin]

As long as you see the trajectory up.

[Michael Byers]

Right.

[Justin]

And then some of the functionalities that should be used. In your opinion, instead of hiring, where should tech be looked at to take over? Right. Because the old school way is, is people do it all. Right. There's no. Now tech has become very progressive. We are way faster in a lot of places. Where would you encourage some of your clients to really start to look at using tech in those areas than anything else?

[Michael Byers]

I mean, we're using it in in the starting of sales.

[Justin]

Okay.

[Michael Byers]

You know, instead of, I mean you're familiar with the sales process. You know, a lot of these high ticket companies, they're going to have an appointment setter, bring it in. Then I'm going to have a closer to close the deal out and sell the, the customer. I can eliminate all the setter positions, every one of them and bring more qualified leads to the closer than the humans can.

[Justin]

Love that.

[Michael Byers]

It is insane. You know what you can, what you can get the tech to do, you know, any of the, like I've got a company that builds a lot of chat bots for a lot of these companies and it's just general question bots that they put on their website. Someone comes to the website, you know, just think about your business. If someone asks you a question and you can pick a hundred people at random, there's probably 20 questions that everybody asks.

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Michael Byers]

If you can answer all of those and that person needs to go and is looking to buy your product. If I can answer all of those at 2:00 in the morning while they're sitting on their couch, you know, I.

[Justin]

Hope they're asleep, but sure. Well they're.

[Michael Byers]

Right, right, right. But you know, but if I can answer all those questions at 2:00 in the morning when nobody's at the office to answer them in person. No. And I can set an appointment with a salesperson or an estimator or maybe give them an estimate at that time. Right. You know, if, if you're up in the middle of the night, you're looking for a product, you're going to call to someone, answers or you're going to dig until you find somebody or you know, you might take and make a list. Right, right down the top five people and you're going to call them in the morning. Yep. If I can get you on my schedule at night while you're shopping, you're like, oh, I got this call with, with Michael in the morning at 8:00. I can stop. If I don't like him, then I'll go to looking. I can stop that whole process. See what I'm saying?

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Michael Byers]

I can stop that potential customer from searching.

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Michael Byers]

Now if my product doesn't fit, by all means they can go find something else.

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Michael Byers]

But man, it's, it's been a real game changer in some of the companies that I've implemented the technology and well.

[Justin]

That'S why I bring up what I was bringing up about like the service space. Right. I mean there's still just there's so much archaic ways to go drive business for them that this technology. I mean if you're in any service industry I would tell you make sure you're following Michael acquisition, CEO. Right? That's all over Instagram and the website. But make sure you understand the tech that we're talking about because it is again, if you are going to scale, one of the best ways to scale is not necessarily in growth in revenue, but profitability as well.

[Michael Byers]

Right?

[Justin]

If you can just convert more leads you already have, that's it, you already have them, you're just more profitable. And then someone like yourself would take a look at that piano and get pretty excited about it, right?

[Michael Byers]

I mean for example, I've got a coaching client that I do some stuff for in the business growth sector. We built out one of the bots for their company. Their, their appointment setters were sending about a third of the of the leads coming in to the actual closers. And the appointment setters, they, they had a few of them, they didn't like their job. We implemented the technology, put a bot in there to ask all the questions, qualify the lead. The closer was having an hour session to close the customer. Now with the technology in place, the closer went down to a 10 minute segment, 10 minute time statement. Because they're an order taker. When that customer shows up, they know what the cost is. They know, you know what the term is. They know everything. Because just like we just talked about, there's only 15 or 20 questions that the setter was getting asked. That's right, settled. Have a bad day. They wouldn't, wouldn't get anything moved along. The bot is Moving over over 70% of the leads that come in now.

[Justin]

I mean guys, this is, it's crazy. Crazy dude.

[Michael Byers]

Crazy.

[Justin]

You know, I've been around a long time and you guys should really see the list that his resume is really. I didn't even know how to do the intro right. Because your resume is so great and that's just kudos to you. But it's just funny that you and I have been around long enough to see like the trajectory of all this. I mean it just wasn't like this.

[Michael Byers]

No, I remember a dial up aol.

[Justin]

Absolutely.

[Michael Byers]

I do.

[Justin]

A hundred percent on your computer.

[Michael Byers]

It like and it was this big.

[Justin]

Oh so big and had to be so deep because all the machines like you're like now laptops are this thin and can run way faster. But I think, you know, for me I think like I'm pretty passionate about I don't necessarily take people to the scale side that you do. I just want people to build and grow because then I can hand them off to people like you say, Michael, take care of John. John's great. He's been able to build it, but now we need some efficiencies. But I think scaling is a basic to not overly simplify. I think scaling is creating more efficiencies and losing the weight.

[Michael Byers]

That's all it is. You know, you're, you're not getting rid of people or employees. You're freeing the time up for the people or employees to go do revenue generating tasks.

[Justin]

That's right.

[Michael Byers]

That's all it is. That's all technology is good for, you know.

[Justin]

Gracious. So again, where do we, where do we want to have everyone go find you? Get to know you? Do you have any place you want to send them?

[Michael Byers]

Got Facebook under Michael Byers by A R S for last name and acquisitionceo.com.

[Justin]

Yeah. So guys, this man is, is, I mean, like I said, the resume is expansive and I'm excited that he's been able to be on here to help you guys grow and scale your business. Michael Byers Acquisition CEO on Instagram. Make sure you follow them. Make sure you rewind this. What's the best way they can just ask questions. Would it be over Instagram? What would be the best thing for.

[Michael Byers]

Best thing is Facebook. Facebook. Yeah. They'll shoot me a message on Facebook. Yeah, I'll be glad to answer anything they got.

[Justin]

Love it. Well, I appreciate you being on.

[Michael Byers]

Thanks for the opportunity. Right on it.

[Justin]

If this was helpful, if this had one or two things to help you grow and scale or know someone looking to grow and scale, make sure you share this episode at least to your friends. See you on the next episode.

[Michael Byers]

Thanks.

[Justin]

If you've been having your McDonald's sausage McMuffin with an iced coffee from somewhere else, now, now is a bright time to reconsider.

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In the Pacific Northwest, it's never too cold for an iced coffee in the morning. Grab yourself a medium caramel, French vanilla or classic iced coffee for just $2.29 beverage may cause craving for McMuffin or hash browns. Prices and participation may vary. Cannot be combined with any other offer or combo meal.

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