Hey Biz-Buyers,

Welcome to this week’s Boring Business Brief, where we share some of the best insights, tips, and stories from inside our private biz-buying community.

And by the way, if you thought this was just a place for flexing financial muscles, you’d be wrong...

That guy right there — that’s one of our program facilitators, Clint.

He’s a business broker pro. Week in, week out, he and the rest of the Contrarian Crew lift our members up (not literally).

But they do know buying a biz is a heavy lift, requiring grit, balance, and often, a coach or spotter (preferably one who knows the space cold).

So, ready to get a pump in? On to this week’s good stuff…

Today, in 5 minutes or less:

✔️ Buyer tip: How to make the most of a local Rotary Club

✔️ In the weeds: HEAVY-DUTY lessons (for equipment-heavy biz’s)

✔️ Grab bag: Members are recommending these resources...

✔️ 3 links from the week in biz-buying

Buyer tip: How to make the most of a local Rotary Club

Lots of us have heard of ‘em, but how many actually know what Rotary Clubs… do? And no, they’re not a society of roundabout fanatics.

Rotary is a global organization of local business and professional leaders pursuing humanitarian causes.

… And one Contrarian just shed a whole lotta light on their experience in one.

In sum, joining their local club enabled this member to do good for their community while leveraging a strong local business network.

Here’s what they’ve accomplished so far:

• Found a great lawyer during a cleanup event for a homeless youth center. “Giving back your time AND getting to build your deal team at once; talk about a good feeling!”
  
  
• Found an accountant through the lawyer: That new attorney put our member in touch with a new, helpful accountant.
  
  
• Built a strong local network: Our member has “met many other business owners, many of which are retired, some that run or manage suppliers, logistics, alarm, or other related industries that can help provide discounts and referrals for any of my local business efforts.”

In their own words, here are the BIGGEST lessons this member has learned so far…

“The key in making these connections time and again: Building relationships & being memorable. 🧠

There are a ton of people in these clubs, so to stand out, I:

• Presented myself and my brand new businesses in member highlights
• Ran a social networking event at a local brewery
• Showed up at community service events

So now, when I send out an email campaign most of the people go, ‘I know that guy, what a great idea.’

... The point is — so many parts of this process and journey will be made easier when you understand how to build relationships effectively.

Knowing how to filter out who to spend the majority of your time around, knowing when to ask questions and when to shut up, and being able to share your passion in a way that people just cannot get you out of their heads; it pays off.

You have to keep at it and remember these are long-term goals and long-term relationships. 🫶

Don’t underestimate the power of the people you meet. 🌺”

In the weeds: HEAVY-DUTY lessons (for equipment-heavy biz’s)

Recently, this topic has surfaced multiple times.

In one instance, Codie raised the subject by highlighting a semi-viral tweet (on SMB Twitter, at least) from this biz operator Nolan…

Nolan was recapping all the problems he faced during his first 10 days with a new fleet of trucks.

What’d he learn? 4 things:

1. “Expect the assets to have problems. It is human nature for the previous owner to not act in the long-term interest of the assets when they won't own them long term...Don’t be frustrated. Just understand it.”
   
   
2. “Price it in.”
   
   
3. “Make sure to have holdbacks in place with clearly defined ways to define the problems.”
   
   
4. “go with the flow :)”

Funny enough, just a day earlier, a Contrarian Community member had written in detail about their experience (and issues) looking into an equipment rental business:

We won’t get into the technical and financial details here — but we’ll highlight a few of the takeaways…

Buyer advice: Consider this when looking into equipment-heavy businesses...

1. Know the average CAPEX: ”If looking at an equipment-heavy business, it’s crucial to understand free cash flow and what kind of expenditure you’ll need to spend to keep the business running (and more crucially, how much will you need to grow it?).”

2. Have a rough idea of how you could grow the business (revenue/profit/both): ”In all the other businesses I looked at, I already had a good idea of how I could grow the business after acquisition… From my biz consulting background, I guessed it would be a year before I’d have that understanding here and that made me nervous.”

3. Go deep on industries you’re interested in: ”I’ve looked at businesses in multiple industries, and each time I learn whether it’s an industry I want to keep pursuing or should eliminate from my search. Speaking to owners, brokers, visiting locations, etc teaches you so much more than you’d get from just researching the industry.”

4. Be willing to walk away: ”Yes, I’d invested a significant amount of time in this business. Yes, I could do the work. Yes, I had private capital providers excited to back me on this deal. Yes, I have been actively searching for an acquisition for a year. Does that mean I should go after a business I knew deep down wasn’t right for me? No.”

Grab bag: Members are recommending these resources...

For anyone in need of books for process and efficiency improvement, take your pick:

• Traction
• E-Myth
• The Phoenix Project
• The Goal
• The Unicorn Project

For anyone in need of tools for their deal-sourcing engine, consider giving these a whirl:

• Kumo: An internet scraper for finding deals.
• ProbablyAGoodDeal.com: Offers early notifications for outstanding businesses for sale across the USA.
• Postalytics: Ideal for direct mail automation.

3 links from the week in biz-buying:

🧦 A frank Reddit thread titled: ”Why shouldn’t I own a laundromat?”

📊 This report from QuickBooks is PACKED with juicy entrepreneurship data...

🧀 Anyone down to acquire Chuck E. Cheese? Sources say it could sell for $1B+

We’ll leave you with this…

Like free stuff? You might as well read the next sentence...

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