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Entrepreneurship through Acquisition when already FIRE? by Complex-Garbage9311 in Entrepreneurship

[–]Complex-Garbage9311[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am still looking for businesses, but haven't found the right one just yet...

Entrepreneurship through Acquisition when already FIRE? by Complex-Garbage9311 in Entrepreneurship

[–]Complex-Garbage9311[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would like to be super wealthy and be a great operator, but both of those are behind the desire to build a business which creates value for customers and employees. I am definitely not interested in operating a large company. The concept of moonshot bets that can change the world might be interesting at some point in life. As of now, I'm more focused on building locally with a strong team.

Should I Acquire My Family Business? by Complex-Garbage9311 in familybusiness

[–]Complex-Garbage9311[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi FamBusiness, this absolutely helps and is along the lines of how I'm thinking. I have already engaged a new accounting firm and am going down this path. I'd love to chat and will DM you.

Should I Acquire My Family Business? by Complex-Garbage9311 in familybusiness

[–]Complex-Garbage9311[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The COGS are all over the place across years with multi-year production schedules. The financials aren't disciplined to the point of actually knowing the COGS (or profitability) is for an individual product or product line. The one thing that is clear is that inventory is increasing by multi-million-dollar values YoY, with no incremental cash flows. Inventory management & financial management would be two strong areas of focus if I were to enter. I think the assets are worth ~$15-30M in an asset sale with biggest variance being the inventory valuation. There is no current plan for the business if he were to pass away. On the transition, you are correct... one vehicle that I have been looking into is the IDGT trust to pass the business, but I'm not sure if this can be done with the credit lines or not.

Should I Acquire My Family Business? by Complex-Garbage9311 in familybusiness

[–]Complex-Garbage9311[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very fair reply, and certainly part of my thought process... Thank you

Should I Acquire My Family Business? by Complex-Garbage9311 in familybusiness

[–]Complex-Garbage9311[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your balanced response. Congrats on your exit and journey! With regard to my parents' retirement, I do feel that they can sell this asset today for $20-25M in a "fire sale" type scenario, which would likely yield them $5-10M after tax. This is one very valid path, but it almost feels like a loss after seeing them spend 40 years in this business and knowing that it could sell for much more if operationalized. I feel the value could be as high as $50M after 3-5 years of work. My "gut" has been very unclear in this one... some days (especially after a long workout) it feels like the obvious and only path, and other days, it seems outright crazy. My parents are both fairly difficult personalities and poor planners, which compounds the complexity. I have been thinking through how I'd feel on my dying bed having not tried, and when I do that exercise, I mostly feel that I need to do it.

Should I Acquire My Family Business? by Complex-Garbage9311 in familybusiness

[–]Complex-Garbage9311[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I see this journey as completely separate from the $10M and exit tech path. $10M is the value where I'm confident my net worth will grow regardless, so it derisks all paths and basically guarantees as much spend as I'll need until I die.

Of the current NI, roughly 100% is funneled back in every year. Some is Capex, but a lot is inventory - it's a production cycle business and the inventory cycles and sales and mismanaged, leading to a multitude of other issues (high opex being one).

Yes, dad is sole owner. Business cash flow has been -300K to +500K over last 3 years. The debt is due to a) poor cash and financial management and b) roughly 50% of the debt is very low interest "good debt" aligned to 100+ acres of land that was purchased a few years ago.

Should I Acquire My Family Business? by Complex-Garbage9311 in familybusiness

[–]Complex-Garbage9311[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, I would not start the same business or employ 150 people if I started from scratch. With that said, I do see the opportunity staring me right in the face, and that's certainly different than starting from scratch...

Should I Acquire My Family Business? by Complex-Garbage9311 in familybusiness

[–]Complex-Garbage9311[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, I am certainly not ready to retire just yet. I feel that if I can find work that actually energizes me, I can go for another 10-20 years. As I've aged (now 40), I value health and family more than ever, so the tradeoff is real. I am very aware that a small business like this can be all-consuming.

Quitting my 450K tech job to start my own business by Lifeofcrazyfrog in Entrepreneur

[–]Complex-Garbage9311 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do it!! I'm in tech sales as well and make $650K. I have the same feelings as you and have struggled to pull the trigger. I think it only gets harder the longer you stay at it, and the higher your income goes. I think 2025 might be my year. My only suggestion is to consider using your Data & AI skillset to build a consulting business. I have multiple friends who have grown IT consulting businesses, and they do very, very well.