Mastering Business Acquisitions

Confidently replace guesswork with a disciplined, repeatable acquisition system for identifying a business purchase designed to thrive.

30
Hrs
Mins
Secs
7
51
44
SEGMENTS DURATION
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Instructor Profile

Colter Hansen

Colter Hansen is a serial entrepreneur & real estate investor. Over the past years, he has found significant success as he bought, built, & scaled companies generating $2-12M in annual revenue. He earned a CPA & Master’s in Accounting and has progressed from student to instructor within Renatus. Colter has refined and perfected his business acquisitions analysis system and checklist to maximize efficiency and combine due diligence with personal goals and standards.

Mastering Business Acquisitions Course Description

Mastering Business Acquisitions equips entrepreneurs and investors to confidently capitalize on the massive wave of retiring baby boomer business owners by replacing guesswork with a disciplined, repeatable acquisition system. Led by entrepreneur Colter Hansen, this course teaches a values-based decision framework that cuts through emotion and bias, helping you evaluate deals quickly, align opportunities with your personal “North Star,” and build businesses that deliver cash flow today and optionality tomorrow. You’ll learn how to assess profitability through EBITDA, filter deal flow based on lifestyle and long-term goals, structure acquisitions creatively to reduce risk and capital requirements, and uncover hidden risks through rigorous due diligence. Beyond the numbers, the course dives into mindset mastery, seller psychology, negotiation, transition planning, and the use of systems, people, and AI to scale businesses efficiently. By the end, you’ll have a personalized acquisition playbook—designed not just to buy a business, but to improve, systemize, and eventually exit it with clarity, confidence, and control.

  • 1

    Pre-Assessment

    Take this assessment to understand your starting point.

  • 2

    Introduction

    Entrepreneur Colter Hansen reveals how to turn the “silver tsunami” of retiring baby boomer owners into profitable acquisitions by building the right acquisition mindset and applying disciplined systems to business buying.

  • 3

    Decision Making Framework

    Master the repeatable decision-making framework for acquiring and running profitable businesses by prioritizing discipline, consistency, and alignment with personal values and long-term goals.

  • Show all 30 segments

    • 4

      Goals & Priorities

      Clearly defined goals and a personal “North Star” should drive daily decisions, employee accountability, and long-term business strategy.

    • 5

      Cashflow vs. Growth

      Building businesses for both cash flow and exit creates profitability, flexibility, and long-term options.

    • 6

      Decision Filter Scoring Model

      The Instructor introduces a scoring-based decision framework to evaluate business acquisitions by filtering out emotional bias and aligning opportunities with financial goals, time freedom, family priorities, and personal energy.

    • 7

      Decision Making Patterns

      Recognize and manage emotional patterns in big decisions by using disciplined frameworks, comparing multiple opportunities, and filtering deals ruthlessly to avoid bias and sunk-cost thinking.

    • 8

      Overcoming Mindset Mistakes

      Identify and overcome common mindset mistakes, such as trying to do everything alone, chasing every opportunity, and feeling “not ready.”

    • 9

      Finding Sellers

      This segment explains what EBITDA is, why it’s the key measure of business profitability regardless of financing or tax structure, and how it’s used to value companies.

    • 10

      Deal–Visions Alignment

      Aligning deal flow with your vision requires filtering opportunities based on expertise, lifestyle fit, risk, and long-term strategy—not just financials.

    • 11

      Strategic Filter Creation

      This segment focuses on realistically assessing the personal time, energy, and commitment required to own and scale a business, emphasizing day-to-day roles through systems and people.

    • 12

      Financial Clarity

      Learn how to quickly and objectively evaluate business deals using high-level financial analysis, helping investors avoid deal fatigue and make decisions in hours rather than weeks.

    • 13

      Quick Deal Analysis

      Evaluate business acquisitions beyond the numbers by assessing team strength, deal structure, seller motivations, and risk exposure.

    • 14

      When to Walk Away

      This segment emphasizes that the first deal builds credibility and momentum for all future opportunities, making early action and learning more important than waiting for perfection.

    • 15

      Stock vs. Asset Purchase

      Disciplined, thorough deal evaluation matters more than speed, focusing on identifying hidden risks, choosing the right deal structure, and knowing when to walk away.

    • 16

      Critical Factors

      Understand asset versus stock purchases to ask smarter questions, streamline legal costs, and protect long-term valuation, keeping profits clean and liabilities contained.

    • 17

      Analysis Criteria

      Technology, especially AI, can create efficiency and profit in “boring but essential” businesses by streamlining operations, marketing, scheduling, and back-office work.

    • 18

      Deal Structure

      Creative deal structures can reduce upfront capital needs while protecting cash flow, family lifestyle, and long-term value.

    • 19

      Seller Financing

      Seller carry and creative financing can rescue deals stalled by lender friction, while the right structure determines whether a deal survives.

    • 20

      Due Diligence and Risk Assessment

      Thorough due diligence helps uncover hidden financial, operational, legal, and relational risks so buyers can protect capital and avoid costly surprises.

    • 21

      Hidden Risks

      Uncover hidden risks during due diligence—such as compliance gaps, unfinished work, and deferred maintenance—that can quietly destroy profitability after a business purchase.

    • 22

      Negotiations and Seller Psychology

      Successful negotiations depend on understanding seller psychology—motivations, fears, legacy, and emotions—not just price and numbers.

    • 23

      Closing & Transition

      Disciplined closing and transition planning determine whether an acquisition delivers real value, using checklists, clear communication, and aligned expectations to avoid messy handoffs.

    • 24

      Scaling Exit & Case Studies

      True wealth is created by improving, scaling, and systemizing businesses with a clear exit strategy in mind, not by simply buying them.

    • 25

      Your Acquisition Playbook

      Build a personalized acquisition playbook—a repeatable, disciplined system that turns business-buying knowledge into confident execution while removing guesswork and emotional decision-making.

    • 26

      Final Q&A

      This Q&A session explores how AI can support business acquisitions and operations and reinforces why acquiring profitable service-based businesses can be more efficient than starting from scratch.

    • 27

      Bonus Material Explanation

      Colter walks through the comprehensive business decision-making checklist and assessment framework designed for evaluating startup opportunities and business acquisitions.

    • 28

      Case Study #1

      This specific case study on a laundromat highlights the importance of analyzing recurring revenue, assets, and operational stability.

    • 29

      Case Study #2

      This case study emphasizes comparing multiple deals rather than focusing on just one, and includes practical advice on seller financing, contingencies, and creating value through business improvements.

    • 30

      Post-Assessment

      Take this assessment to see how much you've learned!

  • 30

    Post-Assessment

    Take this assessment to see how much you've learned!