$100k to spend in 12 months

[Antifragile]

Humans are wired for “omg what if I fail” thinking. Losses are felt stronger than gains and so most of us focus on “safety”.

Problem is, when you have a lot of safety, you play too much defence. Ironically the best defence is offence. And that’s where it falls apart for so many.

I'm in a fortunate position where I can take a whole year off work and focus on this as needed.

This may be a great fortuitous thing indeed or a start to a few bad habits. It depends… I found that in life nothing motivates like desperation. When you have nothing to fall back on, like the story of Cortez wrecking his ships so the only way back was to defeat the Aztecs.

I am not saying to ruin your life putting a bet at a casino on red with all the money you got + borrowed. I am saying that too many people focus on failing too damn munch.

We humans are creative creatures. Don’t believe me? Look at what we’ve accomplished on this planet in terms of inventions. That same creativity is useful in business problem solving. Even if thing go bad (and they always do!), there is always a way forward, a way to solve for it. But if the safety net is comfortable , our lizard brain takes the easy out. Creativity is replaced with “but I’m only human, I did what I could” giving up.

That’s why I advocate for people to focus on success. Even your back up plan should be about success. And the back up to the back up plan too.

go in with the conviction that you will win.

This.

 

[BizyDad]

I mean if you ever want advice just hit me up, I got ideas

I have a question.

Why aren't you sharing your advice on here so to better help others?

honestly man idk maybe like buy a small apartment first and make passive income.

Oh I see.

Honestly. I don't know. Maybe, like....

Your delivery needs work. The content of your advice could use some work too.

 

[WillHurtDontCare]

Thanks Kak, I do have a bit of a fear of messing it all up if I go bigger and take investment money. I'm in a fortunate position where I can take a whole year off work and focus on this as needed. I just had that book delievered on Friday so great timing!

Did it occur to you that you might actually do a great job at whatever you choose to do and make 20X+ your money back?

Acknowledging that risk doesn't mean expecting something to fail - it means that you work around that because the payoff could be that damn good.

Do your due diligence on the opportunity, but whatever you go with, go in with the conviction that you will win.

 

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[Andy Black]

You may have heard of Tim Ferris doing his own version of an MBA ~2006 for a year or two with a hundred grand to learn business and investing.
I'm considering doing the same by buying say a small online business for about $ 25-50k to learn the game (and spend the $50k on improving it/ trying not to run it into the ground).

How much of a good/bad idea is this?

Here's a thought exercise...

Run $5/day on ads starting this week. That's the price of a coffee, but rather than save it, spend it on ads.

Even at just $5/day it will bring things into focus.

• What channel should I use?
• Who am I going to ads in front of and when?
• What do I want them to do?
• Why would they do it?
• How will I get them to do it?
• How can I convert that $5/day spend into $10/day revenue?
• How can I make it consistent?
• How can I scale it to $50/day?
• How can I increase ROAS?
• How can I get repeat business and referrals?
• Etc.

All from dipping your hand in your pocket every day...

There, I just saved you $99,995.

 

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[Kak]

You may have heard of Tim Ferris doing his own version of an MBA ~2006 for a year or two with a hundred grand to learn business and investing.
I'm considering doing the same by buying say a small online business for about $ 25-50k to learn the game (and spend the $50k on improving it/ trying not to run it into the ground).

How much of a good/bad idea is this?

It’s not really an idea yet. It can be executed very well or it can be executed very poorly.

I can recommend a book for you though.

Amazon.com: Buy Then Build: How Acquisition Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Startup Game eBook : Deibel, Walker: Kindle Store

Amazon.com: Buy Then Build: How Acquisition Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Startup Game eBook : Deibel, Walker: Kindle Store

www.amazon.com

I personally think acquiring businesses can often times put entrepreneurial skills to higher use. Small improvements mean more when you have momentum.

I wouldn’t limit yourself to online business. I’d also use your $100k as a down payment and perhaps even combine with investor money to buy something much bigger. If you can get investor money, it means you have a well rounded plan that makes good sense.

 

[WillHurtDontCare]

That one really hit hard. It's one of those, I won't know until I try. And the idea behind the "personal MBA" is to skill up before going into the big leagues. To learn the marketing, sales and leadership side of things as an owner of a baby busienss.

You only learn in the arena man. If you applied this line of thinking to MMA, that would be like focusing entirely on punching a bag to prepare for a fight. You only learn how to fight when you have to deal with someone else trying to punch you in the face.

Can we have @BizyDad and @Kak debate “investors good vs investors huge risk” on KKRS?

I won’t share my own thoughts quite yet, but I have a strong opinion on this too.

That sounds like an interesting podcast, though, I'd suggest slightly tweak it to discuss when taking on investors makes sense. In capital intensive businesses like real estate investors obviously make a lot of sense - however, certain businesses like software can have very minimal capital requirements. Jason Cohen bootstrapped WPEngine to tens of millions before taking on investors, and Russel Brunson grew Click Funnels to huge earnings without investors (though both had some money from prior ventures). Jason eventually took investor money when it made sense to, though Russel mentioned in one of his YouTube videos that he was against the idea (based on what he heard from the guy who started moz.com). Both of those companies now have 9 figures in recurring revenue.

There are also other benefits to having investors, like having access to their expertise and their networks.

Here's a thought exercise...

Run $5/day on ads starting this week. That's the price of a coffee, but rather than save it, spend it on ads.

Even at just $5/day it will bring things into focus.

• What channel should I use?
• Who am I going to ads in front of and when?
• What do I want them to do?
• Why would they do it?
• How will I get them to do it?
• How can I convert that $5/day spend into $10/day revenue?
• How can I make it consistent?
• How can I scale it to $50/day?
• How can I increase ROAS?
• How can I get repeat business and referrals?
• Etc.

All from dipping your hand in your pocket every day...

There, I just saved you $99,995.

You can also use https://www.similarweb.com/ to check how similar businesses in your field get their traffic. Google ads might not be viable for whatever reason, but there might still be several other viable channels to test your idea with.

Edit: This isn't me advocating taking on investors, but this is the mindset that you need to have in business (gold from one of @Ravens_Shadow 's threads)

This is where innovation, drive, and a passion for providing value come in. I have nearly no experience in software, yet I see a need and I try to solve it in a very competitive industry. I'm not even "qualified" by most peoples standards to do this kind of thing, nor should I have this kind of sway in an industry, yet I do. I did it because it felt right. I did it because I just really F*cking wanted to. Now really large companies in various industries are supporting my efforts. I simply saw what everyone else was doing, and went the other way.

 

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[Kak]

I have a question.

Why aren't you sharing your advice on here so to better help others?



Oh I see.

Honestly. I don't know. Maybe, like....

Your delivery needs work. The content of your advice could use some work too.

It would suck if Elon saw his posts.

I’m glad he’s keeping his ideas to himself.

IMPORTANT! - Elon Musk stopped by today...

Thanks MJ, I get your point about posting worthwhile and intentional thoughts without making it a big brag fest. We don't want the first page to be all hot air and miss out on the good stuff. HOWEVER, having Elon Musk walk into a discussion about hookers sounds really great, and I genuinely...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

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[BizyDad]

Seems you don't need to "motivate yourself" to do the work when you buy the business.. Once you have the business you'd better get the hell to work or else you're gonna let down yourself and your investor.

If this is anyway a concern for you, don't raise capital. You're still externally motivated.

Also, investors get let down ALL THE TIME. Mostly because stuff or people just don't work they way they're expected they do.

If you aren't motivating yourself, then someone or something else is actually in charge. You are not your own boss.

it could be a no brainer for the investor.

No such thing. If you want to raise capital someday, make sure you never say these words.

-----

Lastly, I don't know why the recommendation here became "get an investor". Sure, buying something bigger than what you have with your own money can be smart.

But is an investor the smartest way? Done right an investor can be an accelerant.

Like everything else, this rarely go right all the time though.

Done wrong, an investor is the worst kind of boss. An investor can be a risk to you. A terrible partner. A potential costly lawsuit, losing you time and money and reputation. Another way to lose one's company. Another person who can embezzle funds. And remember you are giving this person a portion of your company for the privilege of being a potential hassle.

Find a deal with seller financing. The seller will continue to be motivated to advise (unless they are a crook. Crooks come in all shapes and sizes).

Find a deal with SBA financing. This can be as hard to get as an investor, but at least you are only paying interest on the loan amount until the loan is paid off, not a percentage of profit in perpetuity.

There are many ways to "do a deal". Don't get stuck on "finding an investor" just because someone says it's a good idea.

This is seriously easier said than done...

Think about it this way.

If you actually have a deal worth investing in, then it is in your best interest to keep as much of it for yourself as possible. Why share with the investor? (Hint, maybe the investor brings more than money to the table. Warning, don't expect an investor to be a business mentor.)

Investors are the most expensive form of capital. Go after it only if you really need it and have exhausted the cheaper forms of financing.

 

[Vas87]

Update: 1st ever sale online. Popped that ecom cherry while watching Guardians of The Galaxy 3 on the couch (good movie btw).

 

[Kak]

Thanks Kak, I do have a bit of a fear of messing it all up if I go bigger and take investment money. I'm in a fortunate position where I can take a whole year off work and focus on this as needed. I just had that book delievered on Friday so great timing!

That’s the cool part about investors. You can be much more confident that if you do, in fact, unlock their funding, you have something worth investing in.

It’s their job to invest in things worth investing in and it’s your job to be worth investing in.

You can do it. Take it one day at a time.

Point is, don’t spend the money just to learn. Try to see if you can get something real going! It will be an arguably better experience.

 

[Kak]

If this is anyway a concern for you, don't raise capital. You're still externally motivated.

Also, investors get let down ALL THE TIME. Mostly because stuff or people just don't work they way they're expected they do.

If you aren't motivating yourself, then someone or something else is actually in charge. You are not your own boss.



No such thing. If you want to raise capital someday, make sure you never say these words.

-----

Lastly, I don't know why the recommendation here became "get an investor". Sure, buying something bigger than what you have with your own money can be smart.

But is an investor the smartest way? Done right an investor can be an accelerant.

Like everything else, this rarely go right all the time though.

Done wrong, an investor is the worst kind of boss. An investor can be a risk to you. A terrible partner. A potential costly lawsuit, losing you time and money and reputation. Another way to lose one's company. Another person who can embezzle funds. And remember you are giving this person a portion of your company for the privilege of being a potential hassle.

Find a deal with seller financing. The seller will continue to be motivated to advise (unless they are a crook. Crooks come in all shapes and sizes).

Find a deal with SBA financing. This can be as hard to get as an investor, but at least you are only paying interest on the loan amount until the loan is paid off, not a percentage of profit in perpetuity.

There are many ways to "do a deal". Don't get stuck on "finding an investor" just because someone says it's a good idea.

This is seriously easier said than done...

Think about it this way.

If you actually have a deal worth investing in, then it is in your best interest to keep as much of it for yourself as possible. Why share with the investor? (Hint, maybe the investor brings more than money to the table. Warning, don't expect an investor to be a business mentor.)

Investors are the most expensive form of capital. Go after it only if you really need it and have exhausted the cheaper forms of financing.

You just gave me my first radio show idea in a month.

I disagree.

The premise is that investors let you access higher form of business than you would otherwise be able to access. The idea being this is a win-win. Not a regrettable subtraction from your equity wealth.

The portion of the company you own after you take investors should be markedly larger than a 100% in something you start alone.

You know me better than to tell the man he should make less money.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Update: 1st ever sale online.

Congrats.

Try to imagine this X 1000.

Once you experience it, there's no going back.

 

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[Andy Black]

Your prompts are great and would you say they would be more applicable to an existing business? Or are you suggesting for me to use them as a way to uncover a market need?

Nice. Your first question to answer for yourself: Are you going to do this for other people's businesses, or your own?

Pick one of Google Ads, Facebook Ads, TikTok Ads, Twitter Ads, YouTube Ads, LinkedIn Ads, etc.

Fire up an account and create a campaign with a budget of $5/day.

Get it going THIS WEEK. Figure it out as you go along.

There's nothing like spending money every day to focus your mind. Even if it's just $5/day.

 

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[Antifragile]

Can we have @BizyDad and @Kak debate “investors good vs investors huge risk” on KKRS?

I won’t share my own thoughts quite yet, but I have a strong opinion on this too.

 

[Kak]

If you are intending your message to be for the already seasoned business owner, cool. But that's simply not the discussion I believe we are having.

I don't want to spoil the episode now.

No, I know who I am talking to at this forum for the most part.

I am putting tools in their tool boxes that they may not have ever considered.

What makes a "seasoned business owner?" How did I become "seasoned?" How did @Antifragile become "seasoned? All good questions to answer "next time on The Kyle Keegan Radio Show."

 

[Vas87]

It’s not really an idea yet. It can be executed very well or it can be executed very poorly.

I can recommend a book for you though.

Amazon.com: Buy Then Build: How Acquisition Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Startup Game eBook : Deibel, Walker: Kindle Store

Amazon.com: Buy Then Build: How Acquisition Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Startup Game eBook : Deibel, Walker: Kindle Store

www.amazon.com

I personally think acquiring businesses can often times put entrepreneurial skills to higher use. Small improvements mean more when you have momentum.

I wouldn’t limit yourself to online business. I’d also use your $100k as a down payment and perhaps even combine with investor money to buy something much bigger. If you can get investor money, it means you have a well rounded plan that makes good sense.

Thanks Kak, I do have a bit of a fear of messing it all up if I go bigger and take investment money. I'm in a fortunate position where I can take a whole year off work and focus on this as needed. I just had that book delievered on Friday so great timing!

 

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[mikecarlooch]

It’s not really an idea yet. It can be executed very well or it can be executed very poorly.

I can recommend a book for you though.

Amazon.com: Buy Then Build: How Acquisition Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Startup Game eBook : Deibel, Walker: Kindle Store

Amazon.com: Buy Then Build: How Acquisition Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Startup Game eBook : Deibel, Walker: Kindle Store

www.amazon.com

I personally think acquiring businesses can often times put entrepreneurial skills to higher use. Small improvements mean more when you have momentum.

I wouldn’t limit yourself to online business. I’d also use your $100k as a down payment and perhaps even combine with investor money to buy something much bigger. If you can get investor money, it means you have a well rounded plan that makes good sense.

This sounds great.

To be honest, from an outsider looking in, acquisition seems awesome. Thanks for recommending.

Seems you don't need to "motivate yourself" to do the work when you buy the business.. Once you have the business you'd better get the hell to work or else you're gonna let down yourself and your investor. Unlike a startup where getting over that first hump and getting validation and customers can spark the desert of desertion (of course there is nothing wrong with starting from scratch..)

Also, the investor knows they're not just investing in an idea. They're investing in something that's working already and with a plan to straighten out the flaws.. it could be a no brainer for the investor.

Super cool stuff, never even thought about acquisition.

Do you happen to have any episodes about acquisition on your show @Kak ?

 

[Vas87]

Here's a thought exercise...

Run $5/day on ads starting this week. That's the price of a coffee, but rather than save it, spend it on ads.

Even at just $5/day it will bring things into focus.

• What channel should I use?
• Who am I going to ads in front of and when?
• What do I want them to do?
• Why would they do it?
• How will I get them to do it?
• How can I convert that $5/day spend into $10/day revenue?
• How can I make it consistent?
• How can I scale it to $50/day?
• How can I increase ROAS?
• How can I get repeat business and referrals?
• Etc.

All from dipping your hand in your pocket every day...

There, I just saved you $99,995.

Funnily enough Andy, I gave up coffee last week, so I already have $35 dollars saved up for the ads haha.
I digress.
Your prompts are great and would you say they would be more applicable to an existing business? Or are you suggesting for me to use them as a way to uncover a market need?

 

[Andy Black]

You only learn in the arena man. If you applied this line of thinking to MMA, that would be like focusing entirely on punching a bag to prepare for a fight. You only learn how to fight when you have to deal with someone else trying to punch you in the face.




That sounds like an interesting podcast, though, I'd suggest slightly tweak it to discuss when taking on investors makes sense. In capital intensive businesses like real estate investors obviously make a lot of sense - however, certain businesses like software can have very minimal capital requirements. Jason Cohen bootstrapped WPEngine to tens of millions before taking on investors, and Russel Brunson grew Click Funnels to huge earnings without investors (though both had some money from prior ventures). Jason eventually took investor money when it made sense to, though Russel mentioned in one of his YouTube videos that he was against the idea (based on what he heard from the guy who started moz.com). Both of those companies now have 9 figures in recurring revenue.

There are also other benefits to having investors, like having access to their expertise and their networks.



You can also use https://www.similarweb.com/ to check how similar businesses in your field get their traffic. Google ads might not be viable for whatever reason, but there might still be several other viable channels to test your idea with.

Not just when, but for who. Should someone new to business who's never sold a thing in their life consider getting investment or just go make a sale already?

 

[BizyDad]

You just gave me my first radio show idea in a month.

I disagree.

The premise is that investors let you access higher form of business than you would otherwise be able to access. The idea being this is a win-win. Not a regrettable subtraction from your equity wealth.

The portion of the company you own after you take investors should be markedly larger than a 100% in something you start alone.

You know me better than to tell the man he should make less money.

That's a great point and one that was missing from the thread. People need to hear it.

Make sure you tell them folks how they can maintain control of the entity so it's their vision that ultimately gets executed. Otherwise they may simply be creating for themselves the job of president/CEO. Good job, but still... A job. And it's a job they can get fired from.

I imagine most beginning entrepreneurs who have 100k ready to deploy would be more comfortable buying a business for $50k-$500k, not $5M+.

Sure the $5M is potentially more lucrative. More stable. Potentially the better opportunity. (Unless an inexperienced person manages to install themselves at the top and loses the confidence of the rank and file).

But if they are acquiring the bigger company, the key in getting more $ is their ability to negotiate the bigger percentage. And this guy started with lemme buy a business for $50k.

Another thing investors tend not to like is high salary for the top guy. But most newer entrepreneurs need that higher salary to support themselves/validate. The interests aren't exactly aligned their and this is a frequent source of conflict.

I don't disagree with your point. If you can craft win wins then everyone wins, obviously.

But logically this isn't the most likely outcome, and I am just delineating the risks.

My point is this is often more difficult and stressful than running something 100% yours. The win win is the exception, not the rule. People should pursue this path with eyes wide open.

Lastly I'll point out that venture funds make their money generally on hitting a few big wins. The majority of their deals do not work out. Keep in mind most venture funds can't beat the market rate of return.

One might argue that even these seasoned investors are actually pretty bad at spotting a good deal and the entrepreneur shouldn't put his faith in someone else's evaluation.

Can we have @BizyDad and @Kak debate “investors good vs investors huge risk” on KKRS?

I won’t share my own thoughts quite yet, but I have a strong opinion on this too.

Not likely.

For starters, a debate is between 2 opposing views. I'm not disagreeing, I just feel @Kak isn't painting a complete picture. I agree with @WillHurtDontCare the point isn't about who is right, but rather when and how it makes sense to...

For example, I think investors are a great thing when you want to extract the value of your existing built-up company without selling it off and he provided many good examples of that.

Secondly, as I might seek investors someday, I wouldn't want my taking the negative side out in the public eye for scrutiny. Besides I've already fired most of the "debate bullets" here.

Lastly, as I already have some experience debating Kak at a summit, I'll just warn you that people can get kinda bored when we discuss. Lol.

So I propose a panel discussion at a future summit. AF, you can join in and maybe we can get one more person. And let's make it a discussion rather than debate.

 

[Kak]

The win win is the exception, not the rule.

You keep giving me debate material. LOL.

How so? Do you have the stats on it, because I don't. Is this just based on your observations? Because we are clearly observing different things.

What does almost every business with 100m in revenue have in common? Multiple owners.

 

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[Guest06194gh]

You may have heard of Tim Ferris doing his own version of an MBA ~2006 for a year or two with a hundred grand to learn business and investing.
I'm considering doing the same by buying say a small online business for about $ 25-50k to learn the game (and spend the $50k on improving it/ trying not to run it into the ground).

How much of a good/bad idea is this?

I mean if you ever want advice just hit me up, I got ideas

 

[Vas87]

Nice. Your first question to answer for yourself: Are you going to do this for other people's businesses, or your own?

Pick one of Google Ads, Facebook Ads, TikTok Ads, Twitter Ads, YouTube Ads, LinkedIn Ads, etc.

Fire up an account and create a campaign with a budget of $5/day.

Get it going THIS WEEK. Figure it out as you go along.

There's nothing like spending money every day to focus your mind. Even if it's just $5/day.

I want to do it for my own business, and I'd need to launch/ buy one first to run ads.
I think I'm missing something in your advice (maybe it's the coffee withdrawals), would it make sense to have a business first before running ads? Or at least put up a landing page to test market demand?

 

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[Andy Black]

If pressed for time I'd sell something based on my profession (optometrist). Dry eye drops/ treatment of some sort would be one. Another could be corporate office vision assessments (kind of like an occupational therapist makes sure that office workers have monitors and chairs set up ergonomically).

Maybe start here?

 

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[msufan]

Btw, here is my site Lite Roller

Feel free to rip it apart, as I'm sure it can be a lot better.

Actually a great start -- one product, not trying to do a million things, reviews, demo video...

 

[MitchC]

Btw, here is my site Lite Roller

Feel free to rip it apart, as I'm sure it can be a lot better.

Dude your add to cart and proceed to checkout buttons are invisible lol

 

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[Vas87]

You may have heard of Tim Ferris doing his own version of an MBA ~2006 for a year or two with a hundred grand to learn business and investing.
I'm considering doing the same by buying say a small online business for about $ 25-50k to learn the game (and spend the $50k on improving it/ trying not to run it into the ground).

How much of a good/bad idea is this?

 

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[Guest06194gh]

You may have heard of Tim Ferris doing his own version of an MBA ~2006 for a year or two with a hundred grand to learn business and investing.
I'm considering doing the same by buying say a small online business for about $ 25-50k to learn the game (and spend the $50k on improving it/ trying not to run it into the ground).

How much of a good/bad idea is this?

honestly man idk maybe like buy a small apartment first and make passive income.

 

[Vas87]

Did it occur to you that you might actually do a great job at whatever you choose to do and make 20X+ your money back?

That one really hit hard. It's one of those, I won't know until I try. And the idea behind the "personal MBA" is to skill up before going into the big leagues. To learn the marketing, sales and leadership side of things as an owner of a baby busienss.

 

[BizyDad]

You keep giving me debate material. LOL.

How so? Do you have the stats on it, because I don't. Is this just based on your observations? Because we are clearly observing different things.

What does almost every business with 100m in revenue have in common? Multiple owners.

The beginning entrepreneur with 100k to his name is going to acquire and successfully run a $100M business? And all those co-owners are going to be comfortable with this scenario?

Go ahead and bust out those statistics and observations about how often this happens....

I know I've read the statistics on venture funds, I do not have them handy. Feel free to look them up.

Maybe I am reading too much into this? We're talking on a thread with a person who wants to buy a business to gain experience. He sounds relatively new to the business world, so that's who I assume we are giving advice to.

If you are intending your message to be for the already seasoned business owner, cool. But that's simply not the discussion I believe we are having.

I don't want to continue to hijack the thread. Feel free to start another thread if you want to continue the discussion...