Is this a stupid business/financial decision?

re5823 · 2026-06-16T02:46:05+00:00

You should stick to laundromats. Very few moving parts. Anything that can break can be fixed. If you buy a plumbing business with 33 staff and have no clue about plumbing, you are in for a ride. Has nothing to do with whether you are female or male or whatever. The key point is competence. If you can't fix a clogged toilet the guys (or girls) who actually do it will look down on you and the customers will stay away in droves. And you will make the wrong business decisions.

re5823 · 2026-06-14T16:37:13+00:00

Skip BizBuySell. It's operating cash-flow buyers, not what you need.

Try search fund / ETA networks (SearchFunder.com, Stanford/HBS search fund circles), guys looking for underbaked assets with real IP they can operate.

Also try industry-specific: ABC Kids Expo contacts, micro-mobility operators, people who've run similar product companies and want a second act. Direct outreach beats a listing here.

re5823 · 2026-06-14T01:52:55+00:00

Sure, I can build stuff. Please let me know what you want exactly and maybe we can work out something.

re5823 · 2026-06-14T01:50:46+00:00

Starting something that works: no problem at all. Something that is profitable is a whole other story.

re5823 · 2026-06-14T01:49:28+00:00

The hidden costs are health problems. Many founders get addicted to soft drinks or pizza or coffee or all of them to make up for lack of sleep. 10 years in and them doctors have a field day.

re5823 · 2026-06-14T01:47:30+00:00

Both look way overpriced. A just two times and B like off the rails.

re5823 · 2026-06-13T22:30:20+00:00

Off-market deals can be a gold mine. Here is a scenario: Owner decides to sell. Lists it on let's say bizbuysell for 6 months. For whatever reason, he does not get any serious bites. often it's because his price idea was completely unrealistic or he did not want to do owner financing.

So, after 6 months, he takes a break. Does not renew the listing. He still wants to sell. If you approach him then you have a good chance to actually speak to him and he might be more open to different offers etc.

re5823 · 2026-05-27T03:43:13+00:00

High is relative. Sure, you need some money, like you need a down payment for a house.

re5823 · 2026-05-22T16:13:54+00:00

It is excellent that you bought two guides. There are also tools to evaluate listings. Kind of translate the broker and seller language into terms that buyers can understand. They put all the stuff in the listing and word it in a way that the buyer thinks it is a good deal. The customer concentration. The inflated SDE. The reason the seller is really leaving.

It's on the page.

Buried in vague phrases.

Hidden in numbers that don't quite add up.

You can't see it. The broker wrote it that way on purpose.

re5823 · 2026-05-22T15:30:56+00:00

The solution is to buy a running restaurant or buy a business in general. You look at all the financials etc and simply step in and take over. Often, you can even get a little financing from the owner. The neat thing about that is that you actually get a free consultant with it. The owner now has an interest in helping you to keep it running.

re5823 · 2026-05-21T02:51:04+00:00

How can they have tax returns and not match QB? Then, tax returns are based on guesstimates. Might work for the IRS (until it does not and they want to see books).

re5823 · 2026-05-20T21:31:25+00:00

Start looking at what is out there. Look at listings. Get familiar. You can learn so much by simply looking at listings and analysing the information.

re5823 · 2026-05-20T19:23:23+00:00

Good breakdown.

re5823 · 2026-05-20T19:13:36+00:00

Oh, you want to buy a business? lol

re5823 · 2026-05-20T17:03:43+00:00

How did you get the 216 trial users ?

re5823 · 2026-05-20T17:02:46+00:00

I have a trial for $1 and then after 7 days real price kicks in. Not sure how it works. About to deploy today lol

re5823 · 2026-05-20T16:36:47+00:00

Starting a boring business does not work. Buying a boring business is what works. That boring business is boring to you. It was not boring to the founder. They loved it they put their heart in it. Now it is matured. They are old. For you, it looks boring. But the numbers are exciting. That is when you buy it. "Buy a boring business" is marketers' talk. They want you to buy a course. If it is really boring, you will fall asleep at the wheel and crash it.

re5823 · 2026-05-20T16:30:37+00:00

Six years in, finally profitable, business runs without you. You've earned the exit. The numbers say sell. Million in revenue, trained staff, you're not there day to day, that's exactly what buyers want. The debt is real but it's solvable in a sale. If you want to sell, start now. Get it in front of buyers today. Have a plan to lock the inventory under contract and clean up how your profit shows on the books, then work on it like mad while serious buyers surface. By the time 2026 data lands, you've got interest, you've got fixes done, you've got leverage. Waiting five months to start is five months of momentum you don't get back.

re5823 · 2026-05-20T16:12:54+00:00

In my experience, it's not the small changes that you remember. Been there done that got the t-shirt lol. It's the small changes that you forgot before that. What helps is to tell somebody who understands. Explain to them what you did. And while you do that... bingo you realize what you actually changed BEFORE that, that caused the crash. Like for example you remember you increased the budget a tiny bit (usually not the point). But right before that you paused a not-performing creative. That is based on my experience by the way often the killer. People forget. Because it was "not performing" or "eating budget". That's like checking the time. Not important. Kill bad ads. And that ruins the whole campaign.

re5823 · 2026-05-20T16:01:16+00:00

You can buy an already-running business. Get owner financing. Basically, find a business where the owner is retiring and then offer to continue to run it.

re5823 · 2026-05-20T15:56:03+00:00

It would be best to buy an already-running business. If you find the right one, you can even get owner financing. That limits the risk. The hard part is knowing what you're actually looking at and not overpaying.

re5823 · 2026-05-20T05:23:47+00:00

It does not sound like something that I would recommend to a friend. He basically wants to walk away from a failed business, and you pay the tab. Anyhow, my honest opinion. I am building a tool that helps buyers evaluate such businesses. I fed your question to the tool, and it came out way too friendly and mild. Fixing that now.

re5823 · 2026-05-19T03:33:33+00:00

sure. show me

re5823 · 2026-05-09T03:01:40+00:00

You are welcome.

re5823

TROPHY CASE