I bet my retirement that this business will succeed!

Is it better to borrow money when buying or starting a business or is it best just to use your retirement funds?

I’m surprised at how often people ask me this.

Maybe there are a lot of people out there with entrepreneurial dreams and fat retirement plans.

I’ve got news for all of them though.  Whether you borrow from a bank or your retirement plan, you’re still borrowing.

If you don’t believe that, maybe this week’s video can help show you the folly of your ways.

I answer the question, ‘does it make sense to use retirement funds to fund your small business?’

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/37t2lK1lZ_w

Learn how to buy a small business at https://www.BusinessBuyerAdvantage.com

Get an Audible subscription and listen to my book 21 Stupid Things People do When Trying to buy a Business: Learn how to Avoid These Awful Novice Mistakes.

Book a call with me at www.clarity.fm/davidbarnett

Stop missing my videos and other news. Join my email list here: www.DavidCBarnettList.com

#entrepreneurship #smallbiz #business #businessbroker #retirement

Not your average St. Patrick's Day message.

My neighbour decorates his 3-car garage with an Irish flag for St. Patrick's Day.  

Do you think he's just lucky to have a place like that?

Luck of the Irish

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

I hope you enjoy the Luck of the Irish.

Have you ever wondered where an expression like that comes from?

Stereotypes and clichés seem to form around a wee bit of evidence, or at least some observable trends.

So, is it possible that an entire nation is so full of lucky people that they’ve become linked to the idea of luckiness?

I think I can give you some idea of where this notion comes from.  You see, I live directly across the Atlantic from Ireland.

While I can’t see the emerald isle from here, I can see its effects all around me.

In my life, I’ve spend a lot of time in Miramichi and Saint John, New Brunswick.  Both places were big landing spots for the Irish diaspora for well over a hundred years.

In fact, it’s common to hear a young man today in Miramichi refer to his close buddies as ‘the lads.’

That’s pretty Irish, yet nary a leprechaun in sight!

When you walk around Saint John (Canada’s oldest incorporated city) you see block after block of beautiful stone buildings and an amazing city market whose roof is built as an inverted ship hull.

The carpenters of the day were mostly building ships and figured an upside-down hull should work just as well to keep water out.

Then there were railroads and thousands and thousands of acres of cleared land for newly established farms.

And of course, those big Irish Catholic Churches that stretch up, up and up with a million little details that still make people stop and look today.

There is ample evidence that the Irish were ready to be lucky, especially if you subscribe to my definition of luck. (copied from more famous people, of course)

Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.

For millions of Irish, being prepared meant being willing to do a lot of hard work.

And as the evidence demonstrates- Irish people have a lot of experience doing hard work.

Imagine if someone gave you an acreage of forest land and told you that you now had the opportunity to make a farm and home of your own.   Would you know where to start?

They did.

So, what do opportunities look like in 2019 and how can we get prepared to meet them?

Because forest land is rarely being handed out these days.

Opportunity comes at us today in the form of information.

Preparation is done so that we know how to act on the information to our benefit.

Listen to this...

‘I heard that John is headed to Florida, I think he’s looking for a condo to buy because he might retire soon.  I’m not sure what he’s doing with his business.’

‘Did you hear? Norm is in the hospital.  His wife must be going crazy down at the business by herself.’

‘Do you realize that Pedro used to have three crews working for him?  Now he spends a lot of time at the bar.  I don’t think he’s really interested in his business anymore.’

‘I heard that Jennifer is dating a guy out in California.  It seems to be getting serious, but I don’t see how she could move there while taking care of her spa business.’

What would you do if you heard one of these utterances?

Would you have the tools to seize the opportunity?

I can help you get prepared.

Come learn about the training and coaching I can offer you.

Cheers and have a green beer for me.

Dave

PS. The financial forecasting program is now in week #3 and is going strong. Learn more and sign up over here.

There are risks in talking to a buyer who may not be real!

Questions, Questions, Quora!

This week our question comes from a stranger who posted it over at Quora.com.

He asks, ‘How do I know if a buyer is serious about buying my business?’

Great question and an important one since talking to a buyer is risky in a lot of ways.

This week I delve into the question and give a strategy for quickly determining if someone is worth your time.

Also--- look for new videos on Wednesdays as I’m changing up my schedule a little bit.

Watch the video of our chat here: https://youtu.be/-Gbnj7Chxxs

Learn how to sell your business at https://www.HowToSellMyOwnBusiness.com

Get an Audible subscription and listen to my book How to Sell My Own Business: A Guide to selling your own business without paying a broker’s commission for FREE.

Book a call with me at www.clarity.fm/davidbarnett

Stop missing my videos and other news. Join my email list here: www.DavidCBarnettList.com

#entrepreneurship #smallbiz #business #MandA #businessbroker 

My winter vacation is over. :( Here's what people on the email list have been enjoying..

The last 13 days.

Hi,

Over the last 13 days I've been sending out links to the email subscribers of old videos of mine with comments about what I thought when they were new or how I feel about them now.

If you didn't receive them, it's because you're not on the email list.  Join at www.DavidCBarnettList.com

I try to only send out emails to the people they may be relevant to so be sure you check the right areas of interest for you.

Cheers

Dave

1. Road to Gold is paved with Macaroni. https://youtu.be/BXDHF5dYbWo Feb 27
2. Paving Contractor vs. the Drug Dealers https://youtu.be/tI32pOdd2bs Feb 28
3. Industrial Age Thinking = Opportunity https://youtu.be/ZJgNWU-sxeQ Mar 1
4. Why the right asking price is critical in selling a business https://youtu.be/CuiJUenzEzc Mar 2
5. City Zoning Rules distract business owner. https://youtu.be/lwORvoJ_xeY  March 3
6. Franchise fees are the cost of selling to you. https://youtu.be/7eYi5-HA5wcMarch 4
7. Pizzeria Franchise Inferno https://youtu.be/-a1LH4i07k0 March 5
8. Finding equity- balance sheet ratios. https://youtu.be/ght8EGLLqGE March 6
9. Retiring entrepreneur turns business into annuity. https://youtu.be/rkdB8eLl6Xw March 7
10. Local business failures-Take money off the table. https://youtu.be/jNzpxEyFE_w March 8
11. Bye Bye Birdie- Challenges of highly niched businesses. https://youtu.be/BWjyzEC4pt0 March 9
12. Does debt make a business more volatile? https://youtu.be/YH8WzjkDU-AMarch 10
13. Buy a business on a credit card? https://youtu.be/LE_Lyx9eOI0 March 11

Saskatoon wakes up to David telling a negotiation story...

This month one of my articles was featured in the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce Magazine; Business Voice.

If you'd like to read it and others I wrote then just check out my FREE business finance articles here: https://gum.co/gCXjx/Free

Industry-Leading direct response email marketer tells SmallBiz Buyers team about hidden customer email lists.

Hi,

The Business Buyer Adventure group now has representation from 5 states and 3 continents!

Watch this video to see what's been going on in the group.

Remember, each and every month more and more content is added to The Business Buyer Adventure and so the value keeps going up but the subscription price you pay remains the same!

This past month, we had Mike Finger come on to talk to us about seller mindset.  Mike built and sold a business, then bought and sold two more.

He lets us in on the differences between buyers and builders of businesses when the time comes to sell.  You can listen to this conversation right now when you join the group.

For March we have Ben Settle.

Ben has been working in the field of email marketing for decades and he’s learned from the best.  In fact, he’s the guy that I’ve been learning some of my email skills from.

Oftentimes, businesses have information on customers that they’re not taking advantage of.

I asked Ben in our March Expert Call if he thought this information could represent a hidden asset in these potential acquisition targets.

His answer might surprise you.

Join today and learn what he has to say when his interview goes live in March.

Watch the complete update video here: https://youtu.be/Vlv5uxRFZjo

Join the group.  Meet others like you.

Participate in our group calls and learn from other member’s deals.

Sign up here: https://gum.co/BizBuyerAdventure

Cash Flow Forecasting and Business Plan Writing program now LIVE

The new Small Business Cash Flow Forecasting and Business Plan Writing Program.

Hi,
In case you missed it, on Friday I did a live webcast and introduced the new cash flow forecasting program that I'm building along with weekly input from the founding students.

If you'd like to join us, sign up here: https://gum.co/smallbizforecasting

What do the first videos look like?

Well I introduce you to 5 businesses.  3 are new start ups and 2 are existing businesses.

Each has business has a story to highlight different difficulties in doing up cash flows and business plans.  The idea is to show you how to make a mathematical model for any business you might come across.

This first week is all about setting up the sales forecasts.

Next week we'll get into costs.

Each week there is new material and you have an opportunity to submit feedback to make the course better and help fill any gaps.

Founders get in at a special price of only $99.

Be sure to create a Gumroad account so you can easily sign in each week for the new modules.

Sign up today and join us on building this important aspect of your entrepreneurial skills.

https://gum.co/smallbizforecasting

Cheers

Dave