You don’t need an MBA.
You don’t need a rich uncle.
You don’t even need a "great idea."

What you do need is a playbook that doesn’t waste 5 years of your life running around in circles.

Today, I'm handing you the exact roadmap I wish someone handed me when I was grinding 60-hour weeks to buy corporate execs new Ferraris while praying for a 3% raise.

This roadmap has helped hundreds of people go from employee to entrepreneur through buying small businesses— and it’s how I now own multiple small businesses doing millions/year (by 2026/27 $1M/month).

Today, we break this process down - step by step.

Even if you're a complete business buying beginner, you'll have enough material in this email to take action on your journey this week.

Today's email will be broken down into six sections (in order):

• acquisition mindset
• acquisition criteria
• acquisition funding
• acquisition deal finding
• acquisition diligence
• your first 90 days as a business owner post acquisition

​

Let’s move.

Step 1: Upgrade Your Mindset (Or Stay Stuck Forever)

Your first enemy isn’t money.
It’s your own head.

"Who am I to buy a million-dollar business?"

You’ll feel that.
Most people listen to it.
Winners reprogram it.

Here’s the truth most won’t tell you:

• Buying a small crappy business is NOT safer.
• It’s worse because it becomes your new job.
• Same hours, less upside, more headaches.

👉 Big mindset reframe:

• Buying a $3M business = Buying a real company (systems, staff, survival margin).
• Buying a $300K business = Buying a ball of duct tape and unpaid invoices AKA a job.

It takes the same amount of work either way.
Which path would you rather "fail forward" on?

(side note - you will not attract sophisticated investors on a business sub $500k)

Quick Assignment:​
-Grab your phone.
-Open Notes.
-List every project you crushed, every skill you built, every fire you put out in corporate.

Look at that list.

Tell me you aren’t qualified.

​
Tell me the guy running the $20M septic tank company is smarter than you.
(He’s not. He’s just dumb enough to believe in himself - a common trait among the rich!)

Belief is a decision.
Decide now.

Step 2: Build Your Business Buy Box

Now, let's talk filters — not fantasies.

You’re looking for:

• Simple, boring service businesses (no rocket science)
• $1M–$3M revenue
• $300K–$600K profit (SDE)
• Recurring customers if possible
• Can be enhanced by AI, not replaced by AI
• Growing (not shrinking) revenue and profits
• Solid 3–7 year history
• Decent employee tenure

If it sounds too sexy? Run.​
Sexy startups die fast.
Ugly service companies print cash forever.

Qualitative filter:

• Does this business support my dream lifestyle? (Or will it chain me to a warehouse?)
• Can I immediately improve it with my existing skills? (And is it already strong where I struggle?)
• (ex: sales / marketing vs systems / operations

Quantitative filter:

• Revenue + profits make sense
• Owner is accounting for their time in their expenses
• Not customer-concentrated (no "one client = 70% of revenue" nonsense)
• Clear financials
• Margins above 20–25%

Real-life example:​
One of our members almost bought a local pest control company.
Owner was 80% of sales and ops.
ZERO systems.
If he left (which he would), the business would collapse.

Also - to replace a full time operations manager would have cost about $100k (which he didn't have on his books)

Good deal?
Hell no.
He walked away — and bought a home services company with a full sales and ops team already humming.

Big boy/big girl buying decisions only.

Step 3: Fund It Like a Pro (Not a Dreamer)

"But Brian... I don't have $1M in cash lying around..."

Good. You don't need it.

Here's the real funding game:

1. SBA Loan
   • 10% down, 90% financed.
   • $1M business = ~$100K down.
   • SBA vets the deal for you (huge filter).
   • Takes 60–90 days. (SBA underwriters are slow.)
2. Seller Financing
   • Seller becomes your bank.
   • Often 10–20% seller-carry even on SBA deals.
   • Especially powerful off-market.
   • Can negotiate any down payment / terms that any of you want
3. Investor Partnerships
   • You bring the deal, ops plan, and hustle.
   • Partner brings the cash.
   • You keep majority equity (smart structuring).
   • (I do this a lot with action academy members)

Insider Rule:

• If the seller demands their high price? You negotiate long, favorable terms.
• If you want to offer a low price? Be flexible on terms.

Real-world negotiation moves > "MBA theory."

And sellers WILL seller-finance for you.
Because most of them want retirement + passive checks — not lump-sum tax bombs.

Step 4: Find Your Million-Dollar Deal Flow

Deals aren’t hiding — you’re just not looking in the right places (or the right way).

Here’s your deal-finding arsenal:

1. BizBuySell.com
   • Like Zillow for businesses.
   • You’ll sift through a lot of crap, but gems exist.
   • Great for building your underwriting muscle.
2. Broker Relationships
   • Treat brokers like VIPs.
   • Be clear. Be credible. Follow up relentlessly.
   • Pocket listings = best deals never hit the internet.
3. Direct to Seller (Facebook + Mailers + Cold Calls)
   • Facebook groups are a goldmine.
   • FSBO businesses = flexible terms, lower prices.
4. Your Personal Network
   • Post that you're looking to buy.
   • You’ll be shocked who DM's you.

Golden KPI:​
✅ 5 deals analyzed per day
✅ 2 brokers contacted per week
✅ 1 LOI submitted per month

Volume > perfection.
Speed wins.

Step 5: Diligence (The Skill That Saves You From $500K Mistakes)

Before you close... assume the seller is lying.

Not because they’re evil — because they’re biased.
You MUST verify everything.

Here’s your 5-part Diligence Framework:

1. Financials
   • 3 years of clean P&Ls, tax returns, balance sheets.
   • Any "cash under the table" magic? Walk.
2. Operations
   • Who’s doing what daily?
   • If the owner IS the system, bad sign.
   • Whats the customer journey and who services them at each stage?
3. Customer Base
   • Recurring customers = gold.
   • 1 big customer = massive risk.
4. Competitive Moat
   • What protects them from new competitors?
5. Risks
   • Key employee dependency?
   • Industry trends?
   • Owner's secret sauce no one else can replicate?

If you find NO problems?​
You didn’t dig hard enough.

Look under every rock.
Because after you close, they're YOUR rocks to lift.

Step 6: Your First 90 Days As New Owner

You bought it.
Now don’t blow it.

First 90 days = Earn trust. Gather intel. DO NOT "innovate."

👉 Show up.
👉 Ride along.
👉 Break bread with your team.
👉 Interview every key employee quietly.

“What’s working?”​
​“What’s broken?”​
​“If you could fix one thing here, what would it be?”

Become the world’s best listener.
Not the new sheriff in town.

Critical moves:

• Meet every major customer face-to-face.
• Build simple scorecards: 3 KPIs max per employee.
• Set clear incentives that reward results.
• Identify your best lieutenants early.
• Fire fast ONLY if absolutely necessary (after 90 days).

Business is a human game.
Relationships > spreadsheets at the beginning.

Final Word: Buy Your Freedom, Faster

You have two options from here:

1. Stay on the hamster wheel.
   Keep asking for $5K raises and PTO extensions.
2. Get educated, take messy action, and buy back your life in 12 months.

Trade 6–12 months of intense work for 10–20 years of freedom.​
​That’s the real ROI.

This newsletter gave you the whole roadmap. At least enough to get started.
But if you want an army behind you — coaches, partners, investors, deal-flow friends — that's what we do at Action Academy.

We aren’t theory.
This is what we do.

With over 432 members across the domestic United States.

👉 Book Your Call Here​

Your future family is counting on you.

Time to move.