Tyler O'Connor·February 13, 2023

How I bought a 7- Figure Dream Business with $100,000 | Tyler O'Connor Interview

Tyler O'Connor, an Army veteran turned government consultant, bought Bird Golf Academy in August 2022 — a 20-year-old national golf instruction business with 20+ locations, 14–16 traveling PGA professional instructors, and low-to-mid seven figures in revenue at 30–35% margins. Tyler discovered the business casually on BizBuySell after a conversation with his mother prompted him to pursue something he loved rather than a generic 'boring business.' The deal was financed with roughly 75% SBA debt, 20% seller notes (including a standby note that replaced a last-minute investor who fell through due to a pension fund structure issue), and approximately 5% equity from Tyler and two friends — with Tyler personally putting in around $100k all-in. Key deal complexities included convincing the SBA to look past COVID-depressed 2020 financials using a Quality of Earnings, surviving a near-collapse 24 hours before close, and navigating a family tragedy (his brother's death) just three weeks post-acquisition. The seller remained a trusted partner through all of it. Tyler's early value-creation focus includes dynamic pricing, digitizing manual scheduling operations, expanding into new markets (Texas, Napa, Tampa, eventually internationally), and potentially building a consolidated golf instruction app.

Deal facts

purchase price: low-to-mid seven figures (est. $2.5M–$5M range, not precisely stated)
sde ebitda: roughly 30–35% margin on low-to-mid seven figures revenue; approximately ~$1M EBITDA implied
revenue: low-to-mid seven figures (2022 projected; ~$3M–$6M range)
financing structure: ~75% SBA 7(a) loan + ~20% seller note (including seller standby note) + ~5% equity injection; total equity injection ~$225k from buyer and co-investors; Tyler personally in for ~$100k all-in
notes: Business is Bird Golf Academy. Founded 1999, 20+ years old. Quality of Earnings done by third party. Deal closed August 8, 2022. Four co-investors originally; one dropped out day before close due to pension fund complication; seller agreed to take that $175k shortfall as a standby seller note instead. Non-compete and consulting fee originally proposed; later wrapped into seller finance. Tyler retained just over 90% equity. Three remaining investor-friends own remaining ~10%. Deal costs approximately $30k–$100k all-in (including SBA fee).

Why this business

Tyler had always loved golf and was originally planning to buy a boring business like HVAC or small manufacturing. After a conversation with his mother who told him to buy something he was passionate about, he did a casual search on BizBuySell for golf businesses and stumbled on Bird Golf Academy. He was drawn to the massive tailwinds golf experienced post-COVID, the 20+ year track record, 20+ locations nationally, 30–35% profit margins, stable long-tenured instructor base, remote operability, and the fact that it aligned with his personal passion. He saw perceived red flags (one main golf course vendor, aging instructor base, COVID-inflated growth) but found each one to actually be a moat or non-issue.

What's working

Strong repeat business: more than 50% of students are repeat customers who have ongoing relationships with specific instructors
Stable, long-tenured instructor team — some with 17–20 years at the company, turnover nearly zero; instructors are independent contractors earning $70k–$100k+
Favorable cash flow cycle: students pay upfront while expenses are paid later
Remote-operable business across 20+ national locations, giving geographic diversification
Golf industry tailwinds from COVID-era growth that Tyler believed were durable
Key golf course vendor relationships are mutually beneficial — the business brings over $1M/year in ancillary revenue (hotel, spa, restaurant, tee times) to partner courses
Smooth transition supported by seller who stayed on briefly when Tyler had a family emergency (his brother's death) shortly after closing
Immediate operational improvements: digitizing scheduling (replacing colored-pencil paper calendars), automating processes, dynamic pricing implementation
Seller relationship was exceptional throughout — seller preferred Tyler over corporate buyers and worked creatively to keep the deal alive

What's hard

SBA financing was complicated by 2022 COVID-impacted prior-year financials — 2020 and 2019 numbers were far below 2022 projections, making bank approval difficult
Deal nearly collapsed 24 hours before closing when a key investor's pension fund structure was deemed unacceptable by the bank after a Fed rate hike
Tyler had to call that investor and turn down his $175k contribution on very short notice, a personally difficult call
Non-exclusivity period during LOI: Tyler was not exclusive until the bank issued its letter of commitment (after QoE), leaving him vulnerable to being outbid for approximately 30 days
Tyler's brother died less than three weeks after closing, forcing him to step away from the business at the most critical early transition moment
Business had been run very manually — scheduling tracked with colored pencils on butcher-block paper; digitizing was an immediate priority
Instructor team skews older, which requires longer-term succession thinking
2022 actuals came in slightly below initial projections (within margin of error per Tyler)

Notable quotes

I always kind of wanted to get into this space and do my own thing I think everyone's dream is to be their own boss.

I'm gonna buy a boring business and I'm gonna freaking love it.

Tyler you've always been successful in everything you've done just do something that you're passionate about and don't do HVAC.

The goal is not to be a Searcher the goal is to be an operator right so you gotta just get through it man you should want to be the Searcher for like the shortest amount of time possible.