Septic & Portable Sanitation · McHenry County, Illinois

You've spent years building a business your customers depend on. I'd like to be the person who takes care of it next.

I'm Mike Thornton — a technology and operations professional based in Crystal Lake, acquiring and operating septic and portable sanitation businesses in northern Illinois. I'm looking for owners who built something worth protecting — and who want it to continue in good hands.

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About Me

Technologist. Operator. McHenry County local.

Twenty years from now, I want to look back at this business and feel proud — not because I overhauled it, but because I took care of it. I have kids, and one of the reasons I'm pursuing this path is to show them what it looks like to build something real: to show up every day, treat people fairly, and earn a reputation worth having.

I live in Crystal Lake. I grew up in this part of Illinois and this is my community. I'm not a fund based in Chicago or New York looking for a return — I'm a neighbor looking for a business worth running.

My background is in software engineering and operations — iOS development, systems architecture, and project management, including time at Apple, Google, and PayPal. I see my technology background as a strength, not a mismatch: I'll bring modern scheduling, routing, dispatch, and billing systems to a business that already runs on relationships and reliability.

I plan to be the hands-on operator — personally overseeing daily field operations. The businesses I'm drawn to are ones where the owner took pride in their work and their people. My job is to protect what they built and grow it carefully enough that they'd still recognize it.

What I'm Looking For

A business built to last.

I'm specifically looking at septic and portable sanitation operations — the kind of essential, route-based businesses that serve their communities year after year.

Septic Pumping Operations

Residential septic tank pumping and maintenance. Established routes, loyal customers, trucks that go out every day. Whether you pump 3 tanks a day or 30, I'm interested.

Portable Toilet Rental & Service

Porta potty operations serving construction sites, events, and commercial accounts. Weekly service routes with recurring revenue are exactly what I'm looking for.

Grease Trap & Holding Tank Cleaning

Commercial grease trap contracts, holding tank pumping, lift station service. Compliance-driven, recurring work with long-term commercial relationships.

Route-Based Recurring Revenue

I value businesses where customers come back — monthly service contracts, weekly porta potty routes, annual septic customers on a 3–5 year pump cycle. Predictability matters more to me than growth rate.

Northern IL & Southern WI

McHenry County is home. I'm also looking across Lake, Kane, DeKalb, Boone, and Winnebago counties in Illinois, and Walworth, Kenosha, and Racine counties in Wisconsin — roughly a 90-minute radius from Crystal Lake.

Owner-Operated Businesses

$300K to $1.2M in annual revenue. 1–10 trucks. The kind of business where the owner still answers the phone, still knows every customer's name, and still takes pride in every pump. That's the business I want to take care of.

What I Bring

More than capital.

A software engineering and operations background means I can modernize how the business runs — scheduling, routing, billing, dispatch — without disrupting what already works.

Hands-On Operations

I will personally run day-to-day operations. I'm not hiring a manager and disappearing. I'll be at the yard in the morning, dispatching routes, talking to customers, and making sure the trucks go out on time. I hold a Master's in Project Management and know how to build systems that keep a business running smoothly without depending on any single person.

Technology That Actually Helps

Most septic businesses run on paper tickets, whiteboards, and memory. I'll bring modern field service software — GPS routing, digital dispatch, online scheduling, automated billing — that makes drivers' days easier, gets customers served faster, and eliminates the paperwork headaches. I'm a software engineer by trade, so I build these systems myself rather than paying consultants.

Respect for the Business

I'm not here to put my name on your trucks. I'm not changing your company name, your brand, or your culture — full stop. Your customers know who to call. Your employees know how things work. My job in the first year is to learn from the people who've been doing this, protect what works, and carefully improve what could work better. The business you built will still be recognizable.

How It Works

A straightforward process.

Selling a business can feel complicated. Here's how I approach it — transparently, patiently, and without surprises.

A Cup of Coffee

We start with a conversation. I want to hear your story — how you got into the business, what you've built, what your days look like. No paperwork, no pressure, no obligation. Just two people talking about a business over coffee.

Confidentiality First

Before you share anything sensitive — financials, customer lists, employee details — I'll sign a mutual NDA. I understand that in this industry, your reputation is everything, and I'll protect yours throughout the process.

A Fair Offer in Writing

If we both feel good about it, I'll put a Letter of Intent in writing with clear terms. I'm direct and won't waste your time with lowball offers or terms that won't close.

Proven Financing

I use SBA 7(a) financing — the most common and well-understood structure for small business acquisitions. You get paid at closing, not in earnouts over years. The deal is typically structured so the seller receives their proceeds at close with certainty.

A Real Transition

I want you involved for as long as it takes — introducing me to customers, showing me the routes, explaining how you handle the things that never made it into a manual. A 60–90 day transition at whatever pace feels right to you.

Your Legacy Continues

Your business name stays. Your trucks stay the same color. Your employees keep their jobs. The relationships you spent decades building don't get reset. I'm not here to tear any of that down — I'm here to carry it forward. If you want to stay involved as a consultant after close, I welcome that. If you want to hand over the keys and go fishing, I respect that too.

"I know what it means to build a business where people count on you — where the phone rings at 2 AM and you answer it because that's what you do. I'm looking for a business where the owner took that kind of pride in their work. My commitment is that the customers, the employees, and the reputation you built won't change under my ownership. I'll take care of it."

— Mike Thornton · Crystal Lake, Illinois

Get In Touch

You built it. Let's talk about what's next.

Whether you're thinking about retirement, slowing down, or just exploring your options — I'd welcome a confidential, no-pressure conversation. Everything we discuss stays between us.

Email mike@thorntonacquisitions.com Phone 847-812-5590 LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/mthornt