After 25 years in corporate, Gina Rosen bought a jewelry wholesaling business with $635k in sales — now on track to $1m. Register for the webinar: Finance Essentials Before You Close - TODAY!! - https://bit.ly/4fcxTdK Topics in Gina’s interview: Leaving corporate for more family time Decoupling her salary from her value Acquiring the supplier for her side gig Her mistake with buying inventory Keeping her corporate job the first year Going full time in the business to focus on sales Standing out by making sales calls in-person Operating a highly seasonal business How tariffs have affected her business Acquiring without the SBA References and how to contact Gina: LinkedIn Seasons Jewelry The ecosystem for serious acquisition entrepreneurs—education, capital, community, and post-close support to buy and grow a business: The Acquisition Lab Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition&#x27;s insurance &amp; benefits program: Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR: From this page or contact jenny@aspenhr.com Connect with Acquiring Minds: See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn Follow Will on Twitter Edited by Anton Rohozov and produced by Pam Cameron

Never Worked Harder, Never Been Happier

Acquiring Minds

Today's guest joins us on her birthday. And boy, it makes a great birthday when you love what you do. Love where you are professionally. Which is the case for Gina Rosen, who bought a small jewelry wholesaling business in July of 2023, starting her pivot away from a 25-year corporate career.

Now, despite that long tenure in corporate, Gina was always aware of how precarious W-2 income is. Early in her career, she'd been laid off three times in 13 months. So having experienced the W-2 rug pull so early and so often, she had had her eye on income diversification and had dabbled in side hustles.

Well, the dabbling became much more serious when she got a call from a couple owners looking to sell their business to her. And so begins today's story. Now, despite Gina's entrepreneurial pivot, she is conservative. She didn't actually quit her day job for the first year of owning the business she bought, and only then because she felt forced to.

Also, she's plowing all profits from the business back in and expects to do so for a number of years. She's intent on building the business foundation before taking earnings out. Listen for the deal terms, which we unpacked to the dollar. Gina didn't do the typical SBA acquisition. She bought the business in cash with the help of a HELOC. It's always valuable to learn about alternative deal structures.

Here she is, birthday girl and owner of Seasons Jewelry, Gina Rosen. Webinars. Most first-time business buyers spend months finding the right deal and securing financing, only to reach closing without a clear plan for the financial processes and stack they'll need as new owner.

Never Worked Harder, Never Been Happier

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

Never Worked Harder, Never Been Happier

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.