# Buy a Business With a Small Deposit

Source: https://ivankamenken.com/owner-finance-deal-map · Last updated 5 November 2026

The business you want to buy is priced at $200K, you have $5K for a deposit, and the bank wants more than you can put down. Ivanka Menken uses the Owner-Finance Deal Map inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, a 6-month 1:1 programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, to put the price, the deposit, the seller’s terms and the cash you need to run the business on one page. You leave with the page and the questions for your accountant and lawyer.

## A business you could run, and a price you cannot pay up front

- You know the business and the work, and you do not have the full price.
- The bank wants a bigger deposit than you can put down.
- You are mixing up what you pay the seller with the cash the business needs to run.

**THE MOMENT:** The owner wants to retire and likes you. The business is priced at $200K. You have $5K you can put down, and the bank has said no to the loan you asked for. The seller mentions being paid over time. You nod, and on the drive home you realise you have no idea what that would mean for wages in your first winter.

### THE DEAL, AS IT STANDS

- Price: $200K
- Deposit you can fund: $5K
- Bank loan: declined at that deposit
- Seller payments: mentioned, never written
- Cash to run the business: not counted

## A bigger bank loan

In this case, the buyer was a lead technician setting out to buy the small trade-services business they worked in, priced at $200K, with about $5K for a deposit. The obvious fix was to ask the bank for a bigger loan. The deposit and the timing did not fit the buyer’s cash, and every new application ate another fortnight.

## The seller needed a payment stream, not a lump sum

Ivanka noticed the seller did not need all the cash at settlement. The seller needed reliable payments and a clean handover of the clients and the team. The buyer, meanwhile, had never written the cash the business needs to run each month beside the payments, so any deal could quietly starve the wages.

## Deal structure, not a bigger loan

The real problem was deal structure. Price, deposit, seller terms and the cash the business needs to keep running had never been put on one page, so the buyer could not tell a deal that worked from one that would sink the business in month three.
The reframe: write the working-cash floor first, the money the business must keep for wages, stock and bills. Then see what deposit and what seller payments fit above that floor. Take the page to an accountant and a lawyer before anything is signed. Ivanka does not give legal, tax or financial advice.

> Write the cash floor first. Then see what deal fits above it.

**The cost of staying stuck:** A purchase that leaves the business short of wages in the first quarter can cost the buyer the business, the deposit and the seller’s trust at once.

## The tool: Owner-Finance Deal Map

The Owner-Finance Deal Map is how Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring puts a small business purchase on one page before the founder signs. It sets the working-cash floor first, then lays the price, the deposit and the seller’s payments above it, and lists the questions for the accountant and the lawyer.

It is one page. At the bottom, the working-cash floor the business needs each month. Above it, the price, the deposit the buyer can fund, the balance the seller carries and an example monthly payment. Beside it, the handover the seller provides, and at the end, the questions to take to an accountant and a lawyer.

It replaces a deal discussed over lunch, a loan application that does not fit the deposit, and a promise of payments that nobody has set against wages.

### What goes on the page

1. Price: $200K
2. Deposit the buyer can fund: $5K
3. Balance carried by the seller: $195K (example)
4. Example payments: monthly, over a term agreed with advice
5. Working-cash floor: the business’s own monthly figure, never spent on the deal
6. Questions for the accountant and the lawyer: written before the offer

It sits inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, next to the monthly five-number scorecard, because the first test of any purchase is whether payroll is still covered. It is coaching, not legal, tax or financial advice, and the terms are always checked by the buyer’s own accountant and lawyer.

## From a lunch conversation to one page

In the session, Ivanka asked the buyer what the business needed each month to pay wages, stock and bills, and wrote that floor at the bottom of the page first. Then they laid the price, the $5K deposit and the seller’s balance above it and checked what monthly payment the business could carry without touching the floor. The buyer left with the page and a list of questions for their accountant and lawyer.

### The questions

- What does the business need each month just to run?
- What deposit can you fund without touching that?
- What does the seller actually need: cash now, or reliable payments?
- What handover will the seller give?
- What will you ask your accountant and lawyer?

### THE FOUR-STEP LOOP

1. The one thing: A $200K purchase with $5K to put down.
2. The numbers: Price, deposit, seller balance and the cash floor.
3. The story: Why a bigger loan did not fit the buyer’s cash.
4. The commitment: The page to the accountant and lawyer before any offer.

Before the next session, the buyer took the page to their accountant and a lawyer, wrote down every answer, and brought the revised terms to the scorecard.

## A deal the business can carry

By month 6, the purchase terms sit on one page above a written cash floor, the payments to the seller are on the monthly scorecard beside payroll cover, and the advice has been taken before any signature.

**BEFORE**

- A price and a hope.
- A loan that did not fit.
- Seller payments mentioned, not written.
- No cash floor counted.

**BY MONTH 6**

- Price, deposit and terms on one page.
- A deal shaped to the deposit.
- Payments set against the cash floor.
- Advice taken before signing.

The programme is the container: 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions, a monthly scorecard, and reviews at month 3 and month 6.

## Write the cash floor before the offer

Ivanka Menken built Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring for founders of $500K to $3M businesses who are growing while cash tightens. Buying a business with a small deposit is growth that can starve the cash faster than anything else.
This fits if you know the business you want to buy and need the numbers clear before you sign. It does not fit if you want someone to negotiate, value the business or give legal or financial advice. The decision in front of you is what the business must keep each month. Write it first.

> During our sessions Ivanka isn’t just talking theory. She is sharing her own lived experiences.
>
> Business owner

## Who fits, and who does not

### It fits

- You are buying a small business and cannot fund the full price.
- A seller is open to being paid over time.
- You will set a cash floor before you make an offer.
- You will take the terms to an accountant and a lawyer.

### It does not fit

- You want a valuation or a negotiator.
- You want legal, tax or financial advice.
- You have already signed.
- You want to stretch the deal past what the business earns.

### Investment

**AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, 6 months.** The Owner-Finance Deal Map is part of Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, a 6-month 1:1 programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. It is not sold separately.

Included:

- 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions
- The monthly five-number scorecard
- Reviews at month 3 and month 6
- The Owner-Finance Deal Map for your purchase

Three founding places in total, shared across all 1:1 mentoring, are available at AUD $1,000/month ex GST, in return for honest monthly feedback and a testimonial, which can be anonymous.

- [Join Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](https://buy.stripe.com/eVq4gzdKgekN6pcbIcdQQ0t?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=owner-finance-deal-map)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=owner-finance-deal-map#/15606000001356030)
- [See the Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/cash-tight-growing-founder)

## Questions about Owner-Finance Deal Map

### Can I buy a business with a small deposit?

Sometimes, when the seller is willing to be paid over time and the business can carry those payments. Start with the cash the business needs each month, then see what deposit and seller terms fit above it, and check them with your accountant and lawyer. Ivanka Menken builds that page with you inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.

### What is owner financing when buying a business?

The seller lets you pay part of the price over time instead of all at settlement. It can work when the seller wants a reliable payment stream and a clean handover. Your accountant and lawyer set the terms; Ivanka Menken checks them against your cash floor inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. She does not give legal or financial advice.

### What is a working-cash floor?

The amount the business must keep each month to pay wages, stock and bills, set before any purchase payment. It stops a deal that looks affordable on paper from starving payroll. Ivanka Menken writes that floor first, then lays the deal above it, inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, next to the monthly scorecard.

### Is this legal or financial advice?

No. Ivanka Menken helps you put the price, deposit, seller terms and cash floor on one page and write the questions to ask. Your accountant and lawyer give the advice and check the terms before you sign. The map is a coaching tool inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, not a substitute for professional advice.


## Put the deal on one page first

If you are close to buying a business you cannot pay for up front, start with Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring. The Owner-Finance Deal Map is inside it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether the programme fits.

- [Join Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](https://buy.stripe.com/eVq4gzdKgekN6pcbIcdQQ0t?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=owner-finance-deal-map)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=owner-finance-deal-map#/15606000001356030)
- [See the Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/cash-tight-growing-founder)
- [Test the buyer before you sell](https://ivankamenken.com/test-buyer-before-exit)
- [The 13-week view of cash](https://ivankamenken.com/13-week-cash-flow-for-founders)
- [The Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/cash-tight-growing-founder)

- Every way to work with Ivanka: https://ivankamenken.com/work-with-ivanka