Uncle Sam’s Safari Outfitters has been serving customers in the Fayetteville area since 1982.
When University of Arkansas student Justin Macedo began working there in 2018, he didn’t know that one day he would own the business.
Justin loves the outdoors. He worked summer jobs as a fly fishing guide and boat captain in Alaska and as a backpacking guide in Colorado.
Upon graduation from the university in 2022 with a degree in small business and entrepreneurship, he learned that Uncle Sam’s was for sale.
“I reached out to Scott Lacy at the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center at the University of Arkansas for help in evaluating the business to understand if the purchase was a good idea for me,” said Justin.
Lacy helped him evaluate the business from a financial and market perspective, and they worked together to create financial projections and financing structure.
“Scott helped me understand how to best finance the business and determine how well the business would have to perform in order to pay down debt,” Justin said.
They also worked on how to manage and project his cash and how much Justin would be able to pay himself.
The acquisition of the business was completed with a combination of owner financing and a family loan.
Justin’s purchase of Uncle Sam’s was finalized in 2022. Under his ownership, it will continue as a locally owned Fayetteville institution for outdoor enthusiasts in Northwest Arkansas.
To learn more about the business, visit the Uncle Sam’s website, unclesamsgear.com.