Margins in Mulch: Buying a $1m Erosion Control Business | Greg Bruns Interview

Today's guest worked for years in commercial banking. During that time, he'd deal with local business owners, seeing up close the success they had, the lives they led. And he always felt like a supporting character, that these owners were the real protagonists. "It was like, man I wish I could do that, but I'm just the banker." Well today Greg Bruns is doing that, owning and running his own business. Now he's not a multimillionaire yet. He's only 3 months into the acquisition of a small hydromulching business. But he's taken that first, that hardest step, and I know you join me in wishing him success as he grinds the dream to reality. Because it is grindy. The business Greg bought is project-based, tied to construction, vulnerable to weather. Since he's in Houston, which saw Hurricane Beryl blow through in July, revenue collapsed that month. So for that reason, and others that Greg and I discuss, it is not easy. But, he is off the sidelines and in the game, where he wanted to be. Enjoy this conversation with Greg Bruns, former banker-now-owner of Allied Hydromulch. ❤️ Enjoy this interview? SUBSCRIBE for more: https://bit.ly/42hLnN0 00:00:00. Greg's background 00:06:45. Inspiration to buy a business 00:13:32. Greg searches for a business 00:19:55. Greg finds Allied Hydromulch 00:25:34. How Hydromulch controls erosion 00:30:35. Challenges to growing the business 00:35:28. Greg secures financing 00:41:17. The Resilience of the business 00:44:50. Seller note and financing 00:50:11. Tax Benefits of Business Ownership 00:56:32. Cash flow management in practice 01:01:08. Learning the culture of construction 01:08:19. Asset sale vs. stock sale 01:16:45. Future plans for the business 01:20:03. Advice for searchers CONNECT with the Acquiring Minds podcast, socials, etc. 🎧 Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2vZrl0u... 🎧 Podcast on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 👉 Get notified of new interviews: https://acquiringminds.co 👉 Follow host Will Smith on Twitter:   / whentheresawill   👉 Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn:   / willsmithsf   ABOUT Acquiring Minds Acquiring Minds is a podcast about buying businesses. Acquiring an existing business is an awesome opportunity for many entrepreneurs, and host Will Smith talks to the people who do it. New episodes 2x per week. #business #acquisitions #buyingbusiness

Europe Has Become a War Project — Can It Be Stopped? | Yanis Varoufakis & Jeffrey Sachs
▶︎

Europe Has Become a War Project — Can It Be Stopped? | Yanis Varoufakis & Jeffrey Sachs

AI Is Creating A Rare Opportunity For Investors. How Jim Roppel Is Playing It. | Investing With IBD
▶︎

AI Is Creating A Rare Opportunity For Investors. How Jim Roppel Is Playing It. | Investing With IBD

20 Questions with Pastor Mike (Episode 62)
▶︎

20 Questions with Pastor Mike (Episode 62)

Sen. Whitehouse to uncover connections between Trump, Russia, and Epstein.
▶︎

Sen. Whitehouse to uncover connections between Trump, Russia, and Epstein.

Buying Then Losing a $2.1m HVAC Business |  Dan Burnside Interview
▶︎

Buying Then Losing a $2.1m HVAC Business | Dan Burnside Interview

Power Automate Tutorial ⚡ Beginner To Pro [Full Course]
▶︎

Power Automate Tutorial ⚡ Beginner To Pro [Full Course]

Started as SBA Searcher, Built to a PE Fund  | Joe Wechsler Interview
▶︎

Started as SBA Searcher, Built to a PE Fund | Joe Wechsler Interview

How to increase your vocabulary: Live English Class
▶︎

How to increase your vocabulary: Live English Class

Boston Public Radio, The Curiosity Desk, & The Culture Show Live Tuesday, June 16, 2026
▶︎

Boston Public Radio, The Curiosity Desk, & The Culture Show Live Tuesday, June 16, 2026

From Software to Concrete Cutting (and $1.4m of SDE) | Tom McCormick Interview
▶︎

From Software to Concrete Cutting (and $1.4m of SDE) | Tom McCormick Interview

Overcoming a Career Rut by Buying a Business
▶︎

Overcoming a Career Rut by Buying a Business

RL for Agents Workshop - Deep Dive on Training Agents with RL and Open Source
▶︎

RL for Agents Workshop - Deep Dive on Training Agents with RL and Open Source

Trump sta per invadere l’Iran? La diretta con Alessandro Orsini
▶︎

Trump sta per invadere l’Iran? La diretta con Alessandro Orsini

5 Businesses Acquired with a Long Term Hold Model | Ryan Sullivan Interview
▶︎

5 Businesses Acquired with a Long Term Hold Model | Ryan Sullivan Interview

RESTORING THE ORDER 2026 - DAY-1 #dunsinoyekan #worship #intimacy
▶︎

RESTORING THE ORDER 2026 - DAY-1 #dunsinoyekan #worship #intimacy

Microsoft Fabric and Power BI - Developer of the Future⚡ [Full Course]
▶︎

Microsoft Fabric and Power BI - Developer of the Future⚡ [Full Course]

Stoke Space CEO Andy Lapsa - Fully Reusable Rockets - NSF Live
▶︎

Stoke Space CEO Andy Lapsa - Fully Reusable Rockets - NSF Live

How to Make Mulch - Behind the Scenes at Mike's Tree Company
▶︎

How to Make Mulch - Behind the Scenes at Mike's Tree Company

Web Scraping Using Python For Beginners and File Handling in Python | Python Web Scraping
▶︎

Web Scraping Using Python For Beginners and File Handling in Python | Python Web Scraping

KONTRA #27 Rymanowski, Bartosiak, Bosak: Co dalej z Ukrainą?
▶︎

KONTRA #27 Rymanowski, Bartosiak, Bosak: Co dalej z Ukrainą?