# How She Went From a Tech Layoff to a $1M+ Business

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-smb-deal-hunter-podcast-7541224/how-she-went-from-a-tech-layoff-to-a-1m-business
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-smb-deal-hunter-podcast-7541224/how-she-went-from-a-tech-layoff-to-a-1m-business.md
Podcast: [The SMB Deal Hunter Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-smb-deal-hunter-podcast-7541224)
Published: 2026-06-01T20:48:03+00:00
Episode link: https://share.transistor.fm/s/31b7baf4
Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/31b7baf4/790c94ac.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-smb-deal-hunter-podcast-7541224/episodes/how-she-went-from-a-tech-layoff-to-a-1m-business
Duration seconds: 4216

## Resource

Want help buying a business? https://smbdealhunter.link/pro-yt In this episode, we catch up with Hillary one year after her acquisition of a $1M+ children's book publisher. The last time we sat down with her, she had just closed. Eighteen months later, almost everything has changed. If you want to see our first video with Hillary, watch it here: https://youtu.be/Sf6vSOzQOWc ◼️ The same-day deadline that forced her to submit her offer by close of business (and how she beat 12 other LOIs to win) ◼️ The diligence period that nearly killed the deal multiple times (and how our team kept it alive all the way to close) ◼️ The surprise identical twins six months after close (and why her husband Scott walked away from his corporate job to join her full-time) ◼️ The Amazon diversification she was warned would be brutal (now Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Walmart, and Target make up 30% of the business) ◼️ The 18-month playbook that took top-line revenue to nearly double what it was at acquisition Subscribe to the SMB Deal Hunter newsletter (200,000+ subscribers): https://join.smbdealhunter.xyz/ Follow Helen: Twitter: https://x.com/HelenGuo_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-guo-06674523/

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## Transcript

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