Biz Buyers,

Codie’s new book isn’t just your clear-cut roadmap to ownership — it’s a call to arms to take back Main Street. Don’t be late to another generation-defining opportunity:

And if you’re new here, each week we share some of the best tips, tools, and ideas from inside our small business acquisitions community. Let’s get right down to business.

“Do not wait until all the conditions are perfect for you to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.”

- Alan Cohen

How to Create Deals Out of Thin Air

1 Simple Way to Align the Universe

If you’re waiting for the perfect deal, the perfect time, or the perfect market — you’ll be waiting forever. Stop waiting for the universe to gift-wrap you the perfect anything, especially when it comes to Main Street. 

Enter the FROG Method (not the ones you dissected in high school bio). FROG is your not-so-secret weapon for opening previously non-existent doors by turning casual conversations with owners into serious leads.

It’s how you go from “How’s the family?” to “Let’s talk about you selling your business” without sounding like a door-to-door salesman hawking a time-share. Think of it as a way to make small talk... strategic.

Here’s how it works:

• Family — Start with the softballs. Ask about their spouse, kids, grandkids, grand-dogs... People love talking about their tribe.
  
  
• Recreation — What do they do for fun? Or is their "free time" a distant memory?
  
  
• Occupation — Are they still enjoying what they do or counting down the days until they can hit eject?
  
  
• Goals — Where do they see themselves in 5 years?

One of our members recently used FROG to strike up a convo with an auto shop owner. Guess what? Turns out the guy’s interested in selling, and now they’re deep in discussions. Another member? Casually FROG’d one of his W-2 vendors, and after a 10-minute conversation, they went from “never thought about selling” to “maybe we should talk.”

Moral of the story? Deals aren’t waiting for you, but they’re out there. Ask the right questions, and suddenly, the conditions you’ve been waiting for begin to appear.

FROG might get you in the door — but you need to learn how to walk away with the keys, so pre-order Main Street Millionaire here.

The Magic of the Profit Payback

"This Can’t Be Real" (Oh, But It Is…)

No matter what level of the game you’re playing, there’s a saying in investing that never seems to go out of style. It’s the same reason PE firms use banks to finance buyouts, or why people take out mortgages to buy homes.

It’s also why smart Main Street investors sometimes use the Profit Payback Method, commonly known as seller or creative financing.

Profit Paybacks are all about using a business’s own profits to fund its purchase. Our Contrarian Community members have closed deals using this exact strategy…

How it works: You use the business’s cash to pay back the seller over time. Kinda like buying a rental property and using the profits to pay down the mortgage. Profit Paybacks are often structured to finance a part of a deal, but in rare cases can cover up to 100% of an acquisition.

Oh, and don’t think it’s all cruise control. The hard work, payback requirements, and very real risks are all yours.

The big advantage? You could pay less upfront and out of pocket. As a result, if you scale the business, you might eventually be able to sell it for much more than you spent on it.

But wait a damn minute. Why would a seller do this?

Simple. Seller financing isn’t just a win for the buyer — it can be good for the seller too. Seller financing often comes with faster closing processes, cheaper closing costs, attracts more buyers for a higher overall price, and allows the seller to spread payments over time, which can reduce their tax burden.

It’s not an easy button — there’s still just as much work to be done and many risks to manage — but if you’re up for the challenge (and can find a seller open to it), Profit Paybacks can be one hell of a powerful strategy.

Before you leave, More Cool Stuff:

LISTEN: Codie's conversation with millionaire business owner Jesse Itzler on the power of confidence.

WATCH: You should be proud of being an American this week. Here's why...

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