Miguel Atkinson, an experienced tool and die maker from Flint, knows firsthand that it’s one thing to work for someone else — and it’s another to be your own boss. He had always wanted to own his own shop, so when the shop owners he had worked for for several years decided to retire, Miguel decided to acquire Precision Industries. He realized, however, that he needed counsel to secure the capital needed to do so. Miguel reached out to the Flint & Genesee Economic Alliance, who referred him to the Michigan SBDC where he met Senior Business Consultant Harry Blecker.

“The biggest thing about purchasing an existing business is not knowing how to go about it: how to prove that the business is sustainable, what type of loans to get, where to get down payment funds,” said Miguel. He and Harry met dozens of times to prepare the business plan and build out financial projections, plus reviewed topics such as business appraisal, environmental assessments, marketing, payroll taxes and employee retention strategies. 

Harry added, “As a consultant, one of the best things is the Clients that I meet are all different people with different personalities and in different industries. It was great working with Miguel on this project because he was persistent, especially in pursuing financing.”

After considering several financing options, Miguel opened the doors of Precision Industries Acquisitions. The company provides mold building/repair, plastic injection molds, structural foam molds, CAD/CAM, design and custom machining.

According to Miguel, “The best advice I can give to others is to do a little legwork and find resources like the Michigan SBDC that offer free consulting, free advice. Harry helped me organize everything and it really sped things up in front of a bank and in contract negotiations.”

This project is being supported in whole or in part, by federal award number SLRFPO127 awarded to Economic Development Alliance of St. Clair County by the US Department of Treasury