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Hey, Josh here. Check this out.

How to Buy Your First Business (Without Going Broke)

Let me tell you about Brent Beshore. Guy accidentally bought his first business at 24. Now he owns 16 companies doing $350 million in revenue.

Yeah, "accidentally."

Here's what really happened...

The $1 Million "Accident"

Brent had a small marketing agency. Someone said "hey, you should meet this guy who's trying to sell his business."

The seller had been left at the altar twice. Two deals fell through.

Brent sat down with him. Made an offer. Guy said no.

Then Brent did something most people don't do. He walked away. Didn't chase. Didn't follow up.

Seven months later, the seller called back.

"Business is great. I'm exhausted. I'll take your price. But you need to close in 60 days. All cash."

Brent hung up thinking "oh shit, what did i just do?"

The SBA Loan Hack

Here's the part that matters. Brent didn't have a million bucks lying around. He was 24 and broke.

So he went to the SBA (Small Business Administration). But not the normal way.

Instead of putting down cash, he used the business's accounts receivable as the down payment. The money customers already owed the company became his deposit.

Smart? Yeah. Risky? Absolutely.

He asked his new wife to sign a personal guarantee. She asked what that meant.

"Don't worry about it," he said.

(Spoiler: she should have worried.)

The Working Capital Crisis

Week before closing, Brent realized something. The seller was taking all the cash out of the business when they closed.

"How do i make payroll?" Brent asked.

"You got a line of credit, right?" the seller said.

"No."

"Well, the business is going under immediately."

The seller had to lend Brent money just to keep the business running. Because Brent forgot businesses need cash to operate.

This is why most people fail at buying businesses. They think about the purchase price. They forget about working capital.

Just-In-Time Learning

Brent's lawyer said "we need to start due diligence."

Brent literally googled "do diligence" while on the call.

This is actually how most successful people learn. They don't study everything upfront. They learn what they need when they need it.

Need to close a deal? Learn due diligence. Need to run payroll? Learn working capital. Need to grow? Learn marketing.

The Golden Goose

That first business was MediaCross. A military recruitment firm.

Sounds boring. But it had something every business owner dreams of: predictable cash flow.

They had government contracts. Multi-year deals. They knew their revenue three years out.

This business became Brent's "Golden Goose." It laid golden eggs every month for 15 years.

The lesson? Boring businesses with predictable cash flow beat sexy businesses with volatile revenue.

Stacking Geese (The Real Strategy)

After MediaCross worked, Brent didn't get cocky. He got systematic.

Next business: a pool company in Arizona.

Took him three years to close that deal. The sellers went with two other buyers first. But Brent stayed patient. Stayed in touch.

Most people give up after the first "no." Winners wait for the callback.

How to Find Deals

When Brent started, there wasn't much online about buying small businesses. No YouTube videos. No courses.

So he did what worked: he asked around.

"Are there people doing this?"

He didn't even know private equity existed. Had to google it.

Built a deal pipeline by reaching out to business brokers. Developed relationships. Stayed patient.

The pool deal took three years from first contact to closing. That's normal. Most people expect instant results. Reality is different.

The $50 Million Raise

Fast forward a few years. Brent met Patrick O'Shaughnessy (now a famous investor) on Twitter.

Patrick tweeted about capital allocation. Brent responded. They got on a call.

Patrick asked what Brent did. Brent explained he bought small businesses for 3-5x earnings.

Patrick's mind was blown. "Are these businesses failing?"

"No, they're healthy."

Patrick flew to Missouri. Spent a day with Brent. By the end, he wanted his family to invest.

But here's the twist...

The Anti-Private Equity Model

Brent said no to traditional private equity structure.

Normal private equity: 2% management fee every year. Plus 20% of profits.

That 2% fee? It's actually 20% of your total investment over 10 years. Crazy when you think about it.

Brent's model: No fees. No reimbursements. Just 40% of free cash flow when he returns money to investors.

Simple. Aligned. Different.

The No-Debt Philosophy

Most private equity firms load businesses with debt. Use leverage to juice returns.

Brent does the opposite. All cash deals. No debt.

Why?

In 2019, he bought an aerospace business. Advisor said "are you idiots? This industry never goes down. Why not use debt?"

Then 2020 hit. Every aerospace company with debt struggled. Brent's company had all its cash flow available for growth.

That business is now 7x the size it was when he bought it.

The lesson? Optionality beats leverage. Cash gives you options. Debt takes them away.

What to Look For

Brent has a simple test for businesses:

"Will people stop dipping their bodies in water for pleasure?"

If the answer is no, it's probably a good business.

He looks for:

• Durable business models

• Asset-light operations

• Dominant market share

• Growing markets

• Simple operations

Not complicated. Just not easy.

The Reality Check

Every business is a "loosely functioning disaster that happens to make money."

Brent's words, not mine.

People are messy. Put people together, the mess compounds. Your warehouse guy doesn't show up because he's in jail for domestic violence. Your manager needs to go to rehab.

This is normal. Lower your expectations.

The Humility Factor

"The more humility a leader has, the more their business can grow."

Humility means seeing reality clearly. Can't improve what you won't acknowledge.

Lack of humility is usually self-protection or self-promotion. Both kill businesses.

How to Start

Want to buy your first business? Start with constraints:

• Where do you want to live?

• How much travel is okay?

• What do you actually know?

• How much cash do you have?

Different constraints = different businesses.

Want something hands-off? Pay 7-10x earnings for software or recurring revenue businesses.

Want higher returns? Buy 3-5x earnings businesses that need work.

The Hard Truth

Getting your first $300-500k of cash flow from small businesses requires sweat equity.

You're not just buying an investment. You're buying a job.

The opportunity in small business "is dressed in overalls and likes hard work."

Finding the Right People

60% of success is market selection. Pick a market with tailwinds.

30% is the CEO you choose. Great CEO = great results. Limited CEO = limited results.

10% is luck.

Brent uses personality tests to understand people:

• Myers-Briggs

• Enneagram

• DISC

• Something called "Habit Story"

Sounds like horoscopes for business guys. But it works.

His favorite test? Travel with someone. Impossible to fake who you are when flights get delayed.

The EBITDA Lie

Charlie Munger said "every time you see EBITDA, substitute it with bullshit earnings."

Brent agrees.

Look at free cash flow instead. What does the owner actually take out of the business?

Business "making" $7 million EBITDA but owner only takes $1 million? It's a $1 million business.

Authority vs Delegation

You either run businesses with high authority (top-down) or delegated authority.

Hell is in the middle.

High authority: "Here's what we're doing. Execute my vision."

Delegated authority: "It's your vision. I'm just here to help."

Both work. Pick one. Don't flip-flop.

The Buffalo News Example

Even Warren Buffett started hands-on.

When Berkshire bought Buffalo News, Buffett and Munger lived in Buffalo. They wrote headlines. Decided ad placement.

Only later did they become the "hands-off" investors everyone talks about.

You earn the right to be hands-off by being hands-on first.

Why Most People Fail

They expect it to be easy. They think you can just buy a business and collect checks.

Reality: businesses are messy. People are messy. You'll almost fail multiple times.

But if you stick with it, learn as you go, and pick decent businesses, you can build something real.

The Bottom Line

Brent turned one accidental deal into a $350 million portfolio over 16 years.

Not because he was smart. Because he was persistent.

He learned just-in-time. Stayed patient on deals. Picked boring businesses with predictable cash flow.

Most importantly, he kept stacking geese.

One good business funds the next. That funds the next. Compound that for 15 years.

That's how you build wealth buying businesses.

Now the question is: are you ready to get your overalls dirty?