[Case Study] From 9–5 to Freedom: How Alan & Mel Acquire, Grow, and Sell Online Businesses

[Case Study] From 9–5 to Freedom: How Alan & Mel Acquire, Grow, and Sell Online Businesses

From Buying Online Businesses Podcast by Buying Online Businesses

March 11, 2026 · 48 min · Episode 367

About this episode

Alan and Mel share their journey from having no entrepreneurial experience to successfully acquiring and selling online businesses.

What if the thing standing between you and total lifestyle freedom… was just one business acquisition? A former respiratory therapist and a software developer – no entrepreneurial experience, no roadmap, no idea what they were doing – decided to bet on themselves anyway. And now? They're running a lean team of 11 VAs from wherever in the world they feel like being that week. Guatemala last month. St. Kitts for their anniversary. Belize next. You get the picture. In this episode, Jaryd Krause sits down with Alan and Mel , a husband-and-wife duo who tried every side hustle in the book – financial lending, credit repair, online teaching – before discovering that buying an existing online business was the shortcut they'd been exhausting themselves looking for. They used SBA financing to acquire a $1.2M business with just $65K out of pocket . They inherited 2 VAs and a chaotic operation. They were working 60-hour weeks at the start. And then – systematically, strategically – they rebuilt it, scaled it, and sold it. Profitably. Now they're already under LOI for their next deal. Here's what makes their story different though. Neither of them…

People in this episode

Host: Jaryd Krause

Guests: Alan, Mel

Topics covered

  • business acquisition
  • entrepreneurship
  • lifestyle freedom
  • online business
  • case study

Keywords

  • business acquisition
  • online business
  • entrepreneurship
  • lifestyle freedom
  • SBA financing

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: SBA

Places: Guatemala, St. Kitts, Belize

More episodes of Buying Online Businesses Podcast

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Buying Online Businesses Podcast podcast page.