OnwardTom G.
“I want to be the owner the crew never has to worry about.”
Background
Twelve years running maintenance crews for a mechanical contractor — scheduling, customers, hiring. I know what a good service day looks like and what a bad month costs.
What they'd build on it
Keep the name and the crews, tighten up dispatch, and earn the seller's trust enough that carrying a note feels safe to them.
- Who'd run it
- Would run it themselves
- Where their search is
- Have made an offer or signed an LOI
- Why they want to buy
- Keep a good local business going and carry on what the owner built · Be my own boss · Build something to pass on to my family
- Has owned or run a business before
- No
- Has bought a business before
- No
I watched my dad's shop close because nobody stepped up. I want to be the person who steps up for somebody else's.
What they’re looking for
The business and owner they're looking for
A trades or service business under $1.5M in southeast Michigan where the owner wants a real handoff and is open to carrying part of the price.
What happens to the people who work there, and why
I've led crews my whole career. Nobody loses a job because the sign changed hands — the crew is the business.
- Plans for the team
- Keep the whole team as it is
What Tom would keep the same
- The business name
- The location
- Phone number, website and email
- Key customer relationships
- The services or products offered
- How the work gets done
- Vendors and suppliers
How long they'd want the owner to stay: more than a year, in an advisory role.
I have already had one deal fall through when the owner got cold feet about the note. I understand the fear. I would want to earn that trust over a season, not sign for it on day one.
The words and figures here are Tom’s own. Onward verified their identity and had a reviewer check their funds.
- Identity verifiedEmail, phone and a government ID check, all confirmed by Onward. Checked September 29, 2026.
- Funds checked by a personQualified, seeking seller note. A reviewer read the evidence and Onward kept the outcome — the reviewer’s access to the document ended with the decision. Checked September 16, 2026.
- Profile completenessComplete — 6 of 6 sections finished. Thin profiles rank lower here on purpose.
- The words and figures above are this person’s own. Onward did not review, verify, or edit any of them.
- Onward checks facts, not judgement. Nothing here says this is the right person for you — that part is yours.
Owners on Onward read buyers like Tom before anyone talks numbers — and open the door only to the ones they choose. List privately; nobody knows your business until you say so.
Make a free owner accountHow they'd pay: Seller financing · Cash or savings · Bank or SBA loan
When they'd close: Actively looking now
Tom decides who opens each file. You can see what they hold and how current it is before you ask.
- Onward records that a file exists, what its owner calls it, and when it arrived. Nothing more.
- Nobody at Onward opens a file unless its owner submits it for a review — and then only the reviewer, only until the decision.
- Ages count from the upload, not from any date inside the document.
- Who's helping them
- M&A attorney · Lender or bank
Says they can show: proof of funds for my capital — their own words, not yet checked by Onward.