In today’s email:

• What I’ve been up too…

• What Social Media Influencers Aren’t Telling You

👇🏻Watch: I joined Valentino Tinoco and Emmanuel Samms on The Exit Podcast to discuss the ETA journey and seller risk.

What I’ve been up too…

You may have noticed that I disappeared for the past two months.

I began the year with ambitions of helping as many first-time business buyers be successful without fallilng into the traps that I, and several other buyers, fell into that resulted in business failure.

James Clear said, “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems”. This is exactly what happened to me.

I discovered that a weekly newsletter and livestream, YouTube video, and podcast were a lot of work. Especially when I’m accepting 1:1 calls from everyone who asks while engaging directly on LinkedIn. It was unsustainable. So, I took a break to really decide how to best spend my time so that I could provide the most value while also pursuing my goals.

Well I figured it out!

Going forward there will be a weekly newsletter as promised and YouTube videos as often as I can post them (generally 2/week). I have removed 1:1 calls completely as I simply do not have the bandwidth for them. I will continue weekly livestreams for Q&A

With that out of the way, let’s get on to the good stuff!

The 5 things social media influencers AREN'T telling you...

You’ve seen the posts.

“Build a porfolio of small businesses with $0 money down using 100% seller financing to generate passive income and create real generational wealth for you and your family.”

It sounds inticing and when it’s spoken by someone with tens of thousands of social media followers, it’s compelling.

The real danger is that there is an element of truth to everything these online gurus claim.

• You CAN buy a business with $0 down.

• You CAN secure 100% seller financing.

• You CAN use other people’s money (OPM).

• Ownership CAN be passive.

• There IS a generational wealth transfer happening right now.

• You CAN sell to private equity for a huge exit.

And I can show you exactly how I’ve done it so you can do it too…just join my skool community.

However, just beneath their claims are fundemental problems that are far more likely to leave to broke than generationally wealthy.

So, let’s break them down one-by-one so that you can move forward with your business search with both eyes open.

1. You Can Buy a Business With No Money

Let’s tackle the two biggest questions I get all the time:

1. Buying with $0 down and

2. Securing 100% seller financing.

Buying a business with $0 down at closing actually happens frequently. It regularly occurs in all-stock deals where major corporations acquire each other and in SBA-funded deals where a business owner acquires another business within the same NAICS code. It’s also common in the lower market when a business acquires another business that has limited value (messy financials, non-existent systems, etc.). These are often transactions where the buyer is acquiring a business for it’s customer list- not for it’s operations.

Follow Nathan Lindley on LinkedIn to see someone doing this in real time.

However, the issue first-time buyers run into is primarily trust. Why would an owner trust you- if you’ve never owned or operated a business-when you cannot demostrate financial liquidity at close? Furthermore, why should the seller take on the risk of YOU, the buyer, destroying their largest asset and not paying them for it?

This risk carries over directly to question #2- why would a seller offer you 100% seller financing?

And before you say, “well there are tax advantages for the seller if they finance the deal over several years”, consider the risk!

Yes, seller financing does mitigate tax exposure- but so do trusts and numerous other legal structures. What you are really asking the seller to do is be your bank and, unlike commerical lenders, the seller only has one loan to manage. Meaning that all of their risk is tied to the business. A business that they now must trust you not to destroy.

There are only two rational reasons why a seller should be open to 100% seller financing.

1. You have built a close, personal bond with the seller and they are giving you an advantage to succeed. This is almost exclusively reserved for family members.

2. The business does not qualify for commercial or SBA lending leaving seller financing as the only option available.

The first point is self-explanatory so let’s discuss the second.

If the business does not qualify for a bank loan, you have to determine why.

• Messy or non-existent financials?

• unprofitable?

• distressed?

The list goes on and on.

As a first-time buyer, one of the worst things you can do is buy a business that is structurally in decline. That is the case for many of these options. Do yourself a favor and take Warren Buffett’s advice.

Next time, we’ll discuss why buying a business is anything but passive. (Hint, You ARE buying a job…and that’s ok)

📣 Help Shape What Comes Next

I want this newsletter, the livestreams, and the events to actually help you move closer to your first (or next) acquisition. To do that, I need your input.

👉 Fill out this quick survey (2 mins) to tell me:

• What you’re most interested in learning

• Where you’re at in your buying journey

• What kind of content would be most useful to you

This helps me cut the fluff and focus on what really matters to you.

🔗 Take the survey → https://forms.office.com/r/rHxaBPw1Us

Welcome!

Whether you’re just starting your search or already deep in the trenches, I’m glad you’re here. This newsletter is built for you—and I’m excited to grow it with your input.

If you’re active on social, I’d love to connect there too. I regularly share thoughts, frameworks, and risk-focused lessons from my own search journey.

🔗 Follow along here:

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Thanks again for being part of Still Searching. Let’s build something great together.

-Jed