From our experience, the best businesses to buy in 2023 are Laundromats, Vending Machines, Car washes, Mobile home & RV parks, Ice vending businesses, Airbnb properties, and vacation rentals, Gym franchises, Recurring household services, Digital businesses such as content website, newsletters, E-commerce.

So, what’s the best business to buy? Here’s a question we get asked all the time.

If you’re new to what we do here at Unconventional Acquisitions, then let’s get you caught up. We believe that if you’re looking to invest, you don’t have to put your money toward sexy startups or trendy NFTs. That’s why we love buying boring businesses like what you’ll find in our list below.

Business to Buy Now- How to Choose

Before deciding what is the business to buy today, you would want to know what to look for & what to avoid when you are buying a business. Buying the wrong business will not help you get your financial freedom. You would want to buy a business that makes you profit from day 1 of your acquisition.

What Makes a Biz a ‘Good Business to Buy’

Here are the characteristics of a ‘good business’ that will bring you good profit from day 1-

‣ In your wheelhouse: While looking for the best business to buy, I wouldn’t choose a business that I don’t understand. A SaaS or an IT consulting business is too complex for me when I can barely run a Zoom meeting, so I would stay away from them. A business that takes me 10% of my brain to understand would be the business I want to buy.

‣ Profitable: You need to make sure the business makes money. The goal is buying profit, not betting on growth. The business MUST have at least $10k/m in profit.

‣ Highly motivated seller: If the business seller is motivated, they would be willing to help & work with you even after they exit. A motivated seller would always want to see the sold business grow and help you with anything when you need it.

‣ Good assets/ financing options: The business should have some good assets & financing. They would make your funding opportunity (Equipment loan/ SBA loan/ Seller financing) easier.

‣ Minimal marketing to date: One of the most scalable businesses to buy are the ones with minimal marketing done for it. It is not hard to find businesses that didn’t do much sales with advertising yet, and that would leave you with the opportunity to scale with good marketing.

What Makes a Biz a ‘Bad Business to Buy’

Now comes the part you want to take a look at carefully. While you are looking for a business to buy, make sure you don’t choose the wrong one.

‣ Thin margin: A business with a thin margin would give you more pain, and less profit. We want more profit with less pain.

‣ Unprofitable: The main purpose of your business buying journey is achieving financial freedom, and the first component behind that would be a profitable business. Make sure the business you want to buy makes enough profit ( I look for $10k/m at least).

‣ Not our ideal seller type: We want motivated sellers only, if they are not, they would be arrogant, and hard to deal with.

‣ Not enough cashflow: The less cashflow a business has, the less opportunity you will have, to grow the business further.

The Best Businesses to Buy in 2023

We outlined a few of our all-time favorite boring businesses for investors — whether you’re looking to add to your portfolio or make your first investment ever. And now for our list of the best businesses for you to buy and invest your money in this year…  

1. Laundromats

Everyone needs clean clothes, even if we’re in a recession, inflation is through the roof, or it feels like the world is ending. Laundromats are a great option for you if you’re interested in passive income without the hassle or hands-on accounting. 

Laundromats are a hella competitive industry to get into, but we’ve also found that the right operator and team of support can make all the difference in getting this deal off the ground. 

2. Vending Machines 

Low startup costs, no labor, no monthly rent to a landlord you don’t love, plus a whole lotta profit? What’s not to love? If you’re new to Unconventional Acquisitions and dipping your toe into investing in boring businesses, vending machines could be a great fit for you. 

They’re relatively easy to manage (my friend, Quinn, makes $20k+ in revenue every single month from his vending machine business *ahem* empire) and it’s a great boring business idea for beginner investors. 

One thing to keep in mind though…you’ll be making quite a few trips to Costo so you can buy products for your inventory in bulk. We recommend vending machines for people who have a bit more time in their schedule, or who are looking for an opportunity to go in on with another business partner, so you can split up the duties. 

3. Car Washes 

There are a lot of reasons to love a car wash, but mostly…it’s the margins. Car washes typically see anywhere from 50-60% profit margin depending on the location, and they are also incredibly easy to manage, making them one of the best businesses to buy.

One downside is that the car wash industry is a seasonal business, and your profits are tied directly to the weather. If you live somewhere that rains or snows a lot, you may not see the same kind of margins as somewhere warmer and drier. 

Similar to laundromats, customers will pay for the service in advance, making the accounting process a fairly easy transaction. Most car wash businesses are also automated or self-service, meaning that your labor costs are fairly low. 

4. Mobile Home & RV Parks

My friend, Kenworth, recently bought a mobile home park for $400k that created $15.3k+ in cash flow every single month. While he was previously involved in real estate for single-home families, he stumbled upon an opportunity to invest in an RV park business in his area that he couldn’t pass up. 

Kenworth put down 10% for his purchase, and with closing costs, ended up spending only $47k to purchase the park. As soon as he became the owner, he raised the prices on the 35 parking spots on his property and hired a property manager, so he wouldn’t have to be in the weeds in this business. 

If you’re interested in owning or investing in a mobile home or RV park, know that location is KEY. Most mobile home locations do well when they’re outside of major metropolitan areas that experience a higher cost of living. If that’s not where your potential deal is located, it may be time to go back to the drawing board. 

5. Ice Vending Businesses

You’ve probably seen an ice vending machine near gas stations or stopped by one on your way to a dinner party. But did you know they’re a great boring business to buy & invest your money in? 

These are such a smart investment because you need ZERO employees to make sure the business runs. In fact, your business can basically sit there in an open parking lot without a lot of maintenance or upkeep. You just need access to water and electricity, while making hundreds of dollars a day and thousands of dollars a month.  

One thing to keep in mind if you’re thinking about getting into ice vending is that these machines need a LOT of upkeep and maintenance to ensure they’re clean. Most machines will require a daily cleaning, which can add up quickly if your machine isn’t also seeing a high rate of customers each day. 

6. Airbnb Properties and Vacation Rentals

If you’re looking to get into the world of real estate, owning vacation property can be a great asset to add to your portfolio. You can also hire a management company who will deal with the day-to-day logistics, like maintenance issues or cleaning out the space before your guests arrive, without you ever lifting a finger. 

If you’re getting into vacation rentals, make sure that you have a plan for all of the little unforeseen circumstances that can pop up. Maintenance issues, noise complaints, pets in your no-pet rental property, and even damage are also risks that you’ll incur when you get into owning a rental. 

But one upside? You can always have a vacation rental for you to stay at if you ever need to take some time away for some R&R. If you want the playbook on buying vacation rental properties, you’ll probably love our mastermind.  

7. Gym Franchise Owner

I have another friend, Zach, who bought a local gym franchise that went bankrupt for pennies on the dollar. But in 18 months, he turned it into over six figures in revenue, just by making some improvements to the gym and their previously broken business model. 

First, Zach noticed that the gym had no add-on services. It was simply a gym you went to when you wanted to lift weights, but it offered no additional perks like personal training or nutrition coaching. 

But Zach was able to get a small business loan and put in $50k for renovations. When the project was completed, he was able to DOUBLE the price of the gym membership and offer other services (at an extra cost) to his customers who had rolled over from the previous owner. 

If you’re interested in owning a gym franchise, be sure to do your due diligence and research the franchise you are buying into. Some gyms are extremely strict about the way their facilities are setup and run, so you may not end up having as much creative freedom as you think. 

8. Recurring Household Services

Simple, recurring household services are another great boring business to invest in or buy. For one, you’ll create a sturdy foundation of clients who will need their homes or windows cleaned, or their lawns mowed. Plus, you can hire an operator to help you manage the business itself (unless rolling up your sleeves and diving into a bucket of suds in your thing, of course). 

My friend, Johnny, created a business with $75k in profit his very first year in business, just by being smart about he financed a deal when buying window cleaning business. 

One small thing to keep in mind is that because household service businesses have a low startup cost, it can make the barrier to entry low, too. That means you will need to have a sixth sense about how to set your pricing and constantly keep an eye on what your competitors are up to. You may also want to invest in marketing so that you can outshine and outsell your competitors in your area. 

If you want to learn how to finance deals like this without using your own money, we have a course that is right up your alley.

Yours Unconventionally,

Codie & Ryan

Co-founders – Unconventional Acquisition

If you want to learn more about how to find and buy businesses, check out these articles👇

• Is Business Buying Right For You?
• The 5 Most Common Mistakes When Buying A Business
• How Long Does Buying a Business Take?!