Josh Boesch’s mantra throughout his life has been to leave everything in a better place than when he found it. Always looking to make as big of an impact as he possibly can, Boesch started Boesch Enterprises, a private equity group aiming to acquire businesses.
“For now, my focus is on building out a path for growth,” he said. “And really kind of building out that back office for the organization while I continue to look for the next acquisition.”
Boesch describes himself as a visionary, and Boesch Enterprises has allowed him to continue to grow the scope of companies that he acquires.
Boesch grew up in the small town of Humphrey, Nebraska. His dad owned an advertising and design firm in Columbus, and his mom owned an antique shop. He describes his own parents’ endeavors as giving him an “entrepreneurial itch.”
Finding Passion
After graduating from Creighton University in 2004 with a double major in accounting and managerial information systems, Boesch began working as a CPA and auditor. However, he didn’t feel passionate about it, which led him to recruiting.
“I was making an impact on my clients by helping them find the absolute best fit for the specific job,” he said. “So, helping the general business community, but then, on the candidate side of things, I was impacting people’s lives by just helping them find a smile on their face every day when they went into work.”
Eventually, Boesch decided he wanted to build his own search firm, which he did under the Lutz brand. However, he still wanted to do more, so Boesch Enterprises was born.
“I felt like I could do more having complete ownership and control over any company that I owned. So, I started looking at businesses for sale,” he said.
Although he could have started from scratch, Boesch wanted to look for a pre-existing company that he could impact and add value to. During his search, he found BJ Shower Door Co., which became the first of several acquisitions to come.
Boesch recently acquired GeoSupport Systems from Thrasher, Inc. Each new acquisition provides new challenges that Boesch has learned to overcome as companies adapt to changes.
“Doing the best that we can to help people through those changes has been critical, and it has been a constant issue,” he said. “You know, I’ll never claim to be perfect at it, but we’ve done a good job of at least keeping our employees happy while they’re impacted by new changes and new challenges.”
Despite the challenges that arise from growing the company, Boesch said what has helped him in this industry is not being afraid to fail.
“That’s the sign of a true entrepreneur, you have to be good at assessing risks and understanding the benefits that can come with those risks,” he said.
Employees First
When looking for new companies to acquire, Boesch focuses on the reputation of the company and its employees.
“At the end of the day, when I purchase a company, really what I am acquiring is that employee base, that team, and so it’s critical to keep that team together and cohesive, understand the strengths and weaknesses and work through those,” he said.
Going forward, Boesch hopes to improve the lives of the employees, as well as create new jobs and seek out opportunities to assist companies going through transitional periods.
