Family Wellness Center Case Study

Situation & Context: In 2019, the owner and operator of Family Wellness Center (“Seller”), was ready to retire. The Seller had built a wonderful business, a venture she had poured her energy and ambition into since 1998. She had founded Family Wellness Center, a private acupuncture and alternative medicine center in Midland, Michigan. Family Wellness Center had established itself locally with a strong community-centered approach, a great team, and a facility that was situated along a heavily trafficked Midland road.

Reason for Sale: While the Seller had enjoyed founding and operating the business for some time, she was ready to retire. The Seller’s biggest concern going into the sale process was the ability to find a buyer that would value the business she had created and be a good fit to take care of her team and customers for many years to come.

Positive & Negative Deal Attributes: Small Business Deal Advisors took the time to fully understand the deal intricacies, industry, and Seller goals before launching any marketing. Acupuncture as an industry at the time was gaining traction and insurance had begun to include acupuncture as a treatment option for veterans. Family Wellness Center had generated very consistent cash flows for many years and Small Business Deal Advisors worked closely with the Seller to highlight the business’s strengths and growth opportunities. The task remained of finding an acupuncturist or business owner with some related experience who was a good fit, financially capable, and motivated to take over for the Seller in Midland.

Upon launching the business for sale opportunity, the following marketing efforts were taken:

• Database Blast – the opportunity was confidentially sent to our database of 49,000+ business buyers and sellers
• Strategic List – the advisor on the deal compiled a strategic list of 115 acupuncture practitioners, alternative medicine practitioners, industry-related companies, and competitors. All contacts were called and emailed several times to confidentially spread the opportunity.
  Online Marketing – the business for sale opportunity was confidentially listed on the top-10 business for sale listing sites that receive thousands of visitors each day. The opportunity was also listed on smallbusinessdeal.com which places very well on google, ensuring anyone searching for “acupuncture clinic for sale” has the Small Business Deal site pop up generally first or second in search results. Confidential paid FaceBook ads were also placed and targeted at those interested in acupuncture, alternative medicine, and small business ownership.
• Tailored Advertising – In order to ensure the proper market was made aware of the opportunity, the lead advisor on the deal felt it was necessary to advertise the clinic for sale throughout acupuncture schools and associations across the Midwest. Paid advertisements were placed and discussions had throughout many associations including Pacific College, the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM), the Michigan Medical Acupuncture Association, the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM), among others.

Results: After launching the database blast inquiries began to come in, NDAs were processed by our system, and discussions with buyers were had. After the first week of marketing 8 serious buyers had inquired and either passed or requested more information. A few weeks later, after contacting everyone on the strategic list, and receiving more inquiries from online and paid advertisements, the lead advisor had 15 serious buyers looking at the opportunity but had not received any offers in writing. After two months of marketing the business for sale, an inquiry was received from the Buyer. The Buyer had heard about the opportunity through his network and then found the opportunity online to inquire. The lead advisor expediently followed up with the Buyer and both agreed this opportunity was a great fit for him.

Decision: The Buyer that was found by Small Business Deal Advisors had recently sold his acupuncture clinic in the Washington D.C. area and was looking to move back to his hometown of Midland, Michigan. In fact, the Buyer had actually crossed paths with the Seller during acupuncture education and association involvement and had worked with some of the team members at Family Wellness Center in the past. The Seller was very pleased and the terms were amicable negotiated. All parties felt as they had benefitted from the deal, and most importantly, the Seller’s goal of leaving the business in caring and capable hands was met. The Seller could now enjoy retirement and enjoy watching the next chapter for Family Wellness Center.

Conclusion, Feedback & Recap: Trusting the process allowed the Seller to have multiple interested buyers at the table at the same time. By creating a private auction process, the most serious and capable buyers rose to the top and the Seller received favorable terms. While the marketing process can take some time, interest continued to come in consistently from marketing, and it was a matter of time before a buyer of great fit was found.