Great summary. While most of the elements in the prescription are valid, some roll easier off the tongue than to do in practice. If you are taking your FIRST venture into small business ownership (which BTW is a whole lot different from owning a larger corporation) you should focus on buying one that is already profitable. While they won't earn you as much as a successful turnaround, the fact is that most of us are not turnaround experts. Buy one that has already proven itself in the market and can run itself while you learn the ropes before trying to tangle them all up. If you don't screw it up, it will retain its value and once you get the hang of it you can expand it, or sell it profitably to buy something else.
Yes! Buying a business, running a business, growing a business, and turning around a business are all different skills. Best to only try to learn one new skill at a time!
Nice I’ve been exploring this as part of my strategy as well, trying to decide whether to prioritize buying or building first then layering on the other to supplement / diversify. You know Main Street summit and permanent equity? An interesting space and community for this. Also lots of entrepreneurship by acquisition folks intersecting with boring businesses.
Great summary. While most of the elements in the prescription are valid, some roll easier off the tongue than to do in practice. If you are taking your FIRST venture into small business ownership (which BTW is a whole lot different from owning a larger corporation) you should focus on buying one that is already profitable. While they won't earn you as much as a successful turnaround, the fact is that most of us are not turnaround experts. Buy one that has already proven itself in the market and can run itself while you learn the ropes before trying to tangle them all up. If you don't screw it up, it will retain its value and once you get the hang of it you can expand it, or sell it profitably to buy something else.
Yes! Buying a business, running a business, growing a business, and turning around a business are all different skills. Best to only try to learn one new skill at a time!
Nice I’ve been exploring this as part of my strategy as well, trying to decide whether to prioritize buying or building first then layering on the other to supplement / diversify. You know Main Street summit and permanent equity? An interesting space and community for this. Also lots of entrepreneurship by acquisition folks intersecting with boring businesses.
This playbook definitely requires community, so glad to know your recommendations and let's keep the dialogue going!