Chisam Reiter @ChisamReiter - Twitter Profile

Pinned Tweet

about 2 years ago

I am a long-time lurker in the SMB community, but I am going to try to start posting more, so I am writing this as a pinned tweet introduction to all of the hopeful future connections. I was born & raised in Texas and became infatuated with “business” and investing as a teenager during the GFC. I constantly read books about Buffett, the stock market, finance, etc. I attended The University of Texas, worked in finance for a few years, then I bought Critter Stop, a pest and wildlife control company in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2021 via a self-funded search. It was smaller than my target size range, but pest control was my top industry focus, and it was in DFW, my wife and I’s top metro area. The transition period was rocky for various reasons involving the seller, dishonest employees, and seasonal headwinds. A few months after the acquisition, it was just one technician and I grinding it out, working on roofs and in attics in the mid-August heat. My wife thought I was crazy. It didn’t help that I got sprayed by a skunk on my very first day and had to come home and change. As @MatznerJon would say, ‘I SMB’d’ hard in those early days. Since then, we have been very blessed and have grown significantly. I have a really strong company President (whose name I will selfishly withhold) that runs Critter Stop now, while I focus on M&A and starting a digital marketing agency for other home service businesses. Digital marketing has become a passion of mine – I love how competitive and quantifiable it is. If you win or lose, it’s black and white, with a real $ impact. We tried many different digital marketing agencies in the first ~3 yrs before ultimately taking it in house. I forced myself to learn it, create systems and processes, and hire a team to execute day in, day out. The difference it has made is unbelievable. As Jeff Bezos says, “Your margin is my opportunity.” After my experiences working directly and indirectly with many agencies, I am incredibly excited to jump into that arena and continue building on what I have learned thus far. My tweets going forward will likely span small business acquisition, operations, marketing, management, sales, and general life advice (from someone still trying to figure it out). I assume this is not what most of my current followers followed me for, so I apologize in advance! I look forward to meeting, connecting, and learning from others in the SMB community. I am incredibly grateful for the many people that have positively impacted the trajectory of Critter Stop the past three years with the helpful content they have shared here on X and on podcasts. There are too many people to thank individually, but the ones that really stick out as having moved the needle with their advice are below. I seriously cannot thank you guys enough. @sweatystartup, @laughridge, & @sievakozinsky were all enormous inspirations back in ’20-21 to quit my job and pursue ETA. Wouldn't have considered it without them. @mitchblackmon & @cofounderschris – very tactical, great advice. You both inspired me to be scrappier and more creative. @whentheresawill and his amazing Acquiring Minds podcast. And countless wise nuggets over the years from @Hayden__Slack @HockJohannes @strongpointrich @stlchrish @wilsoncompanies @betterceo @clintfiore @smb_attorney. Thank you all! 🙏🙌

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Chisam Reiter

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