An ex-Army commander’s secret to buying your first business in 6 months

Over a decade ago (whew!), I used to serve as a company commander in the Army.

I don't talk about my military days much in these emails… but looking back, it’s surprising how much of what I learned there directly applies to business acquisitions.

Here’s a major lesson that stuck with me:

Building new skills is more about consistency than intensity.

The Army was plenty intense, of course.

But military training also focuses on consistent routines.

Anyone who’s been through Basic Training knows this:

• Daily routines are scheduled down to the minute

• Physical training happens regardless of how you feel that day

• Even simple tasks like making your bed have exacting standards

Why?

Because doing the same simple tasks, every single day, builds far better soldiers than random bursts of extreme effort.

This principle is especially true in business acquisitions, but with one big difference:

You don’t need military-like discipline to buy a business!

After I started teaching others how to do acquisitions, I realized this was the missing piece for a lot of people.

If you’ve never done it before, it’s easy to assume that you’ll have to:

• Quit your job

• Dedicate 60+ hours a week to hunting down the perfect deal

• Possess iron-clad discipline to go from working a W2 job to owning a business 

But in reality, you don't need to dedicate your entire life to this process.

All you need is consistent, focused effort across small blocks of time.

I tell my students to spend just one hour per day looking at deals. Many of them are working professionals with families who can't dedicate more time than that.

Yet the majority find and close deals in 6 to 9 months, and lots of them keep their day jobs.

And if you aim for businesses in a field you’re experienced in?

It’s very possible to hit that 6 month mark or even faster.

Two perfect examples:

• Kris did it in 5 months — he worked at Chevron and bought an oil pump maintenance business near Los Angeles (while still keeping his salaried job)

• Andrew did it in 6 months — he’s an accountant who bought an accounting firm in the Carolinas (and also kept his job)

So if you’re waiting to have “more free time” to start looking at deals…

You might actually have all the time you need right now.

On that note, here’s an easy action step for you:

Fill out the quick 2-minute survey below, and I’ll put you on my interested investor list.

Once in a while I come across deals that I think my subscribers might find valuable, and send out an email broadcast with the details. But only to people who fill out this survey:

👉I want to buy (or invest as a silent partner into) a small business

Or if you’re looking to sell your business and are actively looking for buyers, tell me more at the link below:

👉I want to sell my small business

Onward,

— Ben Kelly