Start the petition now to bring @HesWayneD home! bringmethenews.com/minnesota…

I have no reason to believe Bruley is being anything but truthful. And listening to him describe how people are being treated, in an area I know quite well, should anger every damn person in this country, regardless of your political allegiance.

It’s no surprise that everybody hates their home warranty provider. As a contractor - we refuse to work for them. Why? Their singular objective is to collect homeowner premiums, and pay out as little as possible in claims. To this end, they hire the cheapest contractors who are instructed to find the lowest cost solution (not the best solution) to your problem. Which means poorly trained, poorly compensated, and poorly equipped trades people will be handling your warranty claim. If you are a contractor, run from this type of work. If you are a homeowner: find a trustworthy, high-quality contractor and hire them directly.

Hire veterans. We’re not doing enough to help these incredible men and women transition back to civilian life. Especially those with leadership experience. They’ll supercharge your business.

Friendly reminder if you bootstrap a startup to a million in revenue, you'll probably make more than 99% of venture backed founders.

A simple rule of thumb in acquisitions - your net cash flow will likely be half of what the sellers was for 1-2 years. If SDE was $500k, your cash flow will be $250k, etc.

What are the latest and greatest educational resources and coursework that I can point people to in the ETA space? Books make the list. MBA schools. @SMB_Attorney had an email-led course and @Sam_Rosati might have something, but I can't find either. @Schornack @ParsleyETA

Primer on Key Negotiated Terms in a Private Equity LBO

Used EOS in my eCommerce business, which grew to over $44M in revenue before being acquired in 2020. It was a game-changer for accountability, alignment, and proactive goal-setting after years of firefighting. Some thoughts on what worked, what didn’t, and advice for Hampton. 🧵

The least important thing business owners have in common is company size. Whether you have 3 employees, 30, or 3000, you are in the same club. Because responsibility for other people’s employment forever changes you. • Laying awake worrying over payroll • The hell of having to lay people off • Knowing that real families depend on your decisions It creates an invisible kinship much deeper than a job title. It’s a fundamental shift in worldview. Taxes. Regulations. Healthcare costs. Government policies. These all become important in ways not obvious for people who don’t sign checks on the front. It is not about the size of your company. It is the weight of responsibility.

Your "side hustle" cleaning business isn't failing because of the economy. It's failing because you thought IG reels of people wiping windows would magically fill your calendar. The gold rush of easy LSA leads is over. Welcome to the real world. Time to get your hands dirty. Remember that guy Kevin who started a cleaning business because some dude with perfect hair told him to on YouTube? Yeah, he just went back to his corporate job. Not because the business model is broken….I’ve been running my remote cleaning business @MaidThis for 11 years. But because he thought "passive income" meant watching leads roll in while he played Fortnite. The reality? Local service businesses require actual... service. And local... presence. Those Instagram cleaning gurus sold you a dream where all you needed was: ➜ A fancy logo ➜ Some automation software ➜ A TikTok account ➜ The audacity to charge premium rates But they conveniently left out the part about: ➜ Door knocking ➜ Networking events ➜ Community involvement Here's the brutal math: 80% of new cleaning businesses won't make it 24 months. Not because the market is saturated, but because most founders think "building a brand" means posting motivational quotes over stock photos of vacuum cleaners and flipping on digital ads. The survivors? They're the ones who: 1. Network at local chambers of commerce 2. Join BNI groups 3. Build real relationships LSA (Local Service Ads) used to be the cheat code. Now it's just part of a broader marketing mix. Digital marketing changes CONSTANTLY. If you started a business based on a single lead source and that lead source goes away…you need to innovate or go bust. TL;DR: ➜ Your cleaning business isn't failing because of market conditions ➜ It's failing because people believed in digital fairy tales ➜ Real local businesses require actual local presence ➜ The ones who will put down the phone and go out to meet people will win

SBA loans have low default rates, right? Bob sat in his cramped home office, surrounded by stacks of maintenance contracts and crew schedules. Three years ago, he'd been a rising executive at a Fortune 500 company, pulling in $205,000 a year plus bonuses. Now he was the proud owner of "Premium Landscape Solutions"—purchased with a big ass SBA loan that had seemed like such an obvious move. SBA loans have low default rates, right? Youtube made buying a business so OBVIOUS and the business broker had made it sound perfect....an established landscaping company with recurring maintenance contracts, reliable crews, and a strong reputation in an affluent suburb. "A steady business with great cash flow," he'd read, "and room to expand into high-end landscape design!" The numbers supported his pitch: Healthy margins, and a seemingly reasonable purchase price. With the SBA covering 90%, James only needed to put down $130,000—a fraction of his savings after 10 years in corporate America. Bob already had ideas of other companies he could buy! He remembered his wife's concerned expression when he'd explained his plan to "escape the corporate rat race." She'd supported him, of course, but her eyes had betrayed her worry. Their youngest had just elementary school and she was pregnant with their second. Her salary had supported everyone while Bob "pursued his dream" of being an entrepreneur.... ...because SBA loans have low default rates, right? The spreadsheets he'd created showed they still could—the business would generate enough income to maintain their lifestyle and then some. He'd even used his Six Sigma training to map out process improvements that would boost efficiency by at least 30%. Then one day - he actually had to run and own the business. The people around the transaction evaporated, the business influencer made their $899 on the course, and it was time to start interacting with reality. Reliable crews turned out to mean "reliable until something better came along." Weather created havoc with scheduling—every rainy day meant lost revenue he could never recover. Equipment broke down constantly; the previous owner hadn't mentioned that half the mowers were on their last legs, and Bob had never repaired anything in his life. Each season brought its own challenges: spring's overwhelming demand, summer's brutal heat and crew shortages, fall's race against time to complete projects before winter, and winter's nerve-wracking lull. His corporate experience, which he'd thought would give him an edge, often proved a hindrance. Crews didn't care about his "strategic vision" or process optimization initiatives. They just wanted their paychecks on time and another few bucks an hour. His attempts to implement professional management systems were met with resistance or blank stares. Bob had so many ideas to make thing better. He just didn't have the team, cash, or energy to make them happen. The business didn't need a former executive; it needed someone who could handle endless equipment repairs, manage weather-dependent scheduling, and deal with increasingly demanding clients who expected country club results on a suburban budget. The business wasn't failing—he made his $7,200 monthly loan payment without fail. Because SBA loans have low default rates, right? But his personal income had dropped to less than a third of his former salary, and he was working 2X as much. The crews got paid, the suppliers got paid, the bank got paid, and James got whatever was left over. Thoreau's words haunted him during his long drives between job sites: "The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it." Almost a decade of loan payments stretched ahead of him—seven more years of missed family dinners, canceled vacations, and constant stress about weather forecasts and equipment breakdowns. He knew he probably wasn't going to miss a payment, because SBA loans have low default rates, right? He remembers the broker telling him that. The worst part wasn't the money or even the hours—it was the creeping realization that he'd traded his life's prime years for a cage of his own design. He was stuck in an endless cycle of crew management and customer complaints, too financially committed to walk away, too proud to admit he'd made a mistake, and too exhausted to figure out an exit strategy. Bob's story would never appear in the glowing SBA default statistics that lured him in, yet he paid a devastating price measured not in dollars but in missed bedtime stories, mounting health problems, and the quiet death of his professional dreams. While the brokers, business influencers, and loan officers had made their money and moved on to their next deal, Bob remained trapped in a cage of his own making....too financially committed to escape and too exhausted to find a way out. In pursuing the promise of entrepreneurial freedom, he had only succeeded in trading his corporate shackles for a heavier set—ones that bound not just his career, but his health, his family life, and his future to a business that owned him far more than he would ever own it. But it's all ok, because SBA loans have low default rates, right? Be careful out there amigos.

Guys/gals, I can't tell you enough how much it pays to just get in the game. If you have to go small on your first deal to get in the game, then go small. Those "off market" deals that you couldn't find when you were just a "searcher"? They will find YOU once you're in the game and are an "operator." Infinitely easier to raise equity and debt capital once you're already in the game as well. Do whatever it takes to get in the game.

This reminds me of some time that I spent with @KrissBergTweets that really helped me release guilt of the past. If you’re carrying burdens, know that you’re not alone and that you deserve to give yourself grace. Lead with love! Including for yourself.

If I were to start a home services company today I wouldn't start a cleaning company, and neither should you. Here are my reasons: (this isn't one of those things where every bad reason is a good reason)

If you're serious about buying a business in 2025 Join us at SMBootcamp Live on April 30th-May 2nd in Downtown Tampa, Florida Learn more and apply below:

🚨🚨Attention Minnesota/Upper Midwest searchers or other business buyers/sellers🚨🚨 February 12: Hosting an ETA/M&A happy hour in Chanhassen 4-6 pm. Already expecting 20 searchers/service providers. DM/email me and will send you the invite.

ETA and your search slowed down Q4 2024? Quality listings down? Discouraged? Standby and get ready to pounce in the next few weeks. Here’s why: In addition to all our buy-side work, we do tons of sell-side work and, unless a seller is under LOI, sell-side biz owners’ work towards a sale plummets as the leaves change from green to brown. By Thanksgiving “the kids and grandkids are in town.” By early December there’s the trip to Italy. Christmas? Forgetaboutit. “Let’s just revisit in the new year.” Well the new year is here. Brokers/bankers finalizing CIMs. Sellers back in the saddle after mentally confirming desire to sell over yet another stressful holiday season operating the business. Listings about to pop. Stay strong.