OnwardWalt H.
“I don't need a lender's blessing. I need to see the trucks.”
Background
Director of fleet operations for a regional freight carrier until this spring: 140 tractors, the safety program and the shipper contracts. Before that I built a two-desk freight brokerage and sold it to a larger broker.
What they'd build on it
Keep the drivers, the lanes and the dispatcher, and add a brokerage desk on top of the trucks the way the owner says she never had time to.
- Who'd run it
- Would run it themselves
- Where their search is
- Looking actively, reviewing businesses now
- Why they want to buy
- Be my own boss · Take over something that already works instead of starting from scratch
- Has owned or run a business before
- Yes
- Has bought a business before
- No
Thirty years running other people's fleets. I sold my own small brokerage once and missed owning something the week after.
What they’re looking for
The business and owner they're looking for
A regional carrier in Michigan, $2.5M–$5M revenue, owned equipment, a clean safety record and shippers that have stayed for years. Cash, no lender.
What happens to the people who work there, and why
Drivers are the business. Pay them on time, fix their trucks before they ask, and nobody leaves for a nickel a mile.
What would change, and why
The name could go under my own authority if a shipper's contract made that simpler. The trucks, the lanes and the people would not change.
- Plans for the team
- Keep the whole team as it is
What Walt would keep the same
- 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.
The words and figures here are Walt’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 October 26, 2026.
- Funds checked by a personFunds checked by Onward. A reviewer read the evidence and Onward kept the outcome — the reviewer’s access to the document ended with the decision. Checked October 11, 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 Walt before anyone talks numbers — and open the door only to the ones they choose. List privately; nobody knows your business until you say so.
Request early accessHow they'd pay: Cash or savings
When they'd close: Actively looking now
Walt 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 · CPA or accountant
Says they can show: proof of funds for my capital; i've bought or owned a business before — their own words, not yet checked by Onward.