How Bill Bought A 7 Figure Business In His First Entrepreneurial Venture

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You're listening to Freedom fastlink presented by capitalism.com. this is the show about building businesses and investing profits so that you can live life on your terms. And now, your host, the future owner of the Cleveland Indians, Ryan Daniel Moran.

Welcome to Freedom Fast Lane. This is Ryan Daniel Moran. I believe that entrepreneurs are the best shot that we have of making the world a better place and solving pretty much every problem that we have as a society. I think entrepreneurs are the key to all of that. And I think that we are sitting probably on the cusp of what could be either the greatest opportunity or the greatest time of challenge that we've ever had. Because we are liberating the job. We are liberating the nine to five. We are basically making it possible for anyone to be an entrepreneur. But some people don't want to build something from scratch. Some people would rather just see cash flow and go acquire that cash flow. That's kind of the rich dad, poor dad approach. I believe in that approach as well. I buy businesses myself. I also build businesses. I'm converting more over to an investor than I am a business builder. And as a result of teaching the process, I have both created lead flow for myself, deal flow, and we have created well over $100 million businesses through our students. But today you're gonna meet someone who decided to skip the building process and just go out and acquire a multimillion dollar business. His name is Bill Evans. He's one of our backroom members. Our backroom mastermind is where all our the elite 7 figure plus earners all get together on a regular basis. And we work on each other's businesses and share our network and work on investment strategies and work on growth and tax protection and, you know, drink scotch in the back room and talk about taking over. And Bill became an entrepreneur by raising money and purchasing a very successful business. And he tells the entire story in this podcast and he actually opens up about some things, real details about the business that I was really glad that he shared because some people wouldn't be comfortable sharing. How did they raise the money? What were the big levers that you pulled in order to grow the business? And Bill doesn't come from this crazy Internet marketing world or this e commerce world that so many of us come from. He comes from the attorney world and from the corporate world. He had one of those jobs or could be called a job, apparently work for other people. It's supposed to be wild. But he did that for a long time and then he became an entrepreneur by buying a Business. So for some of you, this is going to be the fast lane to being an entrepreneur, going out and acquiring businesses. At some point, probably this year, we're going to do some sort of a training about buying and selling businesses as an investment. We're still kind of kicking that around, but we have sort of an outline and idea of what we want to do. We just don't have the capacity to build that course yet, but we will at some point. So if you want something like that, let us know on Facebook. Look for the post promoting this podcast and just type in the comments that you'd like to see a course about that. If that's something that you want, let us know, shoot us an email or comment on Facebook. All right, so in this episode, you're going to see how Bill looked at a variety of different companies, why he picked this one. You're going to see how he raised the money and how he's grown the business since he took over. You're also going to learn some of the pitfalls that they ran into as he was turning from an attorney to an entrepreneur, and also while he was really getting the team to rally behind the new guy and build out the new vision. So you're going to enjoy this. And for some of you, this is going to be a huge eye opener as you see that you can leapfrog the getting started process and go straight to owning $1 million business by following the same process as Bill Evans.

Today, I'm joined by one of our backroom members, Mr. Bill Evans. Bill, thanks for hanging out with us.

Thanks for having me.

Hey, Bill, you have kind of a different story than a lot of people who get into this entrepreneurial world. Why don't we back up two years when you and I got in contact with one another and tell us what you were doing back then and what got us to this point.

Sure, sure. So we're going back to the dark ages, really. I was working a 9 to 5 job. I was an attorney doing corporate law and commercial real estate.

Definitely I was looking to get into entrepreneurship. I was either going to start a business, and then I kind of got turned on to the idea of buying a business. And I think it was around that time when I found you and you and I connected and you had been.

An attorney for how long that point?

It was about five years.

Okay, so you go to school to become an attorney. Five years later, you're like, yeah, done with this stuff. That's not a small career change going from attorney to entrepreneur.

What prompted that I think I knew all along I wanted to end up owning my own business. And I went to law school with that kind of in the back of my mind that at some point I would own my own business. And I actually think there's quite a few people in the legal profession who think that way, that law is a great background. It teaches you the way things work kind of behind the scenes, and then at some point, it prepares you to own your own business. So that was how I was thinking. I always knew eventually that's where I would end up.

And why about two years ago, did you decide to finally make the switch?

Well, I had messed around with starting a few things, and then I discovered buying and selling online businesses. So I got involved with helping people do that in a legal capacity. And, you know, I got client envy is what they call it. And I knew, yeah, when the right one came along, I knew I was going to pull the trigger.

Tell me more about that. So did you have a client that was buying and selling businesses and you're like, oh, I got to do this?

Yeah, I did. I actually. I looked into the whole thing, and I found a community where people were buying and selling online businesses. And I went to a conference, and from there I started working with people who are doing it. And I had been doing brick and mortar M and A through the law firm, so I was familiar with buying and selling businesses in general. So just along the way, I got to know the brokers, I got to know the prospectuses inside and out, and I just kept seeing these deals come through. So I kind of had a list of what I was looking for. And once the right deal came along, I was ready.

Tell me more about that. What was the criteria as you were looking into this? What was your criteria for buying a business? If you were to go down that route?

It evolved. I would say that I'm glad I didn't pull the trigger on some of the early ones. You know, initially I was actually looking at SaaS a lot because I like that business model. The recurring revenue, you know, the margins can be really high. The more I got into that, though, the more I saw there's a huge amount of work that has to be done on the development side in a lot of SaaS businesses. So, I mean, I'm still excited about that business model as well. But as I kept looking at different businesses, finally some E comm ones came along. And actually, this was, man, two or three years ago, my first Amazon business came across the desk and I was just kind of blown away by the numbers that they were doing in that business and how quickly it had grown. And you know, as I went through it, there were things I liked and didn't like. But for me, the criteria of what was appealing to me is first I wanted a product that I thought was well suited to E commerce. And I think one of the things that's kind of, it may not be intuitive, but a product that's kind of complicated can be well suited because there's a lot of content you can write about that product and a microscope kind of fits into that. I don't know if we have gotten that far yet in what my actual business is now. But you know, any kind of product like that that requires explanation or someone to call in by phone can sometimes be a good one.

Interesting.

And I wanted. Absolutely. And this ties in a lot with what you teach. I wanted my own branded product. I didn't want to just be reselling something else because there were a lot of for sale that did that. So that was another criteria, you know, good gross profit margins.

Well, what did you see in other people's businesses that made your ears perk up? Was it the speed of growth, the profit margins? At what point did you, if your background, you know, was in, in commercial real estate and you saw like M&As and all this stuff like why go Internet route? What caught your attention there?

The growth curve definitely caught my attention. And that was something else that was really important, that the business had to be on an upward trend. A lot of sellers I think make the mistake that they wait until a business starts plateauing and heads downward and then they try to sell it. And man, you can see that in the prospectus when the brokers are trying to hide that you know where the financials will cut off. And it's just for anybody who's thinking about selling, you absolutely want to do it on the uptrend, which is kind of a trade off too because it's like you're leaving a little bit on the table for the buyer. But that's exactly why the buyer is coming to the table is because they want a little more low hanging fruit for themselves as well. So for me, being in the shoes of the buyer, I was looking for that a company that was still growing and I knew that it was going to be a good investment from my end too.

So like, were you cash flow agnostic, meaning you'll look at any business that is doing well and that meets your criteria or were you looking to get into certain industries and verticals I would.

Say I was cash flow agnostic, I mean, or product agnostic, maybe is another way to put it. I just wanted a widget that worked and was selling well. And, you know, that's one of the differences between starting and buying a business, too, is when you're starting, you don't necessarily know how great the demand is going to be for your product. I know there's ways you can test that, but when you contrast that with buying a business, you have a whole history to look at, and you know that the product is popular. Like the original owner and the founder kind of went through that for you to figure that part out, which is another reason why buying can be appealing.

Right. So tell me about microscope.com, when it popped up and when you knew this was the one that you were going to cash the check or pull the lever and make the decision. What stood out to you about that specifically?

So at that time, a couple things. I think one of the most important things is I was ready as a buyer. Now, I had looked at 100, probably 150 prospectuses at this point. Two years had passed. I was on every broker's email list. I was getting every single thing. You know, even if I wasn't that interested, I was just looking, looking at it and analyzing every deal so that I felt ready. Which I think is a big part of why it happened at the time it did. I actually think maybe in the early days I missed a few when I first got into it, that could have been good, but I don't think I was ready as a buyer at that point. But the other thing I really liked is@microscope.com, we sell third party brands, but we also have our own brand. So that was one of the major things that I wanted to. And then also the split is, you know, about half of our business is to consumers, and then the other half is B2B. So I liked that a lot, too. Those. Those were some of the major things that were appealing to me.

What was the acquisition process like for you? Because my understanding was it was a significant acquisition. So you go into this never having run a business before, there's an existing team in place. This is kind of like eating an elephant. So how'd you eat that elephant?

You know, it was. It really was. I had run some small ones before this, so I did get my feet wet with a few smaller acquisitions, but I had bought and sold those before I got into this one. But you're right, you know, it did. It came with employees, which is a little scary for someone when you're, you're thinking this solopreneur kind of thing that you see a lot of on the Internet. But what was really interesting about it is the team actually made things so much easier having that team in place once I did take over. They know their role, they know exactly how to do what they've been doing. And it was a really great way to get acclimated into the world of running this business to have all those people in place. The part I guess that we're really working on now is kind of the Internet marketing and taking that to the next level. So there isn't as much of a team on that side of it. Or at least there wasn't. That's what I've been building lately.

So what type of a team came with the business when you acquired it?

So yeah, it was mostly operations. So it came with a warehouse with, you know, pick and pack shipping clerks, two really great sales guys who just know microscopes inside and out. And then we have, you know, a bookkeeper, financial person as well. So kind of the day to day part, if an order comes in, that order gets shipped out that day and that, that just runs like a well oiled machine.

So you had the really, the operations were dialed in, but the marketing needed work, is that correct?

Yeah, I would say that's a fair assessment.

Okay. So you know, coming into this, once you kind of get your feet on the ground in terms of how operations works, you've got to go right into marketing is my assumption. So assuming that's correct, what was your plan then to say, okay, if I'm going to grow this thing, which I assume you want to do, how am I going to rally the troops to really get behind a marketing plan? How did you tackle that?

Yeah, it's interesting. In the very beginning, probably the first month or two, I just spent some time just learning everything I could about the business. I wasn't really trying to create any new initiatives or anything. I just wanted to learn how the product got fulfilled, how we get it from China. You know, there was just all sorts of parts to the operational side of the business. So it's kind of, it was kind of an education for me in the beginning. Once I got comfortable with that, I started talking to the staff about how we were going to grow and you know, some of the initiatives we're going to be putting in place. And I think it really, the way I tackled it, the way I got clarity on this, and I think you and I had texted Back and forth about this a little bit was I found three areas just to focus on, and I was able to put everything in a bucket. So on the one hand, I want to work really hard to increase our margins, our gross margins, and then the second bucket is to increase our revenue, and then the third is to reduce our expenses and improve our operations. And those might sound like pretty obvious. They probably are. But now anytime, you know, I put something on my to do list, it has to go into one of those buckets, and it helps me understand how that thing is related to achieving that particular goal.

So as an entrepreneur, especially a new one, opportunities and ideas are coming up all the time. So how are you filtering through those and to make sure that they're gonna be the biggest driver behind those goals?

You know, when an idea comes along, it's like shiny object syndrome. I have to look at it and think, all right, now where would this fit? Is this something that's gonna improve our gross margin or increase our revenue or improve our operations?

Yeah.

I mean, if it doesn't fit any of those, then it just, like, goes on my idea list that maybe at some point I'll get to that. If it does fit those, then I put it on the list. I just use Trello, and I move those things every day. I'm looking at that. Those boards, and moving those. Those to do items up and down according to which ones I think are going to have the most impact.

You describe it like it's a fairly seamless transition between legal world and entrepreneurial world. That can't be the case. Like, there had to be some bumps and bruises along the way, even if it was just figuring out how to replace an attorney salary while running your own thing and navigating uncertain waters for the first time. So, bro, out with me for a second. What. What were some of the bumps and bruises along the way?

Wow. Well, you know, I think you're. You're absolutely right about the salary part. You got to figure that out. And one thing I did in my search to kind of address that is I just made sure one of my filters was I just wasn't looking at businesses that wouldn't have resulted in cash flow. You know, that was equal to what I was making after paying off financing and all that stuff. So that was one way I kind of set myself up to just kind of pre select against that. So I, you know, because that could have been a problem. And I can tell you, actually, there were a few businesses that came along that were really cool, but they were Just too small. They were just like a little bit too small. And I'm really glad I didn't fall into the temptation of buying those because I think it would be a. It'd be so much harder if I'm struggling with learning all this new stuff. But at the same time, cash flows are not as good and I could just, you know, that would have made things much more difficult. Yeah, that's like the biggest thing is to make sure that financially still in a good spot. But that's one of the beauties of the whole process is you can kind of just screen against what you need your numbers to be and then just wait for businesses that will fulfill that. But for the rest of it though, I would say lifestyle right now is pretty good. I don't really have any complaints in terms of the transition. You know, in the lawyer days, practicing corporate law at a big firm like that, it's pretty challenging and it's not always the most rewarding profession. And, you know, you work pretty hard day in and day out. And I can't say I missed that too much compared to what I'm doing now. You know, not that I'm not working hard now, but it's my own thing that I own.

Fair enough. You mentioned financing a minute or two ago. That's something that I have really adjusted my viewpoint on in the last few years. I used to be very, very debt averse and now I am much more tolerant of that. So when you say financing, what does that mean to you? And tell me a little bit about the approach you took in financing the business.

Well, I think just as at the outset, you know, with today's interest rates, I think you have to be looking at financing capacity. It's just so attractive. Well, for me, there was a couple pieces, you know, without getting too detailed into the specifics, we had in my deal there was some portion of seller financing, and then I also had private financing as well. And we also had, you know, an earn out component to our deal as well. So those were kind of three pieces that make up the purchase price. And I think I didn't personally take advantage of this, but I also know that SBA financing is readily available today for these kinds of deals. So I think, you know, your financing component can take any form of those types.

And you mentioned, you mentioned a combination of private earn out and seller financing. Those are like three fantastic sources. Did you just get lucky based on who you knew and how you negotiated? Is negotiating your superpower? Was this person? Was this person looking to carry Back some of the notes. What was that like?

Yeah, I think, you know, that is one area where maybe the legal background helps a little bit is in the negotiation. And seeing all those deals, I started to get a feel for what was market and what I could reasonably expect. And I, I knew that most deals were going through with some amount of seller financing. Especially when you get over a certain deal size, you would see that now an earn out is a little tougher to make happen. And it also really complicates the deal. You know, it can be appealing when the buyer and seller can't quite meet on price because that's where an earn out can bridge that gap. So I think if you present those right, you seller financing, definitely. I think almost every deal you can get seller financing.

That's, that's amazing to me because I perceive that most sellers just want their paycheck and they want to be done. But I guess that might necessarily be the case because that person's going to eventually turn around and invest it for passive cash flow. So if you can be the source of that passive cash flow, why not? Yeah, I'd be curious what that looked like in terms of negotiation because if you could just buy businesses with seller financing, that would be very, very attractive for most entrepreneurs. So what can you divulge that process?

Well, yeah, and just to clarify, you know, I'm not. This isn't like one of those late night infomercial real estate deals where you buy the entire thing with no money down, you know, 95% seller financing? I'm not saying that, but you know, I think 15 to 30% seller financing is fairly standard. And I think the way you negotiate that. Well, number one, it is standard. So you can rest assured that almost every other offer is coming in with some seller financing component to it. And also what you were just alluding to the tax benefits. They're gonna have to park that money anyways. And why not keep it in this type of instrument where they can just get. It's basically like an annuity, you know, they're getting a percentage of that. Now an earnout's a much tougher sell because that is contingent. Like they may not get that money ever, you know, with an earn out. So that, that's harder to get those.

Yeah, and you're kind of tweaking my mind a little bit because it was actually Jay Massey, our friend of the show and speaker at Freedom Fast Lane, encouraged me once to think about businesses as, as deal making rather than purchases. When we look at, you know, if you're going to buy a business, that person doesn't just want to check. They want something on the other end of that, which is usually cash flow. So why not just give them the cash flow and you the big check, which I had never thought of before. You're the first person that I've hear do that. And it's. Even if it was just a percentage of the company. That's fairly interesting. The rest of the financing came from private sources. You said was that it just you raised money yourself and came up with either an equity deal or a debt deal with those individuals.

Yeah, that's essentially it. It was a debt deal. That was pretty much how we did it. Now, at the same time, I was all lined up and ready to start looking at SBA financing if needed. I just decided not to go that route. Like the deal was approved for it. And, you know, the only reason that I didn't do it is just because the length of time it can take to get an SBA loan and it can add some complication to it, but it's absolutely an option these days.

So this all is irrelevant if the business doesn't grow and. Or perform. So your first sort of business was to come in and grow and to dial in the marketing. So it can also be kind of a tweak on your mind if you're not growing and paying that debt and then paying yourself. So how has the experience been for you in learning how to grow a business and applying marketing strategies that you're learning along the way? And how has it affected your happiness positively or negatively? Are you more stressed or less stressed? Just tell me about that process. Like first hundred days coming into the business and, and growing it.

Yeah. Okay, first hundred days. Probably the biggest thing was just that after a month or two, the realization that this business is what it was presented to be, there was nothing was hidden. And it really did the numbers they were claiming it did in the revenue and all that, because, you know, you can review everything. You can review tax statements, which we did, you know, financials, but you never. You can't be 100% sure, you know, until that money is coming to you and you're responsible for the expense.

Yeah.

So like, that was a good feeling that it was what it was represented to be. Now after I get past that, now we start looking at how are we going to grow this, you know, and my happiness and stress levels with that is. It's fun. I mean, it's stressful, but it's like a different kind of stress. It's exciting. You know, I've been going to these conferences, I've seen you at a few of these things and it's just this constant. I don't even know the right word for it, but you're just like your mind is just getting overwhelmed with all these ideas and strategies of stuff you can do. And I think that's what's so exciting about an online business is there are just. It's like there's an infinite number of things you could be doing to grow or improve your business. Right. And the problem is how do you implement all of it?

Yeah. So how do you implement all of it besides putting it into strategic buckets? How do you navigate that?

So right now my basic strategy is hiring freelancers and teams. It depends on what the task is. But for example, we just designed a new package for one of our products. So I go on 99designs and work with a bunch of the artists there and end up with a package after a couple weeks versus obviously I'm not going to try to design a package myself with Canva or anything like that. But you know, I try to outsource the really technical stuff. I've also got a really great technical developer who works on the site it runs on Magento. So, you know, there's those skills that require like serious technical knowledge. So I outsource those and then I try to put myself in a position to kind of manage and oversee everything while outsourcing kind of the more artistic and technical requirements.

How did the team take to having a new leader when you came in?

Well, that's a good question. And I would say this. First of all, I really lucked out with the team and I'm not saying that to Browne knows and they're probably not even going to listen to this.

They're not like Internet entrepreneurs at all. But man, I really did get lucky. They're great and they know their jobs well. As far as how they reacted to me, I think they were curious to see what was going to go on. The prior owner had owned it for quite a while. He had actually bought it 10 years ago. So he took it through a 10 year stretch and did pretty well with it. But I think they were, you know, what they've said to me is that they think it was time for some new blood and someone to come in and get excited about it again and really try to take it to the next level. So yeah, I think the team, the team's pretty happy with the transition.

It had to be surprising for them to hear that there was a new sheriff coming into town. Did you have any pushback? Did you have any people say, I want my share, like, people, people is just a different problem or a different opportunity than just looking at financials. So what happened with the personality behind the business, if anything?

Yeah, so I would say 90%. It was good. Like, the key sales guys are happy and excited. They're still, like, plugging away, and I involve them in a lot of our strategic decisions. So that's all great. However, I would say there was one instance with one employee who I think saw it maybe as an opportunity right at the transition to try to make some demands in terms of pay increases and things like that. So, you know, it was a pretty big test, I would say, as a new owner right in the beginning to have that happen. And this. This person was in a role that you probably could consider critical. And I guess I was just put to the test at that point, like, what was I going to do? Either succumb to the demands or let them go and figure out what we would. Would do. And I ended up letting them go. And, you know, we had to work pretty hard, me and the remaining team members, to figure out how to fill that gap. But we've done that, and I think the business is stronger for it now.

That's a bold move, letting that person go. What the team react to there, where first order of business, Big boss Billy comes in and lets somebody go. That had to be a bit of a shocker.

It was to some of the team, but I also, some of the more senior salespeople I kind of had taken in as counsel on that and discussed it with them, and they thought it was the right move as well.

That's interesting.

Yeah.

So you're sitting in a little bit of a unique position where you were an entrepreneur a couple years ago, you wanted to make that pivot, and you make the decision, you go through bumps and bruises, but you've come out on the other side. Looking back on it, would you do anything differently or really what I say, how do you feel about the decision to make such a drastic change in your life? Because there's people listening to you say, yeah, I'm Bill two years ago. So on the other side of it, what do you say? Looking back now?

Yeah, the thing I would say the only regret I have is I wish I did it sooner. I really do. It's been great. It's been great for our family life, everything. We've been able to travel a little bit more because I can work From a computer, just laptop, anywhere. And it's just fun and exciting. I feel like being alive today with these entrepreneurial opportunities that are occurring online and just kind of anything related to digital business, it's just so exciting and I'm just really grateful and happy to be able to be a part of that.

And not just the online opportunities, but also the funding that's available. You couldn't get funding for an Internet business just a couple of years ago. You can do that now and you've proven that. And the other thing is the upside. You don't have that type of upside in real estate or in really any other investment but your own business. And dare I ask you, how big do you think microscope.com can get in comparison to the level it was when you acquired it?

Well, my goal conservatively is I want to three times it in a short period of time. I don't know if it could get bigger than that. Maybe depends on how big our vision is, but versus a brick and mortar business. Because I had considered that as well and there were some for sale in my town. But I just don't think it was as exciting to me just because I don't know how much I would grow. For example, you know, an old hundred year, 100 year old furniture company, right, you might be able to grow that, but you're not going to 10x that business. I don't think maybe you are. But an online business, it's realistic to do things like that.

Yeah, 100%. And what do you think are the pivotal strategies or relationships or decisions you've made that will make that possible and inevitable? That 3xing or 10xing of the business?

Yeah, definitely. Getting involved in the networking and getting to know other people who are doing the same thing. That's. That is now that's one of the challenges I've had. I live in a small town and there's literally zero people that do what I do. They even make any kind of living off of the Internet. So you don't have a peer group to discuss ideas with. So you got to find that online. And there's a lot of of groups like that. And you can go to meetings, conferences like Freedom Fast Lane Live. Obviously I met a lot of great people there and I've been going to more events like that. Getting to know people. It's both. You benefit from the networking where the people can help you out if you have a problem. But the other thing is you get to see other people doing it and then it doesn't become Such an outrageous idea that you might 10x a business because you're talking to someone who just did it. You know, those stories are not totally uncommon in those circles.

Yeah, there's like a normalization that happens because you just normalize the idea of, yeah, this person's tripling their business. So I guess it's possible for me to do exactly the same thing.

Yeah, exactly.

Alright, so what, what advice would you give to somebody who is, Bill, two years ago, who's listening to you talk right now on the other side and you're like, I just want to get there. What would you tell them now? Or what would you tell yourself two to five years ago?

I think you can either go the route of starting something. I think there's a lot of good frameworks for that now. Because when I was starting, it wasn't entirely clear how you would do that. I know there were some courses floating around, but it wasn't like they were proven yet. You didn't know for sure. But I think now there are routes if you want to start your own thing. But if you want to buy a business and kind of just take the shortcut, you can start looking at all the broker websites and requesting prospectuses. I think that's where it starts. That's how you start to look. Learn all the different business models that are available, you know, the going prices and just start talking to those brokers. That's what I did. That's what I would recommend.

Well, Bill, I'm so excited to see what you do moving forward. You've been at this, what, a year now? When did you close on it?

We closed in July, so seven months.

Yeah. So you are still fresh in your career and the business has grown, correct? Or at least stayed stable.

Yeah, we're growing.

Yeah. So you have such a bright future ahead for this business and all the other businesses that you're a part of. I'm so proud to be a part of this journey and I'm so excited for where you're going next. So, Bill, thanks for hanging out with us. Where can people follow you? Or where can they track the business? Or is there any place where they could follow your progress or see what's going on? Or is it just the business? Microscope.com.

No, if people are interested in the buying part. It's kind of funny. When I was looking, I set up a website just so I would have all the links in one place that I could go to. I've got all the brokers links up there. I've got resources up there, and I was kind of just using it as a convenient way to be able to hop around on all those websites. But, yeah, I set that up. It's digital business investor.

And it's nothing pretty, but it's useful, though, when you get on there, you can always just go back to it. And I've got all the brokers listed and I've ranked them all so you know which ones are reputable, the marketplaces. And I just add. I'm adding stuff to it. It's just kind of a resource for anybody looking to buy a business.

Cool. Yeah. Well, we'll definitely link to that in the. In the show notes of today's episode. You can get that@freedomfastlane.com hey, Bill, thanks for hanging out with us, man. Congratulations on what you're doing. We're so excited to track your progress moving forward.

All right, man. Thanks. Ryan.

If this process sounds interesting to you, if you know that there are businesses that are profitable that people don't want anymore, that people are trying to sell and you want access to deal flow or you want to raise the money to be able to do that, you belong in the tribe. The tribe is where we take investors. We take successful business owners, brand builders, audience leaders, and we put them all together to create new opportunities and new experiences. So people buy each other's businesses, they invest together. I even invest in our students. That is one of the primary ways that I invest my profits. I invest them into our students because I believe in this model. I believe in what we are doing. And the tribe is kind of our online shark tank where people bring product ideas and they bring businesses that are doing well or starting out. They partner with other people either in mastermind groups or actual partnerships. Like, they pool their money together and they invest with one another and we help grow them because our retail partners are inside of the tribe and we have marketers inside of the tribe who create funnels and know about building audiences and are using those strategies to promote their businesses, especially their physical products businesses. We also get together and do things like our tribe summit where we play kickball and sit around campfires and mastermind with one another. And our best people give presentations on how they're building multimillion dollar businesses. That's what we do inside of the tribe. It is application only because we keep the level of conversation really high. If you're just starting out, you should go through one of our boot camps to get started. But if you're at the level where you are ready to really go big on this you can go over to freedomfastlane.com tribe to fill out an application. We'll look at it and if you're a fit, we'll bring you into the tribe. Or we, if you're not ready yet, we might kick you back to one of our boot camps so you can get to the level where you need to be so that you can come back into the tribe. So Bill bought one of these million dollar businesses that someone else had built and he said, I'm, you know, I run a million dollar business now because I bought it. And he went and joined our highest level mastermind, which if you run a seven figure business or you have a net worth of at least $1 million, you can apply for that. It's called our backroom Mastermind. Just shoot us a message or go to freedomfastlane.com for a link for the back room. Hey, I hope you enjoyed today's episode. For some of you, this is a big light bulb moment, seeing that you can leapfrog the process and just go and buy a business. If you want more on this kind of stuff, two things. One, you should go listen to the podcast episode with Shaquille Prasla. He does this on more of a smaller scale than what Bill did and it's gonna show you how even if you're just starting out, you can start buying cash flow. But also let us know because we've thought about doing a product all about this specifically and if that's of interest to you, we want to know. So shoot us a message or comment on Facebook and let us know that. All right. I hope you enjoyed today's episode. Post this on Facebook and tag someone that you know. Tag someone who you know who's looking to be an entrepreneur or was looking to invest their profits. This might be the most profitable hour of their time that they spend this year. So post this on Facebook. Let us know your thoughts about this. As always, we appreciate your support and we'll see on the next episode.