Acquisitions Anonymous - #1 for business buying, selling and operating - We spot an amazing Business Broker - Acquisitions Anonymous episode 144

Episode Date: November 25, 2022

Want to receive this listing in your inbox? Signup for our weekly newsletter:https://www.getrevue.co/profile/acquanon-----Michael Girdley (@Girdley) and Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA) talk about a prof...itable Midwest Framing and Art Handling Business. We talk about how this deal works and what it accomplishes.We dive deep into how to spot a great business broker and how to improve your deal flow.-----Thanks to our sponsors!CloudBookkeeping offers adaptable solutions to businesses that want to focus on growth with a “client service first” approach. They offer a full suite of accounting services, including sophisticated reporting, QuickBooks software solutions, and full-service payroll options.-----Show Notes:(00:00) - Introduction(01:16) - Our sponsor is Cloudbookkeeping(02:44) - Deals & Financials: Profitable Midwest Framing and Art Handling Business(03:31) - What does this company do?(05:11) - Financial, value & financial performance(09:16) - What makes this teaser so good?(11:38) - What is the network risk associated with acquiring this business?(14:53) - Is this the best brokerage firm ever?(19:00) - How would we improve our deal flow dramatically?(26:00) - How would we negotiate this deal?(27:30) - How much would we pay for this one?-----Additional episodes you might enjoy:#143 - Is this cell tower business any good?#142 - Should we buy this Crossfit Gym?#141 - A very profitable B2B Internet Business in the Petcare Vertical#140 - Let’s SBA the heck out of this deal - with special Guest Heather EndresenSubscribe to weekly our Newsletter and get curated deals in your inboxAdvertise with us by clicking here Do you love Acquanon and want to see our smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel. Do you enjoy our content? Rate our show! Follow us on Twitter @acquanon Learnings about small business acquisitions and operations. For inquiries or suggestions, email us at contact@acquanon.com

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Acquisitions Anonymous, the internet's number one podcast about buying and selling small businesses. I am one of your hosts, Bill D'Alessandro, and we have a really cool episode for you today that is full of digressions, but I hope interesting ones. So the headline of this is that Michael and I talk about a framing shop in the Midwest. But we actually spend most of the episode talking about brokers, what makes them good and bad, how they position businesses for sale in the market, and actually really were pretty big fans of the broker that was representing this listing. So if you're interested in general lessons about working with business brokers and what makes good and bad brokers and
Starting point is 00:00:42 teasers, I think you'll find this one very interesting. And if you do, we would really, really appreciate it if you would go on Apple Podcasts and leave us a review. When you go find Acquisitions Anonymous in Apple Podcasts, you have to go into the podcast. You have to go into the podcast. and scroll all the way to the bottom, you'll find the stars. If you like it, please give us a five-star review. It helps other people find us and supports us in our quest, our never-ending quest, to become break-even here on Acquisites Anonymous. So without further ado, enjoy this episode with Michael and I about a framing shop in the Midwest
Starting point is 00:01:13 and what makes a good business broker. Hey, Michael here. I want to talk to you about today's sponsor for the episode, which is cloudbookkeeping.com. So cloud bookkeeping is actually run by my neighbor, Charlie. So I've met him in person and can attest that he's a real human being and a good person. And what cloud bookkeeping does is offer a full suite of bookkeeping services all in the cloud for you around QuickBooks and other technologies that you're using as a small business owner. So if you're interested in getting the bookkeeping part of running a business off of your plate and focusing on running your business, Charlie and his team are one to call. They can put together a bunch of other stuff in terms of helping you manage and grow your business besides just bookkeeping,
Starting point is 00:02:02 sophisticated reporting, definitely helping you get your QuickBooks online set up in the right way, and a number of things around payroll as well. So definitely know them and recommend them. If you want to find out more about Cloud Bookkeeping, you can go to their website at cloudbookkeeping.com, reach out to Charlie. I know many of you have and see if he can help you. make running your business easier and more fun by letting them help with a lot of the bookkeeping solutions. And when you call, mention this podcast, it would help us and help Charlie
Starting point is 00:02:36 know that we're supporting him as well. So thanks a bunch and cloudbookkeeping.com as the sponsor for today's episode. All right. So today we have a profitable Midwest framing and art handling business brought to us by Calder Capital. Who is Calder Capital? Are they a broker? I assume so. That's a good name for a broker. They sound very legit. Sell side advisory, by side advisory, buy side platinum. They have champagne room too or no? Oh, Timstah.
Starting point is 00:03:06 Man, look at these guys. Okay. Profitable Midwest framing and art handling business brought to by Calder Capital at CalderGR.com. Mills found this, but he's not here today. So we'll do it. We'll do without him. All right.
Starting point is 00:03:19 This opportunity is a leading art dealer, framing, art handling, and printing business in the Midwest. The company additionally showcases our work at its gallery. host events and acts as the intermediary between its network of exclusive artists and the clients. The company manufacturers custom framing for anything from sports memorabilia to treasured objects and expensive art pieces to budget conscious posters. They have a printing system that does options for canvas prints, premium prints, basic prints, decal edging, protective coding, and digital retoaching, and they have a variety of other
Starting point is 00:03:49 services, including consulting, installation, digital photo restoration, and other related services. They have a network of over 75 exclusive artists who supply artwork and consignment and then they connect the artists work to the end client. The company finds talented artists through many channels and constantly receives new artist applications through its website. Very interesting. Okay. So this is like much more of a marketplace than I thought it was the way they're describing it. The way they're describing it, but I can't tell. It's like, is some of this art just like hanging on the wall in their shop or are they doing actual, you know,
Starting point is 00:04:23 substantial volume. It's kind of smart. Like, you know, you sell frames, something's got to go in the frames. You go, geez, I better drop demand for our work and then I can put frames around it. But I'd be interested, is it just a way to sell frames? Or are they making a margin on the art or a commission on the art? Or is that a substantial portion of their revenue or not? That would be one of my questions. Yeah. Well, it is a total broker trick that knows people want to be, are going to value a marketplace business much higher than they are just a normal frame dealer. and to kind of overblow that. Like it's, and so is this a frame business that kind of throws in some art, as you're saying?
Starting point is 00:05:00 Or is this like truly like a baby Sotheby's, which is like a great business to be in. So I, you've looked at like Sotheby's and the other kind of art houses and the way they run stuff? Not crazy business. I mean, imagine it's like 100% profit margin. They're crazy businesses. Like they'll, they charge these like huge premiums. So like every time you see one of those like Van Gogh paintings. sell for like $100 million.
Starting point is 00:05:25 On the front end, Sutherbees has charged a buyer premium of like 20 or 30% on that. So they'll like clear like $50 or $100 million in one like Sunday afternoon art sale. Just like crazy, crazy type stuff. I learned about this by watching YouTube videos. Yes. How do you learn about anything besides watching YouTube videos? I watch a lot of YouTube videos. That's how one learns about things, right?
Starting point is 00:05:53 that and listening to podcasts. You know, last night, last night, Mrs. Gerdley's car would not start. And the first thing I did, well, first of all, everybody was trying to tell me it's the alternative and all this stuff. I was like, it's the battery. Like, there's just no way this is not the battery. But I needed to change the battery.
Starting point is 00:06:08 So I went in and watched the YouTube video on it. And five minutes later, like I knew how to change the battery in a Subaru 2021 assent. It is incredibly cool and just underrated the amount of instant great knowledge that is accessible to you on YouTube, tutorial. video style. It's not like, oh, you can read the manual. Like, here's a guy actually doing the exact thing you need to do right now. Yeah. Well, and it's totally different. Like when, you know, I'm a little older than you, but like when I was growing up and like 22 and I wanted to know how to do something, you couldn't just jump on Google and figure it out. Like, Google didn't even exist when I was 22 in 1997. Like,
Starting point is 00:06:46 I would have to go drive down to Barnes & Noble and buy a book that was like a year old. Like, that was your option. It's just a crazy time. Everything is awesome and nobody's happy. That's what I keep telling myself, Bill. That's right. That's right. All right. Financial Performance, back to this deal. Trailing 12 months revenue is $2.7 million U.S. money. Trailing 12-month June 22, sellers discretionary earnings is $468,000. They have $355,000 in equipment and they have $2.5 million in real estate. Very interesting. This makes me think it is not a art brokerage business. The margins would be way better.
Starting point is 00:07:29 That it spells like a frame shop? Yeah, this is a frame shop, right? Like they've got $350,000 of equipment. If you read the description, they've got 24,000 square feet and they've got 20% EBITDA margins, right? Like, this is a frame shop. Not there's anything wrong with that, but it's a frame shop, I think. It's a frame shop. I mean, I love this broker.
Starting point is 00:07:49 Like, if I have a crap business, I'm calling this broker to market. it. This is totally like, they know what they're doing. This like, this marketplace connecting you to artists. And it's like, no,
Starting point is 00:08:00 that's just some dudes making frames in a warehouse in Cleveland. I mean, you got to answer them like, you know, they're probably trying to connect art, art, you know, people that make art to people who buy art, but mostly just to sell more frames,
Starting point is 00:08:13 right? 100%. No, They're wrong with it. It just doesn't make it a marketplace business. Okay. A little bit more here. The company was founded over 30 years ago
Starting point is 00:08:21 and remains on the same, ownership and the current owners desire to sell the business to begin their transition into retirement. We'd like to see a new owner with tenacity and enthusiasm further grow the business. Ownership is willing to provide reasonable and customary transition assistance as the new owners take over and is committed to supporting it through the transition period. Man, I like, after all the deals that we've looked at where people are like, yeah, I want out in two weeks.
Starting point is 00:08:45 I mean, how nice is it that these like baby boomers are like, yeah, I want to stick around and be helpful for at least a year or two? Now, it's questionable how helpful they'll be, but at least like they're committed to seeing you hopefully be successful through the whole thing. This is the best phrasing on transition assistance I have ever seen in a teaser. It doesn't commit to anything, right? But it doesn't give you the feeling that they're going to bail on you immediately. They're going to provide reasonable and customary transition assistance and commit to supporting the company's growth through a transition period. That's all you want.
Starting point is 00:09:17 And like you can negotiate, you know, as a buyer, you can try to figure. out later in the process, you know, if 60 days is appropriate, if 30 days is appropriate, if six months is appropriate, you know, whatever. But when they put in the teaser, like, seller will give two weeks of transition, like just immediately as a buyer, like, oh, this guy wants out. You know, I've just never seen better framing than this where they don't commit to anything, but also make you feel taken care of. I love it. Man, this broker is just great. I'm impressed by these guys. Maybe I should sign it for their platinum package. That was one of the links on the side.
Starting point is 00:09:50 that is. It makes, he's like, when these, if you've got like a platinum package, you're like, well, does that mean the regular package is terrible? Like, are you not taking care of me if I don't sign up for the platinum package? Well, my, that reminds me my buddy Matt was on a few episodes ago. And he was complaining. And by the way, I've heard this story like four or five times complaining about going to the dentist. And the dentist, who's now owned by private equity, tried to sell him a package where for an extra $50, they would do cancer screening and his mouth. And my buddy Matt was livid. He's like, wait, if you saw cancer in my mouth right now, you wouldn't tell me. You're just so mad about it. Exactly. Cool. All right, so investment highlights.
Starting point is 00:10:35 They list strong reputation and community involvement, one and two, which to me, these are like super red flags about how this business works. Like, clearly there is a level of, Like when I go double click on this business, clearly there is a level of how much the baby boomers running this thing that are ready to retire have been involved and developed relationships over time with all the people in their space. So the artists, they talk about the network they have there, the people that are potentially the galleries who are sending them work. And then they're growing that to also to the end customers by being super involved in the community. And it says, you know, the company is heavily involved in the community by actively supporting over 15 charities and nonprofit. it's an implementing initiatives to further increase the awareness and appreciation of the arts. Like, I would be willing to bet there is a significant amount of the reason this business works
Starting point is 00:11:30 is because the proprietor loves talking about art and loves bonding with people about art and loves being part of their community and out at everything. And every time somebody asks, hey, like, we need a donation for this soccer team or whatever. Like, they say yes. And, like, just scares me if you're looking at this trying to be an absentee owner. Like, it's just not going to happen. So let me tell you the other reason this could be scary. So either that's what's going on, right?
Starting point is 00:11:56 And the only reason they're growing is everything you just described. Or when I see this, this is a sign to me that the business doesn't actually, business owners don't actually understand how their business works. Like, it is also possible that the reason they're doing so well is there are not very many framing shops in town and their price 20% below the market. And they don't even know that. You know what I mean? Like there's when I see like, you know, it's very positive.
Starting point is 00:12:22 There's plenty of people to go through life thinking their business is succeeding for one reason and just never actually really knowing. Right. So, I mean, there's like it's, it's pretty rare. And I'd say it doesn't happen. But it's pretty rare that like your strong reputation in the community is causing people to pay uneconomic prices for the things you sell. Right.
Starting point is 00:12:43 Like that's a pretty strong reputation, right? And not to say that that's not good. and worth it, but, like, usually that's not the whole moat, right? Hmm. It's interesting. I don't know if you saw. I wrote a whole thread last week on Twitter about moats. And somebody came in with an anecdote and they were like, I think it was Clint Fiore,
Starting point is 00:13:04 came in with an anecdote where it's like he had been talking to a business owner about their, somebody, some, you know, NBA search funder had come in asking this old, like, crunchy old baby boomer like services owner like tell in the the the the searcher said well you know tell me about the moats around your business and the baby boomer had no clue what the concept was and he was just like look here son we just take care of our customers and the rest works itself out just like oh that's just beautiful in terms of its simplicity but it's like actually this guy had no clue you know like let's say in the case of this services business this baby boomer owner had no clue that the reason he was, you know, being successful was because he had the number one
Starting point is 00:13:50 ranking on Google for his community. Like, just no clue, no clue at all. And it's, it's really, I don't know, it's a fascinating thing how you can be so successful in business and all the theoretical stuff is just like, oh, you don't even bother with it. You don't even need to know it. Yeah. Yeah. And that kind of extends to number three and four on this list, too. So there are four investment highlights, right? Strong reputation you already hit. Community involvement you already hit. The next three and four are unique products and services and reliable team and tight-knit company culture. This is a framing shop. I would be pretty surprised if it has unique products and services. Could be wrong. And then for reliable team, tight-knit company culture,
Starting point is 00:14:33 like, that's awesome, not taking anything away from that. That's really good. And you should have that. But the owner's about to leave. And that tends to change. the culture at least. I don't want to say hurt, but change. And I don't know that that's the thing that is making your framing shop absolutely crush it or not. So you got you got four like investment highlights, all of which seem very squishy to me. You know, and I think it ties back to it. I'm going to, I want to pull up the website for this brokerage. Like this is the most impressive brokerage. Like I think we've run across. Let me share this. Let me share this with everybody here. But like, like they have five or six offices, right?
Starting point is 00:15:17 And here, and here, look at these folks. Let me pull up the, let me pull up the thing and show you these guys. Chrome tab. So anyway, like this Calder Capital, first of all, they're named like they're a, like they're an investment bank. And like these guys like, when, when have you ever seen a small business brokerage looking this professional? Like these people all have suits in their, in their pictures, like they're like, like, they're actually like had somebody professionally come in. None of them are touching their faces.
Starting point is 00:15:51 They're wearing hats. None of them are touching their faces are wearing hats. You know, this is like, man, look at this. If you told me this was like a B-team like New York City investment bank, I'd be like, okay. Like it looked kind of like that. But these guys are doing Main Street M&A. Like, it kind of mind-blowing.
Starting point is 00:16:14 I like it. You got a hand of these guys, Calder Capital. I mean, they've got a professional teaser here. They're not saying anything. Like, they're basically saying, this is what it is, sign the NDA. They're not putting their foot in their mouth in any, you know, in the teaser in any way. They look professional. Got to hand it to them.
Starting point is 00:16:32 And I think this is super smart. Look at this guy right here. Walter Monroe. Like he's, I mean, first of all, he looks like a super friendly guy, but his title is business development, and he looks like, and not to be rude to Walter, but he looks like he's a baby boomer in his late to mid-70s. Like, who better to go out and talk to retiring people than somebody that actually speaks like them? I mean, not, you don't send me out there. Like some whippersnapper, like 47-year-old, like is not going to speak the same language as a retiring 70-year-old who wants
Starting point is 00:17:03 to take care of their legacy. Like, just all the harm-ricks of this thing being run really, really well in a market that is typically like super hard right like like how many high high high quality small time main street m&A shops do we know and like these guys seem to be killing it i wonder what they figured out that that the brokerage industry is not that good and the bar is pretty low you bring best practices from i mean like it's not new to be a business transaction intermediary and plenty of wall street and middle market banks have really iterated on it and figured it out. And yet brokers haven't even figured out that they shouldn't call themselves brokers. Like, the bar is so low to be a really good intermediary in the micro market.
Starting point is 00:17:50 100%. I mean, look like they have tombstones. Like, they're a real investment bank. Oh, yeah. Like, just amazing. I mean, I guess this brings my question is like, when I see something like this, like, I didn't even know this was possible. Like, I didn't know that this low end of the market could support this level of professionalism. Oh, it totally can. So I know a guy, so I've always like kind of joke to have tongue and cheek that if everything falls apart for me, I can just hang a shingle and be the best business broker in America like on day one, right?
Starting point is 00:18:25 Because it's the bar. So, though, I have a friend, a former investment banker. He did, you know, like four years in investment banking. he went out and started his own what he called wisely an investment bank, not a brokerage, but it's a brokerage. And he cleared like $2 million his first year in fees. He won deals against all these other brokers out there, put together gorgeous Sims and got people great multiples and banked big old fees. Like in his first year doing it because he knew what he was doing.
Starting point is 00:18:58 I just think the brokerage industry is terrible. That's amazing. Well, and so what idea I've been thinking about is like, especially if you're like a search funder, like I've always kind of wondered why search funders instead of just being a search funder, like don't just go and like just start a brokerage and say, I'm going to do that for a couple of years. Like I think your deal flow would just go through the roof and you get paid to look at stuff. And I guess the downside is you would get trapped in potentially being a broker because that becomes your new career or you make $2 million like your buddy and you just decide not to quit. But like, like, it seems like such a way to get inside information that, you know, I don't know.
Starting point is 00:19:38 By the way, that totally happened to him. So he makes $2 million a year and he's like, I hate this. I hated investment banking is why I left. And now I'm trapped, right? And like, I want to buy a business, but like I can't sunset this thing because it's making a ton of money. And we have a reputation now. So he actually did end up in that pickle. So can he, does it, can he get to a point where he brings on enough of a team?
Starting point is 00:20:01 to where he can transition to five hours a week or something like that and make two-thirds the amount of money or half the amount of money? Or is that the big problem here? Like, you're just trapped. You're a little trapped. I mean, that's what he did, right? Like, he brought on some ex-investment bankers offered them big upside. And, you know, he's got a couple of guys working for him now. But it's hard to get out of when it's deal work. Like, you don't want to talk to the associate or the VP. You want to talk to the managing director or the guy who's running your transaction. because this is a life-changing transaction for you and it's, you know, big dollars. And it's client work so that, you know, they want an answer right now.
Starting point is 00:20:38 And I don't care if it's Saturday. Or, you know, the bank pulls out, you know, when you're trying to be on vacation. It's just client work is so brutal. So I think that is this thing you just don't get away from. I mean, I think, and I think such a testament as I, as I watch the things in my portfolio and the things I'm dealing with, like, in terms of having, like, both more, fun working with it. And secondarily, like, the enterprise value, it's like, if you're in that quadrant of revenue where you can get recurring revenue is like, I understand why people like that so much now. Like, objectively, I understood it. Now, I viscerally feel it because I'm just like,
Starting point is 00:21:17 oh, this business is killing it. Like, I'm in this great business. We're doing so good. And you look at you're like, wait, where's the enterprise value? Right. Because, like, it's not recurring revenue, right? And especially if you're in an eat way, you kill business. Like, it's just the deck is stacked against you. You've got to start over at the beginning of every quarter. And, you know, it's one of those things where, like, I've learned it intellectually and I get it, but then only after five years of experiencing it, do I really feel it? You know, if that makes sense, it exactly, exactly what I think about this. And this transaction work is just so hard because, like, you got to have a book of business. You're building all the time. You don't build up a stable recurring revenue thing. Like,
Starting point is 00:21:53 you're a CPA firm or anybody else kind of involved in Main Street B-to-B services. Yeah. It's super lucrative. But, like, you're a super lucrative. But, like, Like, it's not easy work. It's just not. I mean, get, think how hard it is to get a deal to come together. Anybody listen to this that's done a deal knows that it is freaking brutal to get a deal to come together. You got buyer, you got seller, you got bank, you got due diligence providers, you know, you got all this stuff. And then you're broker and you're trying to hold all of these insane people together and try to get them to close or you don't get paid.
Starting point is 00:22:21 And you're trying to do three of these in parallel at any one time if you're having success. It ties back to what you're talking about, which is, okay, if you're going to live that terrible lifestyle, do you want to work on $4 million deals or do you want to work on $400 million deals, right? And if you're going to be stuck with a terrible lifestyle, you might as well get paid an incredible amount of money for it as opposed to just a good amount of money. Because like everybody I know in investment banking, like, we get on Zoom calls and I'm like, you don't look good. You look super unhealthy. You don't look healthy. It's stressful because everybody's yelling at you, right? Like buyer wants to know where their diligence information seller is,
Starting point is 00:23:01 wants to know why buyer is retrading and it's your fault broker. You know, bank is delaying the transaction. It's your fault broker. You got to deal with everybody. And to win, you know, and I think it's also shifted as I've talked to business brokers and stuff like that, they used to be able to get retainers back in the day. And like, you can't get it anymore because people, and even on the investment banking side, like, you know, I know you've worked.
Starting point is 00:23:24 of investment makers on both sides. And I have recently, too. And they're all like, hey, we would charge your retainer, but we're waiving it. It's like, well, wait, why do you even mention this? I've had it waived 100% of the time. They don't even bring it up. In 1995, I would charge your retainer, but I've been waiving it for 20 years. I've been waving it since the Clinton administration. Exactly. Okay, so let's invert this and go back to our thing, and then we'll put this art handling business to bed. Number one, I think our conclusion, is this is perhaps the best business listing we've ever read like easy peasy like i can't think of that many that were that much better than this um smart in every single way looks very professional
Starting point is 00:24:06 like man the framing figuratively is like of what they've put together and how they think about the deal position as a marketplace like just just amazing but at its core it's still a frame shop so so yeah is there somebody who should buy a frame shop doing 416 $60,000 a year and STE in your mind? I mean, yeah. Like, again, I'm like a freaking broken record here, buyer business fit. Like if you want to live in this town and you want to make $400,000 a year, which this business seems to, and you want to probably go to work every day and, you know, just you don't have
Starting point is 00:24:42 to make the frames yourself. But, you know, like, if you want to own a Main Street business and whatever town this is and have a very nice life, rock and roll, man. Like, I don't see any huge risks to the framing industry. like people are going to hang art on walls for a long time. You know, I don't think the internet, you know, maybe when we're all living in the metaverse one day, you know, and the, but it's just NFTs and digital frames. But like, that's pretty far ways off.
Starting point is 00:25:06 Like, I think people are going to hang stuff on their walls for a long time. I don't see any, like, fundamental risks. Like, this stuff is, uh, if it's nice art, you can't really do it through ecommerce because you don't want to ship it there and back. You know, things are big and fragile to ship. Like, this is kind of an inherently local business. I mean, I don't hate it, but like the flip side is never getting any bigger, right? This is growing with population growth in your area, period.
Starting point is 00:25:31 And if you're right with that, sit back, you know? Yeah. Well, and it's probably, it looks like they're headquartered, this brokerage is headquartered in Michigan. They're in Chicago and, you know, Milwaukee. Like, yeah. It's not exactly Boomtown USA. The other thing that, the other thing I think is really interesting is like,
Starting point is 00:25:51 there are some of these frames that are not contemporary at all. Like, who gets this gaudy, like there's a picture here of what appears to be the inside the frame shop? Who gets this gaudy like Louis XIV's frame anymore? Like, I just don't know who does this stuff. So pretty, pretty interesting in total. But I 100% agree with you. I do think this is a great example of a chance to build wealth as a business buyer where you
Starting point is 00:26:15 negotiate to buy their building as well as part of the deal? You know, I think I've seen a number of boomers who want to exit and are happy to have some sort of parallel revenue stream where, say, they're going to hold a seller note on this real estate. Or you use it as a situation where the business is basically just going to be buying you a building over time and you're left with the 50,000 square foot building in Lansing, Michigan, you know, when all is said and done. So this is a great one where the building can be part of your transaction or also part of your upside is you're building your own personal wealth and accumulating it by doing something like this. But yeah, unless you want to be somebody who wants to live in Western Michigan, talk to no-name artists and support every like artistic cause and like a pickleball, professional pickleball team opening up in your neighborhood and be really part of the community. This is a tough. This is a tough ask. So yeah. I just wouldn't be underwriting this with any kind of revenue growth in your three to five year plan. Right. Like I would figure out what the population delta is for the town this is based in. And that's how your revenue is going to trend. probably, right? And so maybe if you think you can take out a huge amount of cost or maybe you own a framing shop in the next town over and this is a logical expansion for you, like these are the things where it makes sense. But if you don't have any of those things, this is buy and hold
Starting point is 00:27:32 and it's boringly throws off four to five hundred thousand dollars a year, which is maybe not so boring. But that is what it is. So where would you price if you were, if you were a buyer who fit what we're talking about. Where should this deal get priced? Do you think? I feel like I have to give props to the Calder folks again. There is no asking price on this listing, which again is like a very upmarket thing to do. It blows me away that sellers in what I'm calling the micro market like continually negotiate against themselves or put off buyers or whatever by putting asking prices on these things. Like big deals never have asking prices. It's not like, oh, Pepsi Cola is for sale. Asking price $47 billion.
Starting point is 00:28:16 You just don't do it. So props to the Calder folks for not having an asking price on here and just seeing where the bids come out. You can always negotiate later. So it's 450K of SD. I mean, I think this is a two to three times deal. Yeah. That's where my head was too.
Starting point is 00:28:33 Million to a million five. Yeah. And it's probably very financeable. I bet you can get nice SBA debt on this thing. It's probably stable as heck. You know, it's got some equipment and some real estate value. you know nothing crazy super cool all right well just what america needs nice boring ass businesses all right man good job today catch you later all right see yeah

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