Evan DiLeonardi·February 12, 2026

How to Own 20% of Multiple SMBs | Evan DiLeonardi Interview

Evan DiLeonardi, a 28-year-old former management consultant turned digital nomad, bought a commercial cleaning company in rural Ohio for $1.6 million (roughly 3.2x SDE on ~$500k earnings, ~$2m revenue) in late 2024 using 90% SBA financing and a 5% seller note that counted as equity injection under pre-rule-change SBA rules. The business came with a hidden landmine: the selling owner had left his family members — including the GM — running a scheme of fake hours and ignored complaints, problems he preferred to sell around rather than confront. After closing, Evan discovered the dysfunction, fired the GM (triggering a lawsuit, threats, and a chaotic exit), lost most of the family employees, and simultaneously faced an unrelated manager departure and a flu while trying to close on two more deals. Two loyal remaining employees worked 10-14 hour days alongside Evan to stabilize the business; it survived the J-curve with SDE dipping to the low-to-mid $400s but emerged on firmer operational footing with new software, systems, and a now-strong team. In parallel, Evan developed a minority-equity partnership model where he finds, negotiates, and closes deals for other buyers — taking ~15-20% equity (below the PG threshold) without putting up cash — and now holds stakes in four businesses total. He projects that doing three such deals per year could yield $15 million in equity and $750k in annual distributions within five years, and is beginning to build infrastructure (a fund, off-market sourcing, post-close services) to scale the model.

Deal facts

purchase price: $1.6m
multiple: ~3.2x SDE
sde ebitda: SDE ~$500k (range $450k-$540k over 3 years; ~low-to-mid $400s in year 1 post-acquisition)
revenue: ~$2m
financing structure: 90% SBA loan + 5% seller note (2-year standby, then 8-year term, counted as equity injection under pre-rule-change rules) + 5% buyer equity
notes: No real estate (removed after environmental phase 2 concern on old gas station). No working capital in deal; used line of credit instead. SBA loan payment ~$220k/year (~$18k/month). Guest also holds minority equity (15-19%, sub-PG threshold) in 3 additional businesses via a partnership/sweat-equity model.

Why this business

Evan wanted any business that made enough to replace his consulting salary and allowed him to remain location-independent. He was drawn to blue-collar, hands-on industries as an overcorrection from white-collar consulting. The commercial cleaning business in rural Ohio fit his criteria: it had recurring contracted B2B revenue, an absentee seller (proving remote management was feasible), a GM in place, and clean add-backs on QoE. He also noted the rural location offered better margins than urban cleaning markets due to less competition.

What's working

Recurring contracted B2B revenue provided financial stability even during the J-curve crisis — enough accounts were retained to keep SBA loan payments covered
Promoted his lead supervisor to GM; she and one remaining operations manager worked 10-14 hour days, saved the business, and are now in strong, well-compensated roles with bonus structures tied to growth
Implemented new software to monitor operations remotely and built systems that allow him to run the business from anywhere without being on-site
Largest customer not only stayed through the turmoil but more than doubled their revenue with the company after Evan visited in person, apologized, and demonstrated he was fixing problems
Year-end performance reviews (2025) showed all four key employees optimistic, calm, and committed — the business is described as finally feeling like 'a real business'
His partnership/minority-equity model: he finds deals, leads diligence and closing for other operators, and takes ~15-20% equity (below PG threshold) without putting up cash — building a diversified portfolio at scale
Napkin math for the partnership model: ~$50k/year in distributions and ~$1m in equity per deal; at 3 deals/year over 5 years, projects $15m in equity and $750k annual cash flow

What's hard

Six-month closing delay (IRS tax return issue with seller) meant the seller effectively checked out and lost accounts before Evan could take over
Inherited a GM who was a family member of the seller and was concealing customer complaints, allowing family members to steal (clock fake hours), and running a dysfunctional operation
Firing the GM triggered a lawsuit (age discrimination, since settled), threats, deletion attempts on company files, refusal to return keys/vehicles, and a hostile exit that scared remaining staff in the small town
Lost most of the seller's family employees in quick succession, leaving the business severely understaffed on cleaners and managers simultaneously
A third operations manager gave notice for unrelated reasons the same week as the GM firing, compounding the crisis
Evan was sick with the flu and simultaneously trying to close on two other businesses when the crisis peaked — could not be physically present
Did not get AR or permanent working capital at close; spent roughly the first year's profits paying down the line of credit he used as working capital, effectively a financial wash for year one
SDE came in at low-to-mid $400s in year one vs. ~$500k at purchase — approximately a 20% dip
Key-person risk in his own partnership model: he is a one-man show and recognizes he needs to build a team to scale beyond current pace

Notable quotes

Remote and absentee to me are very different things.

He sold the business instead of firing his own family. He told me like two weeks after closing, 'If you want to fire all of them, like go for it. Like it's your business now.'

I was bedridden and also trying to like stabilize this business so it doesn't like fail and go under 3, four months in cuz I got a PG on it. Very scary time. While also trying to close on two more cuz like if this goes under, I need something in my future to help me pull out of this hole I'm going to be in.

If you're comfortable and accessible to a business, it's much easier to just go fix the problem yourself than put it in a system so you don't have to fix it next time.