In our last post, we took a deep dive into the reasons why purchasing a business could be a better investment opportunity than building one from the ground up: Less risk involved, quicker access to usable income, processes, and systems are already in place, and most importantly - the supply of owners wanting to sell is right here, right now. Timing is everything.

And while it's important to strike while the iron is hot, you first need to determine what type of business you want to buy. Jumping in without all the facts will only leave you burnt. From the beginning, clarifying what you do - or don't want - in the business you purchase will keep you from making rash decisions in the future. 

If you've ever participated in online dating, you have probably been asked to set your preferences. Age. Location. Highest education level. Religion. Kids or no kids. (In a way, you're kind of designing your ideal partner.) Using this information, the algorithm will not show you profiles that...

Do you dream of being a business owner? You're reading this, so it's probably safe to assume the answer is yes. What does that look like to you?

When people dream about being a business owner, they often envision starting one from the ground up. They formulate a business model, create a plan, put in a lot of legwork and research, not to mention blood, sweat, tears, and most of all…money. But there's no guarantee of success. In fact, 20% of small businesses will fail in their very first year. (Most people like to forget about that part.) It can be a gamble and quite a bit of work.

What you might not realize is that there are ways to become a small business owner without starting from scratch. It is possible to purchase already-established businesses using creative financing solutions that require very little to no money upfront and can start generating income for you almost immediately.

It sounds too good to be true, right? If it's that simple and lucrative, then why...

My how times have changed.

While our ancestors spent their short lives in the painstaking pursuit of foraging and hunting for food to eat (and avoiding being seen as food themselves), the instant-gratification obsessed urban dwellers of the 21st century (a.k.a. lazy bastards) are making 15-minute delivery services for groceries and household goods the expectation. 

Piggybacking off the success (?) of Domino’s promise, “if it’s late, it’s free!” companies are scrambling to one-up themselves and offer their eager consumers what they want in as little time as possible.

(Confession: We at Team SAG were so amused at the thought we ordered sparkling water and accompaniments for our Liquid Lunches. Fridge No More made it on time with 90 seconds to spare, Darn!) 

But obviously, this isn’t going to work everywhere.

You need population density to minimize costs, and right now, only four out of five metropolis centers in America have the...

My Version of The Small Business Owner in America as Frogger

Frogger is our classic 80’s videogame hero, who somehow always gets himself in the middle of a great adventure, is both courageous and adventurous (while being a bit eccentric).

The object of the game is to direct frogs to their homes one by one by crossing a busy road and navigating a river full of hazards. 

The frog starts at the bottom of the screen (entrepreneurial spark!), which contains a horizontal road occupied by cars (competitors), trucks (market conditions), and bulldozers (bureaucracy) speeding along it. The player-entrepreneur must guide the frog-business between opposing lanes of traffic to avoid becoming roadkill (early startup failures), which results in a loss of a life (bankruptcy). After the road, there is a median strip separating the two major parts of the screen. This is that false sense of security when an entrepreneur thinks the business has hit its stride.  ...

The Metaverse Has Been Around for Years, Cyclists Just Didn’t Know It!

Full disclaimer: I’m a cyclist and I didn’t see it coming either. Cycling may take varying forms; from the weekend warrior to the daily commuter, we all envision that climb up The Alpe d’Huez or crossing the finish line of The Tour de France down the Champs Elysée. The reality is…most of us don’t make the time to go on that exotic excursion or have the fitness levels to reach professional stardom. So, we dream.

Enter stage left, years ago sporting Apps such as Zwift, Strava and numerous others afforded the sportsman in all of us to “experience” riding in the South of France or trekking across the plains of New Zealand.

If you want to learn about the Metaverse download a sampling of one of these Apps. The only difference is these Apps did not see the potential. Sure, they made some nice money with monthly...

The classic adage in motorsports was and remains, "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday."

This goes beyond brand recognition and appeal to the masses. Intensity actually improves your business' product. This is our take on how competing at a high level raises the bar throughout every facet within an organization.

The slim line between victory and vitriol of defeat is often measured in hundredths of a second – regardless of the field of endeavor. That competitive advantage often takes the form of a technological edge.

Just a few decades ago, a 4-minute mile was unthinkable. In just a few weeks we will witness hundreds of athletes pushing the limits of physics during the Beijing 2022 Olympics. While partly due to better training and nutrition, credit must also be given to better shoe design and construction. Sneaker manufacturers spend great resources to attain that 'edge' which then translates to sales once their products enter the mainstream. Entering that competitive arena requires...

Fabrics are Finding Creative Alternatives for Fashion as well as Functional Uses.

We are creatures of habit. Whether its our morning coffee or the clothes we wear, us humans just revert to that which is easiest and most convenient. It’s the way the Big Guy programmed us so we can save all that important intellectual energy for the critical stuff (business decisions, choice of spouse, LLC vs S Corp).

While habits create efficiency and reliability it must not preempt an open mind to creative processes.

As an instance, let’s look at our choice of footwear, belts, wallets, and handbags. For millennia we have peeled the skin off the carcasses of dead animals, treated them with highly toxic chemicals so we did not get repulsed by the smells, stained them with dyes and had cobblers and smiths mold them to our desired use. Imagery aside, this is not a quaint nor efficient process. This is the technology we had at the time, so we went with it. Why...

How Entry Into Competitive Environs Increases Sales

The classic adage in motorsports was and remains, “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday”.

This goes beyond brand recognition and appeal to the masses. Intensity actually improves your business' product. This is our take on how competing at a high level raises the bar throughout every facet within an organization.

The slim line between victory and vitriol of defeat is often measured in hundredths of a second – regardless of the field of endeavor. That competitive advantage often takes the form of a technological edge.

Just a few decades ago, a 4-minute mile was unthinkable. In just a few days we will witness a dozen athletes achieve it during the Tokyo Olympics. While partly due to better training and nutrition, credit must also be given to better shoe design and construction. Sneaker manufacturers spend great resources to attain that ‘edge’ which then translates to sales once their...

Pivot: /ˈpivət/ /ˈpɪvət/ to turn or rotate like a hinge or a successful business owner.

During a recent episode of our Podcast, The Liquid Lunch Project, my partner Matthew Meehan and I addressed the need for a business to be agile and its ability to effectively Pivot when the needs arise.

This is the tale of one of the greatest Pivots of all time.

In 1967, five students from Charterhouse, a boarding school in Surrey, England formed a rock band that would go on to transform the style of rock. Imagine a graduating class including Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, and Steve Hackett! Incorporating innovative themes and nontraditional instruments, Genesis went on to becoming one of the most sold and highly decorated bands of all time.

From 1970 to 1975, Collins played drums and percussion for the Band. 

In August 1975, following The Lamb Dies Down on Broadway tour, Gabriel left Genesis. The band placed an advert for a replacement...

Consultants as Catalytic Converters

There is often confusion as to the role of a consulting firm within the parameters of a small business. Pop culture is replete with tales of the swashbuckling, chart carrying MBA graduate seeking to revolutionize the world via the use of pie charts and tedious board meetings. In realty, a strategic partner can take the American small business to the next level. Albeit with the full cooperation of ownership.

Analogies are often the most effective manner to convey a point. Allow me to take you back to high school physics class. Remember our friend, the alloy? An alloy is a substance created from the combining of two or more elements. The classic 1+1=3. The mechanical properties of alloys will often be quite different from those of its individual constituents. You see where I am going here… American small business, often family-owned, with a proud type- A founder resistant to any change may be wary of such transformative...