Perhaps the most ironic moment of my life is that I started a business to help would-be entrepreneurs not start businesses.

Instead, I encouraged them to buy existing businesses.

Five years later, I’m proud to say that Acquisition Lab has become the most successful acquisition entrepreneurship accelerator in the world. We’ve built the largest, vetted, cash-ready, and active community of business buyers the world has ever seen.

But building the Lab wasn’t easy – and neither is owning a business.

In this article, I’m sharing the five biggest lessons I’ve learned from helping hundreds of buyers navigate the journey from search to ownership.

My name is Walker Deibel, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Buy Then Build, the leading book on buying small businesses.

Here’s what five years inside the trenches taught me about becoming a successful business owner.

 

Lesson 1: Starting a Business Is Hard – Even If You Know What You’re Doing

In Buy Then Build, I made the case that starting a business is brutally hard – and after five years of building Acquisition Lab, I can tell you: I was right.

Even with experience, a bestselling book, and a clear vision, starting the first acquisition accelerator from scratch was like building the plane while flying it. There was no model to follow. No map. Just conviction.

 

Source: Sketchplanations 

 

What made it harder was the fact that we weren’t chasing revenue – we were building something purpose-driven. So we couldn’t sell out in easy ways just to make a buck.

That said, like any good business owner, we had our revenue goals, too.

Our initial goal was to hit $1M in year one. But, that didn’t happen.

In year two, we got close. Year three, we finally made it. Today, we’ve crossed $2 million and are still growing – but not because we chose the easy path.

Behind the scenes, it was a grind.

Every day, we were doing everything:

Writing the curriculum.

Running the cohorts.

Taking the sales calls.

Supporting the members.

Hiring. Firing. Adapting.

And then at 9 or 10 pm – when we finally had time to breathe – Chelsea, my co-founder, and I would finally work on strategy. We’d talk through the tough decisions, the tradeoffs, the next experiments.

We did all of this because we had a clear “why.”

We believed the world needed a better way to become an entrepreneur  –  one grounded in buying a real business, not starting from zero.

Today, education on acquisition entrepreneurship is everywhere. Five years ago?

It didn’t exist.

We created it.

And yet, even with clarity of purpose, complementary co-founders, and deep operational experience, starting a business from scratch nearly broke us.

So if you’re thinking of starting a business instead of buying one? Just know what you’re signing up for.

Because even if you know what you’re doing – even if you do everything right – it’s still hard AF.

 

Lesson 2: Pick Your Partner Wisely

Looking back, the best decision I made wasn’t choosing a business model – it was choosing a partner.

Somehow, I convinced Chelsea Wood to leave her high-paying job and build a startup that teaches people not to build startups. That decision changed everything.

I’d started businesses before – some solo, some with partners – and the difference this time was night and day. When past ventures failed, it almost always came down to going it alone or picking the wrong person.

 

Source: Upmetrics

 

Chelsea and I had different strengths, which meant we could divide and conquer. But more than that, we trusted each other. We challenged each other. We made faster decisions and stuck to our mission because we had each other’s back.

Starting a business solo isn’t just lonely – it’s limiting. The right partner won’t just make you better. They’ll make the whole thing possible.

 

Lesson 3: Community Is a Flywheel

You all know I love a good flywheel metaphor – but even I didn’t anticipate just how powerful community momentum would be.

Because Acquisition Lab offers lifetime access, our members continue to engage, support, and inspire each other long after they close their first deal.

The bigger the community gets, the stronger it becomes. Members share insights. Deals flow faster. Success stories inspire new buyers. It’s the network effect at its finest.

 

Source: Corporate Finance Institute

 

Members like:

• Lucas Philips posted daily updates during his search – building tools in Slack that others still use today. They worked for him, since he now owns Newark Auto.
• Shane Ehrsam learned from Lucas and used that playbook to buy North Texas Trailers.
• Sindhu Srivastava came in with deep experience and relentless drive – and now owns a seven-figure events business, We Crush Events.

This kind of peer-driven accountability and generosity can’t be manufactured. It comes from real buyers doing real work – and then turning around to help the next person do the same.

The key takeaway here is that on your own it’s difficult to build that kind of support system, but with the right community, you can create unstoppable momentum. 

 

Lesson 4: Perspective Is a Competitive Advantage

If there’s one thing that separates successful buyers from those who spin their wheels, it’s this:

They stop looking for the right answer – and start building better judgment.

Every acquisition is unique. The seller, the financing, the operations, the team – you’ll never do the same deal twice. That’s why rigid formulas often fail in this space.

The real edge comes from perspective.

Not just what you know, but how many lenses you can apply when evaluating a deal.

In Acquisition Lab, we’ve seen firsthand how fast buyers level up when they’re exposed to a range of strategies. Some members buy sub-$500K service businesses to run themselves. Others acquire $10M+ companies and install CEOs. Some roll up niche verticals; others buy one business and go deep.

The smartest buyers don’t copy any single playbook.

They collect mental models.

They learn to ask better questions, spot red flags earlier, and adapt deals to fit their goals – not someone else’s template.

If you want to succeed in this space, don’t just seek advice.

Seek perspective.

It’s how you go from searching… to seeing clearly.

 

Lesson 5: Build for Your Customers – Not for Yourself

Most people entering this space underestimate just how many acquisition programs, lenders, and brokers are built to serve their own bottom line – not yours.

They get paid when a deal closes. They make money whether or not you succeed. And that misalignment can quietly lead buyers into the wrong deal, for the wrong reasons.

That’s why one of our core beliefs at Acquisition Lab is economic alignment.

We serve buyers – full stop. No kickbacks. No upsells. No hidden agendas. Just a one-time lifetime access fee and a focus on helping you buy the right business, not just any business.

 

Source: The Go-Giver

 

Because when you build for the buyer, everything changes:

• The incentives point toward long-term outcomes, not short-term volume
• The advice gets sharper, more honest, more tailored
• And the support doesn’t end at closing – it sticks with you through ownership

If you’re serious about buying a business, you need to think the same way.

Surround yourself with people who are aligned with your success.

Ask who benefits if you say yes.

And don’t just vet the business – vet the people helping you buy it.

Alignment isn’t just ethical. It’s strategic.

Ready to acquire a business in the next 12 months? The Acquisition Lab is your first stop. Reach out to us today and get on the fast track to becoming an acquisition entrepreneur.