Digital Social Hour - Why 99% of Entrepreneurs Fail to Exit (And How Not To) | Eddie Wilson DSH #1094

Episode Date: January 12, 2025

Discover why 99% of entrepreneurs fail to exit their businesses successfully and learn the proven strategies from Eddie Wilson, known as the "King of Exits" with over 100 successful company sales! ��   In this eye-opening conversation, Eddie reveals his three-pillar approach to creating valuable businesses that buyers chase after. Learn how he achieves an incredible 78% success rate (compared to the industry average of 8-9%) and why operational efficiency is the key to commanding premium valuations.   From his first painful exit where he lost $30M to building a business empire and transforming countless companies, Eddie shares raw insights about what really matters in business and life. He breaks down why most entrepreneurs struggle to sell their companies and provides actionable strategies to position your business for a successful exit.   Beyond the business tactics, Eddie opens up about the surprising truth of wealth, materialism, and finding genuine fulfillment through impact. His journey from chasing profits to feeding over 4,300 children daily through his humanitarian work offers powerful lessons for entrepreneurs at any stage.   Whether you're building to sell or looking to create lasting impact through your business, this conversation delivers invaluable wisdom from someone who's mastered both the art of the exit and the pursuit of meaningful success. 💫   #operationaleffectiveness #operationalefficiency #commonpitfallsinbusinessexits #efficiencystrategies #operationalperformance   CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Intro 00:50 - Eddie's Events 02:10 - Podcasts and Media 04:30 - Acquiring Companies Strategies 05:00 - Prolon Overview 06:00 - Red Ocean vs Blue Ocean Strategy 07:20 - Aspire and Ambition 09:46 - Artificial Intelligence Insights 11:06 - How to Sell Your Company Successfully 13:09 - Importance of Mentorship 16:28 - Defining an End Goal 17:56 - Materialism and Its Impact 20:58 - Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness Discussion 24:00 - Selling a Business: Key Steps 26:09 - Eddie's Track Record and Achievements 28:28 - What Eddie's Excited About in the Future 29:21 - Where to Find Eddie Online   APPLY TO BE ON THE PODCAST: https://www.digitalsocialhour.com/application BUSINESS INQUIRIES/SPONSORS: [e-mail]   GUEST: Eddie Wilson https://www.instagram.com/eddiewilsonofficial   SPONSORS: Prolon: http://prolonlife.com/DSH   LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-social-hour/id1676846015 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Jn7LXarRlI8Hc0GtTn759 Sean Kelly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmikekelly/

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BED-MGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Mid-cap space and I serve it up to the big guy. So with operational efficiency, all I'm doing is taking something that already exists that's good, making it better and making it, you know, a piece of something that already exists that's good, making it better, and making it a piece of something that they can actually enjoy, take advantage of, and run. And so what I've gotten really good at is seeing the small guy for what he can be. All right, guys.

Eddie Wilson is here today. We've had this on the books for a while. Thanks for coming in, man. Glad to be here. Yeah, I think we scheduled this a year ago, because you're so busy traveling. A long time. Where have you been lately?

Everywhere. Nashville, Chicago, LA, you name it, London, Egypt. I mean, yeah, all over. And you're having events in every city? You know, I have a nonprofit on the international stuff, so I don't do a lot of events internationally. I'll speak four or five times a year. But for the most part, the events are in the US.

Got it. And you have over 100 exits, so did you start doing these events after you were selling companies? I did. I've always built community, and then as I built community, I would actually build or buy companies

to serve that community. So most of my exits were tied to community. So I've been doing events for a long time, but they're more educational than inspirational. Lately we've gotten more inspirational self-help, aspiring entrepreneurs, stuff like that. So you're seeing that thing in the market where people want more inspiration these days?

They do, they get beat up on everything. They get beat up on the economy, they get beat up on politics, they get beat up on everything. And then you find this source of positivity and inspiration and they kind of flock to it today. I could see that, yeah. I've been to like five aspire tours and I really yeah Wow, I will say some of them are very emotional. Yeah, I remember vividly some speakers crying sure like back to back to back

I'm like damn This is one of the big pushes that we have is for them to be authentic and open and real You'll see the people that come back over and over again on our stage is something that's willing to open up because if you can't open Up if you can't open up, if you can't get vulnerable with our crowd, you're really not gonna give them a pathway to success. And so we have had a lot of emotional moments there because we ask them to be vulnerable

and then all of a sudden you're sharing your soul to 3,000, 4,000 people. And it can be emotional for sure. People like that authenticity. That's why podcasts are taking off. You saw how instrumental they were with the election. Yeah, they're huge. I was just watching, Patrick B Bet David was on Graham Stephan's

show, and he was saying how next election cycle, people will be debating on podcasts. I think they will. I think Rogan kind of created that entry way in. It was so funny because I felt like all of us were like, why wouldn't you go? I mean, look at the eyeballs in these shows versus mass media, and you can control your message.

Right. And super powerful. I think podcasts are going to be huge in the next election. I think so too. look at the eyeballs in these shows versus mass media, and you can control your message. And super powerful. I think podcasts are going to be huge in the next election. I think so, too. I think the way that we saw meta back maybe in the Obama administration then get hyperused during the Hillary Trump election, I think the same thing. You're going to see that natural inroads, this past one,

and then you're going to see massive digital media. I actually do a lot with my, I used to have an ad agency that we primarily consulted, big election. We promoted a lot of election process. Oh, really? Yeah, and ran some campaigns. And what you see is like an earmarking of the budget early. So as these big organizations start

running all of their ad spend to try to gain dollars, they're already earmarking. And I was talking to an election official about two weeks ago, and he said he believed that over 60% of all spend would go into digital in the next election, which is huge. Because if you think about today, I mean, probably 70% is on national TV, radio,

so on and so forth. It's gonna be a massive shift. Yeah, I was seeing billboards everywhere when Kamala was running. Even Trump had a lot of billboards. They both raised over a billion dollars. It's wild. Crazy, right?

But think about that, 60% of essentially $2 billion, now moving into mass, you know, into digital media. Some of these podcasts are going to do very, very well financially if they position themselves well, specifically to one side or another. Yeah. Would you ever acquire a podcast? I would.

I actually love the idea of aggregating people, eyeballs, data, right? And so again, it goes back to if you have a community that knows, likes, and trusts you, then you can serve them with products. And not products they don't want, but products that already exist on their P&Ls. That's why I roll up insurance companies, tax firms,

so on and so forth. Because if you can give them a better option than what they already have, they'll naturally migrate over. And then the stickiness is incredible, because they're in a community that you're curating. Right, yeah. They have very loyal fan bases. Exactly.

Like Sean Ryan's show. I read all the comments of these shows. I mean, these guys, I love them. It's crazy Are you still actively acquiring companies right now? I am we have gone more in the service-based space than the financial space as of late we have exited out of all of the We we sold fit con and a few of those brands that were tied to more health wellness and fitness You saw that kind of phasing out the health stuff. It's so Red Ocean.

I want to play in a space where I can innovate, where I have a community that I can advise, curate. And that was just one of those ones where. Looking for the ultimate online casino experience? Step into the BetMGM Casino app, where every deal, spin, and goal brings Las Vegas excitement into the palm of your hand. Take your seat at Premium Blackjack Pro, where strategy meets top-tier gameplay. Hit the ice with Gretzky Goal Lucky Tap, inspired by the great one himself,

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It was really tough to make inroads there. We had a big show and we had a big community, but it was tough, it was really tough. It was probably the most Red Ocean experiences I've had, where it just seemed like there was people everywhere. And I've been in banking, mortgage, insurance, these places that are very, very difficult, but it was tough. Interesting.

What does Red Ocean mean? Red Ocean, Red Ocean, Blue Ocean. So you've got Blue Ocean, which is like there's no sharks in the water. Red Ocean's a piece of meat got dropped in, right, and all the sharks come and feed. That's the business culture, right, is like where you are jumping in,

where there are a ton of sharks, a ton of competition, and it's a fight. It's a constant fight. So there was a ton of sharks, a ton of competition, and it's a fight. It's a constant fight. So there was a lot of those events in the health space? It's the events. It's also the influencers. The influencers really control that space. So in health and fitness, you've got massive influence

from digital influencers. And if they don't show up to your show, if you don't play ball with them, you can't just run nuclear media. You can't just run ads and try to get people there. You have to play with the people who have influence. And they really control it. And most of them have their own shows,

their own digital outlets, their own communities. So they don't necessarily want to bring them into a community that they could access maybe 100 influencers that would begin to create attrition to their own list and their own community. Makes sense. So you're kind of at their mercy. You are 100%.

So you'd rather be in full control of your companies where you're making all the decisions. Yeah, that makes sense. That's why Aspire is crushing it. It is. I mean, you go to every major city and thousands of people every time. We do.

We've hit well. That was never really our intent. We thought we'd do three or four and see how it goes. We sold out the first three and knew we were onto something, felt like our messaging hit. And how rare is that to actually try something and then your messaging hits immediately? Usually it's like you're testing, trying, growing,

and modifying. And for us, a spire hit right off the bat. I think it's the first time in all my companies where something just hit immediately. Wow, and you've had hundreds of companies. Yeah, hundreds, but the resonance was crazy. Like you felt it, like the moment you got there, the people walk in and you're like, wait a minute,

this is exactly who we marketed to. They showed up and then they were like the resonance with the actual speaker and the content. Right. We knew we had something. It felt like lightning in the bottle the very first show. Yeah, it's energetic, man. That atmosphere.

It's inspirational. You're changing lives. And I feel like you can monetize that with all those emotions involved. Sure, absolutely. Yeah, and you guys are having what, an event a month? An event a month, and we're scheduled out through all of 2025.

Already? Wow. We already have all 12 markets picked. I think we've got probably 11 or 12 of the venues already locked down. Nice. Speakers already building. It's been an interesting thing.

In the beginning, when you're trying to get all these celebrities, it's like you're trying to convince them. And the first time we ever went after Kevin Hart, we threw 500 grand at him. Holy crap. For 30 minutes, and he wouldn't even pick up the phone. Damn.

And then he ends up coming in later for a lot less because the show had so much notoriety. We tried calling everybody, and they're like, Mark Cuban said no, O'Leary said no. And then they see the notoriety, and then all of a sudden, their agents start calling us and saying, do you think that we should be on your stage? So it just puts you in a position of strength now.

But in the beginning, it was tough trying to get those people to align with us. And they don't want to align with somebody that's like selling stuff or you know monetizing their brand or you know their their audience. 100% yeah it's a risk for them when they speak at certain events so I understand that perspective. Same with the show though I couldn't get any of those guys on at first I didn't have the viewership. Now you have everyone right? Yeah now more people reach out to me than I hit up. That's great. But before, it was the complete opposite. That's awesome.

So you got to start somewhere. You have to. But when you hit critical mass, and then all of a sudden, you start playing downhill versus uphill. Absolutely. Are you doing anything in the AI space? I'm doing a little in the AI space. It's one of the big curiosities for me right now,

because I'm a hardcore operator. I buy businesses, but I love to operate the business. And to the degree that you can create efficiency in a business is the degree you create both success, longevity, but also enterprise value, what you're gonna ultimately sell it for. Where AI really creates a gap is the efficiency side. So like I have operating system,

Empire operating system that I put on all my businesses, but it's like that AI, we're messing with AI, trying to determine how to make even have operating system, empire operating system, I put on all my businesses. But it's like that AI, we're messing with AI, trying to determine how to make even our operating system more efficient so that we can get to better success metrics faster. And so I'm not necessarily building tech that I'm going to sell the public for AI. I'm using AI to try to maximize my operational efficiency in my company.

Got it. Yeah, I couldn't tell if that was a bubble or not, so I kind of stayed out for now. I don't think it's a bubble. I mean, I think the early investments, early adopter type stuff is a little bit of a bubble, but not enough money moved into it. You know, like the crypto space or the dot com boom.

I mean, you didn't see massive money moving in early, but what you saw was massive adoption by the big brands, you know, like Microsoft, IBM, Apple. And so I think that was a good indicator that it's a direction that the country is going to move. How did you get so good at selling? Because that's something everyone struggles with, selling their companies.

You know, that's probably what I get asked. I get asked two questions all the time. Number one, how do you operate so many companies simultaneously? Number two, how do you sell so many companies simultaneously? Number two, how do you sell so many? My theory is this. You know, there's what I call like three fish in the ocean. You've got this minnow, right?

That's the small mom and pop business. That's the guy that's doing, you know, a million, two million, three million dollars. You got this mid cap space of guys that are doing eight to 15 million, and then you have these big private equity firms that only buy companies at 100 million. There's a trillion dollars sitting over here, liquid, ready to buy.

There's 15 million baby boomers over here that don't know how to sell their business and less than 1%. 15 million that'll sell their business in the next seven years walk out, and less than 1% of them will actually sell. So the problem right now is getting this minnow to this whale. The whale can't feed on minnows. So what has right now is getting this minnow to this whale.

The whale can't feed on minnows. So what has to happen is these guys like me go in, roll up two or three or five, or take something that I can 10x. I move it into the mid-cap space, and then I serve it up to the big guy. So with operational efficiency, all I'm doing is taking something that already exists that's good, making it better, and making it something

that they can actually enjoy, take advantage of, and run. And so what I've gotten really good at is seeing the small guy for what he can be, and then really it's operating the company efficiently and effectively to get it to the highest value. And then I have all these relationships, I mean I have PE firms that call me every month saying what do you have to sell us?

Because if you can give them a good company with a manual, my operating system of how to run it, they'll pay top. Wow, you just package it, present it nicely to them. Interesting. Yeah, I mean, I get a lot of flack for like, corporate raider. I'm taking it.

That's not the case. I'm not actually coming in and destroying companies. What I'm actually doing is coming into a company that's got 10 employees with a million bucks and turning it into a company that has 17 employees that's doing five million, but its value is 10x. Now I can oftentimes take that owner that's willing to partner with me

and make an exponential return on that business. Right, did you have a mentor show you how to do this? No, it was interesting. I stumbled into this by accident. My first company I sold, I got taken advantage of by a bunch of corporate executives. And I was sitting across the table, super frustrated, being taken advantage of, and knew

that I just was outmatched. I knew that they were playing a game I did not understand. And I decided that day, I made good money, but I didn't make the money I should have. I probably lost $30 million on that sale. Yeah, my first big exit. And should have had 30 million more in my pocket. And I walked out of there that day.

My mom always taught me when I was a kid, find gratitude in any moment as a catalyst for success versus like putting a ceiling in your life. And I walked out of there like, okay, what can I be grateful for? I have some money in my pocket. I get to go live out my life without the need to manage this company. And I decided that day, I was like, OK, what can I be grateful for? I have some money in my pocket. I get to go live out my life without the need to manage this company.

And I decided that day, I was like, I'm going to get as good at this game as they are, but I'm going to play it in a very proper way, where both sides win. I'm not going to sit across the table and take advantage of somebody. I'm not going to do that. They took advantage of me that day.

And so the impetus of a lot of what I'm doing is really based on, I decided I was gonna learn that game as good as anyone, and then I was gonna do it right. I was gonna make sure that people could win with me. You know, like I'm an altruist at heart. I want everyone to win. I love that. So when you say taking advantage,

what did that look like from there on? So from there, so what happened was, is I was sourcing capital. I had a big ad agency. That was when I was dealing a lot in the political scene, but we were the ad agency of some big, big sandwich chains across the nation, and some sports bars and stuff like that.

And I had contracts. And I was offered another contract to take another 30 million in ad spend for a big sandwich chain. But I didn't have the capital. They would make you essentially, like if you're buying radio and TV and billboards for them, you had to put it out there and spend,

and then wait for 30 to 60 days to get your money back from the advertiser. And that's just how it worked. Well, I didn't have $30 million to just put out there and sit on for 30 to 60 days. So I was sourcing capital, was young, didn't know what I was doing. Went to Merrill Lynch, this investment banker said, hey,

I'll get a group of guys that will do this for you. Cool. We go to the closing table. I just thought it's a group of investors. And what it was was the lawyers for the largest advertising agency in the world that I had stole the account from. So they were like, hey, by the way, that account that you have, today we're going to get it back.

We're going to buy your company. I was like, you're not going to buy my company. And they were like, well, we already know that you signed the contract expecting the capital today. And they were like, we're not giving you capital, but we are going to buy your business. And they were like, we're going to buy my company. And they're like, well, we already know that you signed the contract expecting the capital today. And they're like, we're not giving you capital, but we are going to buy your business. And they're like, we're going to give you 24 hours to sign this doc, or else we'll let you go out of business

and we'll take it anyways. Whoa. Yeah, it was like, I mean, that was the moment that you're sitting across the table from three lawyers and a Wall Street shark. And I'm looking at my guy going, why didn't you tell me this? He was like, I didn't know. I was like, well, how am I supposed to know?

I was in my 20s. So I ended up getting seven times EBITDA, which is a great return on my business. But I left a lot of money on the table. I was actually lucky that they did what they did. Because they could have bled me out, and I would have went bankrupt. Damn, what a story.

That's one of those moments in your life where you look back and you're like, that was a life-changing moment. Yeah. Now I have this moniker of the king you're like, that was a life-changing moment. Yeah. Now I have this moniker of the king of exits. Well, it happened because of that moment. It wasn't like I had some mentor that said, I'm going to teach you how to do this.

It was me sitting there going, I'm not going to let that happen to me again. Nice. You got a taste of that first one, and you want more. Absolutely. Is there an end goal for you? The end goal has moved into more of an altruist motive. You get to a place where if you make three, four, five million

bucks a year and then you go to 10, your lifestyle just doesn't change. There's not another house you want. There's not another car. And there's a lack of fulfillment. So you're climbing this mountaintop and you realize, well, the next mountaintop that looks cool really doesn't do anything for me.

So you lack all this fulfillment. And so a few years back when I had the big exits, I really turned towards humanitarian good and started building orphanages, feeding centers around the world. And really my goal today and the reason I still do it, our private equity firm today has a give back motive. Everything we do, we build, aspire everything is tied to

how much more can I endow to this nonprofit, this foundation to just empower it for long-term success. And so we feed about 4,300 kids a day, feed and educate them around the world or just feeding centers. I wanna get that to 10,000 in the short term. And I just wanna make massive impact. We're building clinics around the world,

we're building sustainable businesses, digging water wells. You know, it's like that's where my real fulfillment comes. And so every motive I have today in buying and selling companies, growing companies, is tied to that. Like, because I don't need, you know, so you get to that point where it's like another car. You're like, what does it do for you?

You know? But you go change 10 orphans' lives, and it does everything. Oh, yeah. Feels great, I bet. It feels amazing. Have you always been pretty given growing up? Yeah. You know, my dad was.

And I watched my father, who was extreme at giving. Even though he's an entrepreneur and didn't always have much, he still gave. I was taught that is a value. And I would find little glimpses of it. But then when I started doing it at a bigger level, that's why Dan Fleischman and I do a lot together, and others, it's like, because people with that same heart,

you get that feeling, and then you crave that feeling. Then all you want to do is continue with it and get bigger at it. That's super cool, man. Yeah, I try to give as much as I can. It's awesome. I went through that materialism phase, though, I'm not going to lie.

We all do. I mean, especially when you're first finding success, because you think it's the payoff, the reward, for all the hard work you've done. And you're like, you kind of convince yourself, like, I deserve it. I did all this work. And then you get there, and then you're

driving in your Lamborghini. You're like, this is cool. People are smiling and waving, but kids are taking photos. But it's like, you pull that in the garage, and then it's like, you can only drive it so many days you know it's really not that interesting you know I went from you go from a 5,000 square foot house to a 10,000 square foot house and it's like it's still just as empty you know like you know I think we all go through it and I think the materialism phase is honestly necessary

so I never you'll never see me give someone a hard time that goes out and buys a jet I don't care take a selfie with your jet and your rolls and pull up to it, who cares, right? Because I think what happens is the people that experience that faster get to emptiness faster, which then allows them to find success faster, which is true success is helping others. So I do a lot of work where I take entrepreneurs

to the field with me, like hey, let's go do something together that impacts other people, and you watch that truly change their life. Them pulling up to their jet and their roles, that doesn't change their life. Yeah, it doesn't at all. It gives them a sense of, it gives them a euphoric hit when somebody on social tells them how big they are.

But it's empty. The faster they get there, the faster they can actually get to true success. Right, plus there's no limit to the spending. No. You'll just keep buying the next thing. Never. Yeah.

That's a dangerous game about it. Yeah. Even chasing just money in the bank, too, it's kind of a risky mindset. It's a risky mindset. But again, I go back to, I don't throw a shade of people that are going through that phase of their life. I don't care.

If you have success, then enjoy it. But I will tell you, enjoy it fast, because you're going to realize that that really is not where you're gonna find fulfillment. Absolutely, yeah. I remember the day I became a millionaire, I was like, my life's gonna change. And then it happened, nothing.

Five minutes of happiness. Still just a Tuesday. You still eat the same food. It was crazy. But I committed years to that mindset of my life's gonna be amazing. We all do. And we create these milestones and then it's a to be amazing. We all do. And we create these milestones, and then

it's a massive letdown. Yeah. Most of the conversations I have today, because I spend my time with a lot of the kind of uber-wealthy, because of the circle I'm in. And that's the conversations we have all day. Mindset. Yeah, mindset.

Because it's not about another company or another idea. It's about your perception and experience of what you're building, you know? Yeah. Yeah, the Uber wealthy is an interesting topic because their suicide rate's actually higher than average. Very high. Isn't that crazy?

I had a friend that was doing really, really well a year ago and took his life. Whoa. And it was a massive shock because, you know, his social looked like he was on top of the world. His companies are big. He has this big investment firm. Everyone was like, he must have had some bad days coming

or invested in some bad stuff. And then when they actually got into it, they're like, no, he's just super depressed. Like he had everything anybody would ever want, but he was just really depressed. Interesting. And he was lonely. He didn't tell you at all?

No. Wow. There was one guy out of our kind of circle of friends that said, yeah, he kind of showed some signs of that. He was happy on top of the world every time I talked to him. Dang. That's not true. But again, it's that facade.

It's that persona. Because we believe that money is going to give us happiness so much that when we have it, we feel like we have to pretend that it does. Right. Because if not, then you've worked your whole life for something that's not real. And it's not, right?

That's the reality of it, is if you're chasing money and you're chasing happiness through money for something that's not real and it's not, right? Like that's the reality of it is if you're chasing money and you're chasing happiness through money, it will always elude you. Yeah, it's easy to put on that facade on social media too. For sure. That's why I try not to post anything flashy or anything. I know some people do it to get like attention and customers, which is fine.

But for me, I did it once and I regretted it. Oh my God, I posted a hundred K cash on my story. I was dumb, I was like 21. I just God. I posted 100K cash on my story. I was dumb. I was like 21. I just sold a lot of sports cards to a card shop. Next day, people are at my apartment. I had to move out of LA.

Asking for money or what? Trying to rob me. I had to move out of LA. I got out of LA because of that. Wow, you should take 100 grand to bodyguard. I know. I needed one. I almost got kidnapped.

It was crazy. Yeah, I don't flex anymore. You know, that is the hardest thing. I get asked that all the time, like, why don't you show more of your lifestyle? I show just enough to show the people that are following that it's real. And that's the hard line.

Because oftentimes, the 22-year-old, the 25-year-old, they're looking at what I'm doing, and they want to know, is it authentic? because oftentimes the 22 year old, the 25 year old, they're looking at what I'm doing and they wanna know is it authentic? Because they see social and nothing is real. So I have to show enough that they're like, okay this guy actually has sold something for a billion. Like they need something to anchor into

and that's hard because I don't ever wanna show them that that's actually where true success is. So it's like, we really focus hard, especially on my social, like showing glimpses of it. So it's real. You can validate it. Check it out. But let me show you what I really love.

And so we spend a lot of time posting stuff with Impact Others and businesses and coaching and stuff like that, because that's really where you find success. Yeah. I think you do well. You show the speakers you're interviewing on stage. You show the thousands of attendees. It's all real people.

Some people are just a little too flashy with it Yeah, but it works for them so it does and I just I don't know that I'd ever feel good about myself if I sold a bunch of courses or things based on What what the output of my life was versus what my life truly is that makes sense? Yeah, you know I don't want to sell something based on the output or the the accoutrements the things that I have I want to sell it Because of the content of my heart right or my mind, you know, I don't want to sell something based on the output or the accoutrements, the things that I have. I want to sell it because of the content of my heart or my mind, you know.

So would you make a course on how to sell a business? Yeah, I've been asked that a ton of times. You know, I probably send more to Cody Sanchez than any page. She has one? Yeah, she does buying and selling businesses. I get asked all the time. And really, you know, like Cody Sanchez, Hormozi,

like those guys are really the ones that are teaching it right now. I like teaching business operations because if you operate your company well the exit is imminent right like they will chase you and that's the problems like I think it's more important to teach what I teach at Empire the operational side make your business valuable than it is to try to teach you how to exit your business. If you make your business valuable, people chase you for that, you know?

And you have five buyers versus one you're trying to convince to buy. And is that mainly done through revenue growth, or how does that work? Three areas. Number one, revenue growth or EBITDA, right? Like you have to, your bottom line matters, right? Like there's so very few companies

that are sold just on top line revenue. The majority are still sold on EBITDA, right? Number two is your IP. What do you do differently than everyone else? It's either your technology, it's how you process data, it's the communication structure. That's where O'Leary will say on Shark Tank, why should I pay a million bucks for your company

when I can just create it for 500,000, right? It's because it has no IP, right? There is nothing that separates this thing. And so then thirdly is an operating system. The reason I built the operating system was because to the degree that you can create efficiency and standardization, when you go to sell the company, what they want to know is can I continue to do it the way you've done it and do it better?

And with an operating system, it gives them that confidence that that can happen. It also prevents you from getting locked up in the business. So many businesses sell, but then the owner gets golden handcuffs for two or three years and gets stuck. And that's a miserable time of life when you've built something

and now you're working for somebody else still operating under their desires. So those are the three areas I focus on in selling a business. When I buy or I'm creating, it's always those three areas. EBITDA, how do I do something unique, right, IP? And lastly, the operating system. Nice. What's your track record on failures and wins?

78% positive right now. Wow. The average VC firm right now, venture capital, is less than 10%. I think the national average is like eight to 9%. The average PE firm is in the 30s right now. But because of the way I do it, I'm in the high 70s. That's incredible.

So eight out of 10 times. Yeah, eight out of 10 times. I mean, I have had my losses, right? Like there are times where I'll sell a business and it doesn't bring some positive ROI, but for the most part, I'm batting well. That's super impressive, man. So you really do that due diligence,

and that's kind of what separates you, you think? Due diligence, operational structure, and the right exit path. Right. How important are the founders, the founding team? The jockey's everything. You know, always bet on the jockey versus the horse. Now, the founding team is important.

However, half the time I don't retain them, they'll want to exit. So I always have to have a bench of good operators that I can plug in. That's my strength is continuing to cultivate operators that are willing to come with me and grow. That's the secret sauce. It's like business is science.

People are the art. You have to have good people that understand the system, the science, and can build the right culture and take it to where I need to go. I mean, you must have great people to replace the C-suite like that. That's impressive. We have amazing people.

That is the strength of the organization by far. What's the hardest position to replace, you think? The hardest position is typically, most businesses play one of two sides well. They either play the defensive sides well, they either play the defensive side well or they play the offensive side well. You have to understand that going into business. So every business has offense, defense.

Offense would be more like your vision, your sales, your marketing. Defense would be more like operations, human resources, finance. So really, very few of them do well. So it's a hard question to answer because what happens is I acquire, I'm looking at the deficiency.

Are they playing offense well or defense well? Got it. So in the defensive side, the hardest person to replace is the COO, the operational brain, right? Like how do I use the resources effectively? In the offensive side, the hardest person to replace is typically like somebody that's in charge of revenue,

a chief revenue officer, somebody that's really focused on driving sales and conversions. Got it. Yeah, because you've got to be sort of dialed in with the market, dialed in with the product. There's so many components. It's tough. That makes sense.

What are you excited about these days? I'm excited about a lot. We're rolling up a tax firm right now. And that one's just going super fast. But I'm still excited about Aspire. You'd think we've done 20 shows in a row, and you'd think it would start to wane. No burnout yet?

Pumped. I didn't think I'd ever enjoy it. I don't always enjoy the stage. My business partner, Andrew, does. I don't really. It's a means to an end for me. But in Aspire, I spend a lot of time talking about purpose and anchoring into purpose and what fulfillment comes from.

And there's something about that messaging that still fires me up. So the business side, I'm excited about our tax firm. I'm excited about our empire operating system where we're helping businesses grow and scale. We've got close to 3,000 companies on that. That's really exciting right now. And then Impact Others, you know,

my nonprofit is where my heart really is. I love it. Yeah, we'll link all that below, man. Where else can people find you? On social, you know, I got pushed this year to respond to all my DMs. That has not been a really easy task. And there may have been a lot of copies and pastes in there,

but I try my best. So Eddie Wilson official is easy on all the platforms. Perfect. Thanks for coming on, man. That was fun. Thanks for watching guys. Check out the stuff below. See you next time. Get ready for Las Vegas style action at Bet MGM, the king of online casinos. Enjoy casino games at your fingertips with the same Vegas strip excitement MGM is famous for. When you play classics like MGM Grand Millions or popular games like Blackjack, Baccarat, and Roulette with our ever-growing library of digital slot games,

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