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042 | The Green Swan | Why Start A Business, When You Can Buy One?

In Episode 42 we have a wide ranging discussion with JW from The Green Swan about his FI path, going into business with family, buying an existing business and much more.

Podcast Episode Summary

  • A discussion with JW from The Green Swan about financial independence and busing buying and ownership
  • How JW got involved in the FIRE community
  • A discussion of life insurance and how much someone in the FI community really needs to think about
  • They were already on a path to financial independence even before finding the FI community online
  • How JW approached college with the mindset of graduating early
  • JW’s dad passed many of the tips and tricks of the FI community to him in his teens
  • JW’s relationship with his older brother made a big difference in his FI journey and they long talked about buying a business
  • The concepts discussed in the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad and how it could help you get multiple streams of income
  • JW and his brothers were saving for many years in anticipation of buying a business
  • How they researched the options of buying a business
  • How they could step in and grow the business they intended to purchase
  • What did they do to fix the culture in the business and reassure their employees about the future of the business
  • How did they know they could add value to this or any other company?
  • How they structured their legal entity to optimize most efficiently
  • They are investigating purchasing a similar business to expand their business
  • What does the path look like for each of the four brothers and how have they navigated the sibling dynamic?
  • They entered the business with ‘eyes wide open’ to the potential to damage their family relationships
  • They built an operating agreement with all potential future possibilities so they could navigate future issues. It was important that they did this from the outset
  • The unexpected joys and crazy things that happen when you own a small business with many employees and JW’s examples
  • How are they funding a future potential acquisition?
  • How do these businesses impact JW’s financial independence number?
  • He is calculating his FI number without even considering the income or equity in the businesses
  • Hot Seat Questions
  • Favorite life hack is listening to podcasts and audio books at 2x speed
  • He wishes he would have done ‘house hacking’ like his father did when he was younger
Listen to Brad and Jonathan’s thoughts about this episode here. Links from the show: Books Mentioned in the Show:
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