📡 SMB Signal: High-margin pet treat brand, commercial roofing company, and fiber optic manufacturer

Hello, and welcome to 📡 SMB Signal by Mainshares! Each week, we spotlight high-quality small business deals, operator insights, and tactical playbooks for buying, running, or investing in Main Street businesses. Join 8,000+ investors and operators staying sharp and deal-ready.

🔍 Deal watch

1. Commercial Roofing Platform

📈 Investment Opportunity
Location: Maryland
Cash Flow: $4.8M
LTM Revenue: $36.9M

TLDR:  A seasoned sponsor is acquiring a leading commercial contractor specializing in building envelope services (roofing, walls, glass, maintenance) in the Mid-Atlantic. This $37.5M revenue business serves high-profile clients in education, infrastructure, and healthcare—and it’s primed for further growth.

Why is this interesting?

• Strong client retention—80% of clients are repeat, reinforcing revenue predictability and reducing acquisition risk.

• Proven leadership—The current management team is staying on, with a 15% equity rollover aligning incentives for growth.

• Operational scale—With a sophisticated back-office infrastructure and $6.6M EBITDA projected for 2025, the business is well-positioned to scale as a platform play in the commercial roofing and building envelope space.

2. Niche Promotional Products Company

📈 Investment Opportunity
Location: Pennsylvania
Cash Flow: $5.2M
LTM Revenue: $14.5M

TLDR: A proven sponsor is acquiring a niche promotional products company serving blue-chip logistics firms and top-tier convenience store chains. Unlike traditional “trinkets and trash” suppliers, this company specializes in custom-branded, high-quality items that align with corporate HR and employee engagement strategies.

Why is this interesting?

• Operational control—In-house production and fulfillment streamline operations, cut costs, and ensure quality control, creating a competitive edge over third-party-dependent competitors.

• Growth upside—The company has thrived without an outbound sales team, making outbound expansion a clear path to revenue growth.

• A mission-critical partner—Proprietary technology customized for each client creates deeper integration and higher retention rates, positioning the business as a strategic partner rather than just a vendor.

3. Premium Freeze-Dried Pet Treat Brand

🔑Buyer Opportunity
Location: Redmond, WA
Founded Year: 2006
Cash Flow: $2.35M
LTM Revenue: $8.9M

TLDR: The business is a high-margin, nationally distributed pet treat brand with a strong reputation for premium, all-natural, freeze-dried products. Sold in thousands of retail locations and growing online, the brand’s 4-ingredient SKUs (salmon, chicken, sirloin, bonito) have earned trust from pet lovers and retailers alike. With 38–42% gross margins, 20–26% SDE margins, and runway across digital, wholesale, and subscription, the next owner steps into a strong, scalable platform in a booming category.

Why is this interesting?

• Big category, niche brand—$9.4M in sales with no outside capital. Positioned in the exploding premium/natural pet segment, with scalable operations and household brand potential.

• High cash flow, low touch—$2.35M TTM adjusted cash flow. Lean team of 6 with automated packaging lines and minimal ownership involvement.

• National footprint, marketing whitespace—Thousands of stores carry the brand, but digital presence and outbound sales are virtually nonexistent. Zero paid ad spend.

• Growth levers ready—Subscriptions, affiliate marketing, loyalty programs, national brokers/distributors, and SEO are all untapped.

4. Fiber Optic Assembly Manufacturer

🔑Buyer Opportunity 
Location: Alabama
Founded Year: 2007
Cash Flow: $2.37M
LTM Revenue: $15.4M

TLDR: The business is a leading Southeast-based fiber optic cable assembly manufacturer with domestic production and a national footprint serving OEMs, ISPs, and telecom providers. Following a strategic pivot from heavy contract manufacturing to a more profitable B2B mix, the business now operates with 40.7% gross margins and 15%+ EBITDA. It has been awarded major telecom contracts, is positioned for growth in 5G infrastructure, and owns significant capacity for expansion.

Why is this interesting?

• Shift to higher-margin B2B—In two years, the business moved from 5% to 20% B2B sales, improving price elasticity and boosting margins.

• Sticky customer base—Offers “white glove service in a work glove market” to underserved Tier 2 ISPs.

• Strategic vertical integration—New services include cable winding and hybrid fiber/copper tower cable production.

🎥 Upcoming events

🗓️ Wednesday, May 21
👤Host: Ben Onukwabe
🕛 12 PM CT / 1 PM ET
👉Register now

Join Ben Onukwube—Consultant, Author, Speaker, and CEO of Star Nsurance + Tax—as he shares the candid, behind-the-scenes story of how he transitioned from employee to owner, acquiring and growing a business while raising a young family.

In this live Q&A session, Ben will walk us through each step of his acquisition journey:

• How he searched for the right business

• Navigated offering and LOI

• Tackled self-funding, due diligence, and transition

• And what it really looks like to operate post-close

Ben will also speak directly to the fears and emotional realities that come with this leap—especially when your family is along for the ride. Whether you’re early in your search or facing tough decisions as an operator, Ben brings honesty, wisdom, and encouragement for the road ahead.

👉Register now

🔑 Top questions asked this week

Every week, we pull real questions straight from the Mainshares community, where small business buyers, investors, and operators swap notes, deals, and advice in real time. Here are some of the top insights from the week.

Should I set up an LLC for search expenses?

A: From the Mainshares Team

Hypothetically yes, but we suggest consulting an accountant because there are differences between a "trade business" (actively engaged in commerce) and a vehicle setup to search for a business to acquire.

Some expenses could likely be written off as "start-up costs" for the Search LLC, but we believe there are limits there. The real way to think about search expenses is as contributions to the Buyer's equity injection for the business itself, since deal costs are part of total Sources & Uses. So if the buyer spends $50k on search expenses, and is successful in acquiring the business, that $50k is part of the total purchase of the business, and they contributed equity to cover those.

Please note that broken deal fees from previous deals are ineligible to count as expenses on a deal that does close. That is part of the risk in SMB acquisitions. 

How do I give notice and transition smoothly from my current employer?

A: From the Mainshares Team

Hey Jeremy—really appreciate you bringing this up. It’s such a real tension, especially when you want to honor your current role while preparing for a major life and career shift.

One approach I’ve seen work well is to prepare your transition plan in advance (documentation, knowledge transfer notes, etc.) so when the deal is close to the finish line—maybe once you're through confirmatory diligence or have signed the APA—you’re ready to give notice and demonstrate that you’re leaving your team in a good place. That shows stewardship and professionalism, even if the two-week clock starts close to the closing date.

It’s also okay to have an honest-but-general conversation with your employer when the time feels right. You could say something like, “There may be a change coming down the line that would require relocation, and I’ll make sure to give proper notice and support a smooth handoff.” This gives a heads-up without putting your current situation at risk if the deal falls through.

Ultimately, it’s a judgment call based on your employer’s culture and your relationship with your manager—but protecting your next chapter while honoring your current role isn’t mutually exclusive. Sounds like you’re thinking about this the right way.

You’ve got this—and congrats on being this close to the finish line!

Got a question? Submit your question in the community!

🔁 ICYMI

• How to Build Your Network of Investors During an ETA Search (Article)

• Comparing Net Income, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Free Cash Flow, and SDE (Article)

• New SBA SOP Rules: What Investors Need to Know (Article)

🎙️ Latest podcast episode

Turn insights into action

Join 1,000+ investors and operators backing the next generation of small businesses on Mainshares. Discover deals, raise capital, and build with a community that’s in the trenches.