Gearbox Podcast

00:00.71
Jimmy Purdy
we'll just take it from here at least I'll remember your name Jim

00:03.33
Jim Parker
All right.

00:06.04
Jim Parker
Yeah, there you go. You're you're Jimmy, right?

00:08.19
Jimmy Purdy
yeah you know I was just I just posted something online that was like people born with the name James really have it um pretty tough you know like because you gotta you gotta like are you gonna be professional and go by James are you gonna like you know be the fun guy be called Jimmy or just you know kind of business professional be called Jim or are you gonna go with Jimbo and be the the goofy one

00:24.59
Jim Parker
Yep.

00:30.41
Jimmy Purdy
and a lot of options We got a lot of options here, bud.

00:32.28
Jim Parker
We do. We do have a lot of options. We do.

00:37.41
Jimmy Purdy
it' it's almost It's almost like too much, like Baskin and Robin's 31 flavors. Like, just give me, like chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry, man.

00:41.98
Jim Parker
Yeah.

00:43.43
Jimmy Purdy
I don't want, like, I'm going to be standing in line for way too long with that many options. It's just analysis paralysis, right?

00:52.12
Jimmy Purdy
But speaking of that, I mean, that's a the segue into exactly what you're, what we're talking about, right?

00:59.92
Jim Parker
yeah yeah

01:01.54
Jimmy Purdy
So business acquisition, I was saying before we got on, this is the first time I've talked to somebody about this side of the business. I mean, I think right now there's a lot of talk in the industry.

01:14.58
Jimmy Purdy
I see a lot of it, a lot of conglomerates, I guess, for lack of a better term, right? Like they're going through and and buying lots of shops, these investment capital firms, right?

01:23.58
Jim Parker
Dean. Yeah, it's it's crazy.

01:25.77
Jimmy Purdy
And there's...

01:26.85
Jim Parker
There's a lot of consolidating going on in the in the industry right now. and know A lot of industry players out there that looking acquire shops and auto repair, auto maintenance types businesses across the country and private equity groups and family offices and industry players that are backed by private equity groups.

01:29.76
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah. Yeah.

01:43.14
Jim Parker
and Then obviously, on the flip side of that, there's just a lot of individual people out there that are in their 40s or 50s, Jimmy, and they've always dreamed of owning their own business. They've been had a very successful career in the corporate world. They make it a good living and decent net worth. And they're looking around going, I've always dreamed of one of my own business, not getting any younger and they want to buy a business. So you've got a lot of buyers out there right now, Jimmy, both and the individuals, just looking to, you know, create an owner operator type position or, you know, a big conglomerate, you know, industry players and profit equity groups.

02:18.68
Jimmy Purdy
And that's wild to me to think about as as like as I'm doing it for survival, right? like i just this is just I was good at taking things apart, putting them back together. i don't even say that I was good at it. i was just It made sense to me, right? like

02:32.41
Jim Parker
Curiosity.

02:32.58
Jimmy Purdy
And I guess yeah I was good at getting my butt kicked, right? like i was like I didn't mind like doing it wrong. I'm like, damn, and I got to do it again, right? And so it's just for survival for me. So when I see these these equity firms coming up and saying, man, auto repair is like the most...

02:49.40
Jimmy Purdy
Oh, what's the word for it? I mean, I guess you'd have more insight than I do about it, but why is it that they're attracted to auto repair businesses?

02:58.55
Jim Parker
Well, you know, what Jimmy, what's going on right now is the private equity private equity groups in general, there there's like 400% more private equity groups right now in the United States than there was 20 years ago.

03:10.21
Jim Parker
And private equity just keeps growing and growing and growing.

03:10.70
Jimmy Purdy
Wow. Wow.

03:12.45
Jim Parker
And there's a lot of industries out there that are being consolidated. You know, auto repair is just one of them. But, you know, typically what is driving people to auto repair business or collision centers and things like that is is that, you know, it's it's more of a recession resilient type business.

03:31.39
Jim Parker
It's an Amazon proof type business. They tend to like the service oriented things. They like the blue collar. So it's like it's it's checking off a lot of different boxes.

03:42.19
Jimmy Purdy
you think covid do you think COVID put a spotlight on it?

03:42.38
Jim Parker
And, you know,

03:44.93
Jimmy Purdy
is that Is that kind of what we're seeing now? Or has it always kind of been there and there's just more people getting into the investment side?

03:52.33
Jim Parker
Yeah, i think it's I think it's always been on the radar you know for the things that we mentioned. But you know you're probably right. COVID probably put a little bit more of a spotlight on it because that was one of the business types of businesses that was still necessity and and had to stay open. So i did I think it did put it on there.

04:08.50
Jim Parker
Jimmy, I think you know what we've got going on right now, too, is that 40 percent, this is according to Forbes, this statistic blows my own mind. According to Forbes, 40 percent of all small business owners were born before 1964. So right now we're talking about a lot of people that are in their mid to you know late 60s or older that are that that have owned their business for 20, 30 years.

04:32.56
Jim Parker
They're on the verge of selling. And, you know, that's, I think that's just a huge number, 40%. And the unfortunate part, the unfortunate part is, is that, ah you know, I'll get a call, you know, I'll get a call from a business owner and they're like, yeah, you know, my wife, she retired five years ago and we already got our RV and she's been begging me to retire and we want to go travel the country.

04:39.05
Jimmy Purdy
That is huge.

04:54.43
Jim Parker
we want to spend more time with the grandkids. And I started looking at the financials and talking, having conversations and I'm like, ah, But the business is not going to be very sellable or, oh, gosh, if you would have just made a couple minor changes a couple years ago, it really could have impacted what you could have gotten you could have sold the business for.

05:15.17
Jim Parker
Or the business owner, they're 67 years old and they're like, I need X amount of dollars you know from the sale in order to retire. And I have to be the bad guy and be your business just isn't worth that much. like This is people's retirement.

05:27.35
Jim Parker
You know, and you know, and they need to start planning it.

05:27.36
Jimmy Purdy
yeah

05:29.95
Jim Parker
They, I think a couple of years out before they're they're ready to sell, I think they need to talk to, you know, either myself or somebody like me that has experience in selling businesses to one, give them a ah realistic understanding of what their business is most probably going to sell for, but also having those conversations.

05:48.16
Jim Parker
Is there anything that they can change or they can make up or things that they can do a little bit different so that when they are ready to sell, they're going to maximize that sales price and then to get the best terms possible.

06:00.95
Jimmy Purdy
That's yeah. I mean, I guess that's beyond me right now, which probably shouldn't be, but you know, I think you just, for me, put my head down and I just want to pay rent, right? Like the last thing in the world I'm thinking about is my exit plan right now.

06:12.14
Jim Parker
Right. Yeah.

06:14.23
Jimmy Purdy
Like I don't have the entry plan figured out.

06:18.70
Jimmy Purdy
You know what i mean? But, but it's true though. Like what you said and, and, and you look around and it's like, it's, it's all the old timers that are burned out that these shops are hanging on them by a thread, but they're survivalists, man. They're like,

06:31.62
Jimmy Purdy
you know, don't knock the baby boomers, man. Like if anything, they know how to freaking survive. and And just every day they

06:36.25
Jim Parker
They got some great shops too.

06:38.03
Jimmy Purdy
yeah, they just plug in and keep going and keep going and keep going.

06:38.77
Jim Parker
Yeah.

06:40.55
Jimmy Purdy
Right. And, um, it's, it's interesting because that is what we kind of see and we don't really need the, the statistic for it. We just, we see it. Right. And it's it's, it's all these older guys that just, they'd rather die on the Hill than they sell it for any less than what they think it's worth.

06:51.05
Jim Parker
Right.

06:57.34
Jimmy Purdy
And it is sad because it's their whole life that's in it. Right. and And I come along at

07:01.64
Jim Parker
Right.

07:03.32
Jimmy Purdy
30 years old or 40 years old. and umm And I'm like, Hey, I'll give you 500,000 for it. And they're like, go take a hike. Right. And it's like, dude, it's all it's worth. And, and I want to ask you to like with goodwill, because when I went through the purchasing of the shop, there was the goodwill of the owner of the clients.

07:12.10
Jim Parker
Right. Mm-hmm.

07:22.96
Jimmy Purdy
is Is there any attainable value that you can put on that stuff? Or how does, how does that work when you're going through your analysis?

07:29.29
Jim Parker
Okay. So like when we're doing an analysis on a business and trying to come up with a broker's opinion of value, you know, we're trying to tell ah to the business owner like yourself at the end of the day is you know, what's what's the most probable selling price of the business?

07:40.71
Jim Parker
So when we're looking at over those financials, we're we're looking at either discretionary earnings or EBITDA. I don't want to get into the difference of that right here, but basically the bottom line number, you the net profit of the business, you know, plus depreciation, interest expense, things that we can add back.

07:56.01
Jim Parker
What's that bottom line number? And just think of it this way to make it clear is what can a buyer expect to make from that from the business if it continues to operate how it currently is? And then we're looking at other auto repair businesses um in the same subcategory. You know, so if it's a straight auto general auto repair business, we're looking for other general auto repair businesses. If it's a collision center, we're looking for other collision centers, et cetera.

08:20.60
Jim Parker
And we're looking at approximately the same gross sales as them and what they sold for versus how much they were making. And that's how we get that multiplier. and And the key to that multiplier too is that the bigger the business it is, the higher that multiplier will become as well.

08:36.98
Jim Parker
you know So somebody making $150,000 bottom line is going to have a lot less lot lower of a multiplier than that person that's making $2 million dollars bottom line.

08:47.89
Jimmy Purdy
Hmm. It always interests me in those situations because sometimes the business is built around the owner, right? And so how do you, once that owner steps away, how can we ensure that it's going to be just as profitable or, or, or have the same, you know, multiplier that's based on the sale of the business?

09:10.58
Jimmy Purdy
It's really tough. And, and I mean, I don't know, I've never been in it, but it's just something that I kind of went through A little bit.

09:18.55
Jim Parker
yeah

09:18.48
Jimmy Purdy
It's just, just in the, in the small thing I did, it was just really tough to like, well, I know, I know with the particular one I bought, it was basically based around the owner, right? Like without him there there there really was no business. There was no operating systems. There was no, there was nothing put in place, you know, right. So the day one I walk in, all the employees left and it was, I was left with, you know, a phone that was ringing.

09:41.90
Jimmy Purdy
That was basically it, which is great. I mean, it's great to do that other than opening a business and like starting from scratch and the phone doesn't ring for, you know, five to six months.

09:50.13
Jim Parker
Right, right.

09:51.51
Jimmy Purdy
Right. So it was an interesting situation, but it really got me kind of dip, dip in my toes in that. And, i just wonder what, how, if you have owners that you sell their businesses, if that's something they bring up to your attention.

10:05.73
Jim Parker
Yeah. You know, what what what you experienced, Jimmy, is pretty common. And that's one of the things that if I'm talking to a business owner and they're thinking about selling a couple of years from now, you know, they're 63 and they're like, yeah, we want to sell them two or three years.

10:17.33
Jim Parker
That's one of the things we'd be talking about is how involved are they in the business? Are the are they the business? You know, and and it sounds like the business that you acquired, the seller was the business.

10:23.39
Jimmy Purdy
Hmm.

10:28.24
Jim Parker
And, you know, as a business owner, you're thinking about selling in the next couple of years.

10:28.71
Jimmy Purdy
Mm-hmm.

10:32.81
Jim Parker
You need to start moving yourself out so that you're not such a critical role because buyers are going to look at it and go, gosh, you know, Mr. Owner, when you step aside, you know, a large part of the business is going to go away or the know-how or the knowledge of how the business operates going to go away. So you need to start thinking ahead. So it could be as as simple as, you know, some of the office type work. Can you, you know,

10:56.84
Jim Parker
pass around some of your office type work to the other people in the office, ah your techs out there? are Are you able to, if you're doing all the diagnostics at the shop, that could be scary for a buyer too, because buyers going to come in and they might be like, oh, you're the main diagnostics person.

11:12.92
Jim Parker
You're leaving, you know, all that know-how is going out the window. So maybe you can start training the other techs to do diagnostics. You know, there's probably somebody there at the shop or two people there at the shop that enjoy doing that type of stuff. They just need some a little bit more handholding. So kind of preparing that situation, you know, you should be looking at as a business owner, are you able, how often are you able to go away on vacation for a week or two weeks with very little, you know, very little of the, of the shop and the people at the shop calling you needing your help, you know, and that's a good indication of how engraved are you in that business? And I think for a lot of us, small business owners, you know, we, we take on that role as, Hey, I'm, I'm a small business owner.

11:55.74
Jim Parker
I need to be in, know, I need to see, ah oversee everything. I need to do everything. And the most successful business owners are are kind of doing the opposite. They're like, okay, They're able to delegate. They're able to train other people, put the systems systems and processes in place so that the business is not as dependent on you as an owner.

12:13.88
Jim Parker
I know that was a long-winded question, Jimmy.

12:15.99
Jimmy Purdy
No, it's that's that's great because, you know, and it ties right into like the conversation I have a lot with what is your definition of success, right?

12:16.20
Jim Parker
I apologize.

12:24.37
Jimmy Purdy
And obviously at the end of the day, i mean, we're talking end game here, right? yourere you're

12:28.88
Jim Parker
Yep.

12:29.69
Jimmy Purdy
you're You're the one that's, that's um I don't know, putting the nail in the coffin, I guess. You're the executioner, right?

12:36.80
Jim Parker
Oh my gosh.

12:36.85
Jimmy Purdy
In a sense, innocence in a sense, in a sense, right?

12:39.72
Jim Parker
Yeah, i got you.

12:40.03
Jimmy Purdy
you're you're You're putting them out of business, but not really. You're you're just taking the business and then they change hands.

12:43.15
Jim Parker
In a good way. i'm I'm taking them to the next, their next stage of life.

12:47.09
Jimmy Purdy
Right, exactly.

12:47.34
Jim Parker
You know? It's

12:48.14
Jimmy Purdy
Right. And and it's it's not a bad thing. It's going to happen for all of us, right? That's one thing I've realized.

12:52.27
Jim Parker
a great thing.

12:52.34
Jimmy Purdy
Like, I'm getting, I'm getting, I get old.

12:53.70
Jim Parker
It's a great thing.

12:54.82
Jimmy Purdy
i didn't the thing that was going to happen for me. I thought I was, I thought I was going to be exempt from that rule, but it's not.

13:00.33
Jim Parker
Jimmy, I got to stop you there because you know what? It's a fantastic thing because you think about it like when you're a kid and you're running around out there and you're building forts in the woods or playing sports or with your friends and you know you have summer off and you've got all this fun stuff to do. and then you know That's like one third of our life. And then we grow up.

13:18.22
Jim Parker
you know And then we got a second third of our life. And that's a lot of you know, working and having a career and having a family and raising your family. And this third part of your, of your life, this is like great because you don't have to work and you'll have the funds to enjoy retirement. You can travel and you can be with family. And ah this this should be a time that should be embraced.

13:38.33
Jim Parker
I think it's a time that should be embraced.

13:40.63
Jimmy Purdy
As long as you do the two thirds correctly, you know, and.

13:43.52
Jim Parker
That's true. And you know what?

13:45.03
Jimmy Purdy
and

13:46.19
Jim Parker
I got to tell you, 50% of all businesses are sold. because of the five D's and the five D's i have nothing to do with retirement.

13:54.05
Jimmy Purdy
Hmm.

13:55.08
Jim Parker
They're the five. These are things that are unexpected. Like there's a death, there's a disability, there's disagreement with a partner, the business is under distress.

14:06.21
Jim Parker
So 50% of all business deals that happen on a national level is because

14:10.49
Jimmy Purdy
There's got to be divorce thrown in there too, right?

14:12.29
Jim Parker
Divorce. Divorce was the other one.

14:13.65
Jimmy Purdy
There it is.

14:13.81
Jim Parker
that That's a, yeah yeah, there you go.

14:14.45
Jimmy Purdy
I was waiting for that one.

14:16.92
Jim Parker
So you may not, you may be 35 years old never be thinking about selling your business. And then, you know, you might have to unexpectedly. So whether you're looking to sell or not, you should your business should always be in the position so you can sell if need be.

14:25.00
Jimmy Purdy
Right.

14:32.38
Jimmy Purdy
It's, it's a, uh, yeah, I, I concur. And, and I bring that up because the, the success conversation we have a lot. Right. And I think it's, and, and not to like talk down on anybody that, that wants to live their life this way, but.

14:46.95
Jimmy Purdy
you know I want to open my doors at 11 o'clock.

14:49.16
Jim Parker
Yep.

14:49.63
Jimmy Purdy
I want to go home at three. I want to go fishing on Friday. you know And if I can run a business where it allows me to do that, I'm successful. And i agree with that.

15:00.71
Jimmy Purdy
like That's the whole point. to own a business is to to make your own schedule. right like that's the I think that's the entrepreneur's dream and for me in the 20s. That's what I wanted. like I want to be able to call the shots.

15:13.10
Jimmy Purdy
You know, and then you start realizing what what shots you got to call and then you got to realize the decisions that you have to make.

15:13.48
Jim Parker
yeah

15:17.82
Jimmy Purdy
And it's like, wow, this is a lot more responsibility than if I just work for somebody. Right. And it's like, oh, then I'm going to make my own hours. Then you realize you're working, you know, four or five more hours more than everybody else. um So it's it kind of flips on you a little bit. Right.

15:30.04
Jimmy Purdy
So then you want to take that and use that as motivation say, you know what, I do run my own business. I'm just going to shut the doors at three o'clock and go fishing. I win. Right. And I think that's kind of giving up a little bit.

15:37.13
Jim Parker
Right.

15:40.80
Jimmy Purdy
And I don't want to make it sound like if that's what you're doing and and you're happy with it, like that's, but at the end of the day or the end of your two thirds of your life, like, where does that put you? You're not in a very good situation. And ah for me, i saw it happen firsthand.

15:55.96
Jimmy Purdy
Right.

15:56.40
Jim Parker
no really

15:56.73
Jimmy Purdy
um You know, and and and that's the business that I went through and I saw and it's like, there were they wasn't much. You know, and I tried as much as I can to help him out. But like at the end of the day, like there's just not a business here that can be passed on where you're going to get royalties or that I can pay you, you know, a half a million dollars. Right.

16:15.51
Jimmy Purdy
And even though he spent 35 years of his life at it, there was just nothing at the end of the day to take home with him. And part of it was, well, I just want to do what I want to do when I want to do it. And you just do that every day.

16:26.30
Jim Parker
Yep.

16:26.69
Jimmy Purdy
And all of a sudden, 30 years goes by and there's nothing left. But it feels like a win in that mid meantime, right?

16:29.84
Jim Parker
Yep.

16:32.74
Jimmy Purdy
Like, yeah, we go out, we go party, we have a good time. I buy everyone dinner. Like life is good when it's good, but then what's at the end of it? And um it's just a realization that I had and the conversations I have with a lot of people about what your definition of success is.

16:47.61
Jimmy Purdy
And I think we all kind of forget that the end game is coming.

16:52.09
Jim Parker
Yeah. and Yeah, it it really is.

16:53.09
Jimmy Purdy
That Mr. Jim Parker as the Grim Reaper is coming to...

16:58.20
Jim Parker
No, it is.

16:59.02
Jimmy Purdy
give you your retirement and and then be like, your retirement is not worth anything, you know, and and a hundred thousand dollars today is a hundred thousand dollars, you know, 10 years ago is a lot less than it is today.

16:59.44
Jim Parker
you know

17:09.74
Jimmy Purdy
Right. So if you, even if you set it up, right. How many conversations you have like that, where they feel like they have a certain number and you just got to show them like, look, 10 years ago you were on track, but now it's not because you haven't kept up with the times.

17:22.62
Jim Parker
You know, it it happens all the time where they the seller is like, oh, I need x amount of dollars in order to retire. And I have to sit there and go, your business most likely is going to sell for half that. You know, that and they they just pull these numbers out. It's not what you need or want.

17:37.19
Jim Parker
It's what the market's been willing to, what was willing to bear. And that's the realistic picture you need to be looking at as a business owner is what's what's what's the market really going to pay? And I think too many people...

17:48.92
Jim Parker
They're not talking to a broker until they're ready to sell. And then they're like, okay, we want to sell now. And, and, and, and a simple things like, you know, Jimmy, like one of the biggest things I've talked to business owners about is that they're running personal expenses through the business. You know, they're trying to save on those taxes and, you know, i' I'm not, you know, look I've seen everything I've been doing. i've been helping people sell businesses for nearly 25 years. You know, Jimmy, I specialize in helping people sell auto repair, auto maintenance type businesses,

18:18.55
Jim Parker
i and I'm not here to judge them, but that's probably the biggest thing that I want to get out there is if somebody's thinking about selling in the next couple of years or you're not thinking about selling the next couple of years, stop running personal expenses through the business.

18:33.27
Jim Parker
And let me give you an example. if you for every For every dollar that you are you know either not reporting the cash in the on the business or you're writing off a personal expense on that dollar, even if you're in the highest tax bracket possible, you're saving 37 cents on that dollar.

18:35.42
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah, please.

18:52.83
Jim Parker
But when you go to sell your business, You could be losing out on $3, $4, $5 or more on that same dollar that you're saving 37 cents on. So you're saving cents in taxes and you're losing it on dollars when you go to sell your business.

19:07.20
Jim Parker
And that's probably the biggest mistake that I see business owners make when they're ready to sell. Just stop writing the personal expenses through the business.

19:14.92
Jimmy Purdy
And that's, and that's like the stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime. Right.

19:18.87
Jim Parker
Yep, yep.

19:18.90
Jimmy Purdy
I guess that's where that came from. Right. It sounds like now.

19:20.74
Jim Parker
Yeah, exactly. And what you said, client concentration, I'm not client concentration on, you know, the owner being, you know, the business, that's another thing that we need to have conversations about or,

19:28.61
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah.

19:31.25
Jim Parker
Client concentration, you're a collision shop and you're getting all your work from one insurance provider and, you know, that buyer buys of the business and that that walks away. Or you're dealing with a lot of fleet work and that, you know, the one fleet client that makes up 40% of your business.

19:48.58
Jim Parker
You know, those are the kind of things that going to scare buyers. And those are the conversations that you need to be having with a broker. whether it's me or somebody else, just somebody that sees an experience that knows the industry, knows about, knowledgeable about selling businesses and kind of get you on that plan so that you make sure you can sell the business the best you can.

20:05.08
Jimmy Purdy
what What are some, so you kind of did a little of them as as far as like that, but what are some little nuggets that you can you can give away as far as if, and say my position or anybody that's you know in their mid or late 30s, things that you can start putting together now that will put you on that path of success or the path to get the most for your business when you're ready to sell in say 20 years or 30 years.

20:32.15
Jim Parker
You know, I think, I think the, you know, I think that's two different conversations.

20:32.30
Jimmy Purdy
what And what attracts what attracts the buyers?

20:36.76
Jim Parker
I think like cleaning up your financials, having well-organized financials, that's conversation, you know, for somebody that's, you know, a couple years out, the client concentration or the owner's role, that's somebody, but for somebody that's your age, it's like 20, 30 years away.

20:51.72
Jim Parker
You know, I think a couple of things. One is, you know, like you said, be out there busting it. You're at that age where you're, where you have the energy, And you have the enthusiasm and go out there and hit it as hard as you can. I'm not saying work just to work, but you know it's not how many hours you work, but how focused you are while you're working and you're trying to build your businesses as big as you possibly can.

21:18.24
Jim Parker
ah you know I've talked to business owners that are in their mid-60s and they're looking to retire and they're like, you know hey, when you get my financials, I just want to let you know the last four or five years,

21:31.03
Jim Parker
we're we're It's about the same or we're growing just a little tiny bit. They're like, hey, yeah, you know, I've been making six or seven hundred thousand dollars a year for the last four or five years. I had a certain point in my life where I was like, hey, I'm making doing really well financially.

21:44.83
Jim Parker
The business is going very smoothly. I've got the great got got really good systems in place. and it's and And I'm at that age where I don't want to. Keep growing the business because every time you grow the business, you're you're you're adding that stress.

21:56.41
Jim Parker
And so they're not, you know, that 60-year-old person, 65-year-old person might be making a lot of money, not having to put as much work into it. You're younger. Go out there and bust it. And I think another big thing is get involved with like a peer group, you know, ah and, you know, find other auto repair shops that are in the same subcategory as you,

22:19.19
Jim Parker
Anywhere in the country that are some of the best of the best and get on a call with them for an hour and a half, two hours, once a month. We have, I yeah um ah i belong to a peer group. There's 12 of us business intermediaries around the country. And we tell each other everything and anything. And we've we've all become so much better because of how we share. I think paired peer groups is a huge thing.

22:41.17
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah, that's, I mean, anytime you can network, I feel it's been beneficial and it and it removes the cloak of trying to like keep everything hidden, you know?

22:51.02
Jim Parker
ye

22:51.13
Jimmy Purdy
um I just, I know from personal experience when I, when I first started, it was like, I just keep stuffing money in the account and then I'll just check it every couple months. Right. Just like, and hopefully there's something in there just like totally like it take a backseat and just put my head down and grind away and then don't tell anybody. Right.

23:07.66
Jimmy Purdy
keep Keep it all a secret. Keep it away from everybody because you don't want anybody to like, I don't know, show what a failure you are or how bad you're doing. And it's it's's it's interesting.

23:16.49
Jim Parker
yeah

23:18.81
Jimmy Purdy
And then you realize the more you're transparent about it, the more people start giving you. advice, whether it be ill or not, but it's like advice is advice, right? Like all the information is good information and you just keep growing on it.

23:33.58
Jimmy Purdy
And I think like not to step away from the business talk we're having, but like even with technicians or advisors, they're having a hard time taking that ego hit.

23:44.17
Jimmy Purdy
Hey, you misdiagnosed might misdiagnosed that, right? or that repair didn't go right.

23:48.53
Jim Parker
Yeah.

23:49.80
Jimmy Purdy
It didn't fix what the problem was, or you didn't get that sale from that customer. Like, and And they just want to hide that and move on to the next instead of taking that opportunity and saying, what did I do wrong so it doesn't happen again?

24:01.87
Jimmy Purdy
and I mean, as as me taking the leap from a technician to a shop owner, man, my ego had to take a huge hit. Like I had to constantly be like, because as a technician, you get to a point where you're you're pretty good, right?

24:13.37
Jimmy Purdy
Like I can avoid most mistakes. And it's like, then my my my head just starts growing, right? Because it's like everything I touch is like it is fixed, you know?

24:21.58
Jim Parker
But to me, that's why you're, that's why you're going to be a good, that's why you're, you're probably a very good business owner or going to be a great business owner.

24:21.74
Jimmy Purdy
And and then I...

24:28.39
Jim Parker
Because going to tell you, like I've sold, you know, most of the businesses I sell now are businesses that sell for a million dollars or or more. But I've worked with business owners in the past, you know, I've been doing this a long time, like really small businesses. And I've worked with really big businesses. Yeah.

24:43.67
Jim Parker
And, you know, the so small business that is not making very much money, they tend to be, i think, i first of all, I think all business owners are very, very confident people. You know, you're not going to go into business for yourself if you're not confident.

24:57.09
Jim Parker
But I think that that that small business owner that is very, very small and never grows.

24:57.25
Jimmy Purdy
That's a good point.

25:03.10
Jim Parker
It's because they they think they know everything and they they can't delegate to anybody. They don't take anybody's advice and they're just kind of a know-it-all.

25:14.02
Jim Parker
and And I don't mean that in a bad sense. They're just overconfident. Nobody can do anything as good as them. the the The people that I see end up selling their businesses for

25:22.97
Jimmy Purdy
I've never met anybody like that in this industry.

25:27.72
Jim Parker
Those people that send up some of

25:28.32
Jimmy Purdy
as as As 90% of the people listening are relating to it.

25:34.00
Jim Parker
the people that have sold their businesses for a couple million dollars or 20 million or 30 million, they have a different mindset. Like, They're like you. They're like, I don't know everything. I need to reach out and I need to learn this from this person. I need to, you know, I'm not going to, you're not going to blindly listen to your CPA, blindly listen to your attorney, blindly listen to your business consultant, but you're listening to them. You're digesting what you're they're saying. And then you're making a a good decision based off what they're saying. And you're, and you realize there's a lot of people out there that know a lot more than you And you're you're going out and you're finding the ones that you can trust, that you think are honest, that you like, and you're and you're embracing them and you're embracing their knowledge.

26:13.97
Jim Parker
And I really, yeah.

26:14.67
Jimmy Purdy
Man, that was a ah dissection right there. That was dissected my mind a little bit.

26:19.06
Jim Parker
I'm giving you really long answers to everything, Jimmy.

26:21.23
Jimmy Purdy
No, that was that.

26:21.35
Jim Parker
I apologize.

26:21.91
Jimmy Purdy
I mean, you just like to totally dissected like my thought process too. And, and to be, I mean, on that, I wanted to like take that even further is because sometimes man, in the beginning, i'm I'm just so exhausted mentally, you know, like you you only have so many decisions you can make in a day.

26:37.19
Jimmy Purdy
Right. And, and until you start delegating, you just get decision fatigue.

26:38.52
Jim Parker
Yeah.

26:41.58
Jimmy Purdy
And I know I did like, You get so many decisions you have to make over and over and over, like for all these. And you get to a point where you're just you're done. I can't do anymore. And so I would blindly start listening to consultants and coaches.

26:50.82
Jim Parker
Yep.

26:53.71
Jimmy Purdy
and And because it's like, all right, that sounds like an answer to me. I'm taking it and I'm running with it. And um and now I realize that sometimes I made a mistake and and I realize it it was it was advice.

27:03.76
Jimmy Purdy
It wasn't supposed to be. It was supposed to be taken with a grain of salt, right? It wasn't like, here, just take this and do exactly that.

27:10.81
Jim Parker
Right, right.

27:10.79
Jimmy Purdy
It was just the best advice. and And you broke it down. Like, i I need to take that stuff and make my educated decision based on that information. But man, you get so overwhelmed with decision fatigue.

27:22.00
Jimmy Purdy
You kind of start taking that stuff and running with it. Just like the conversation we're having right now. Like, you don't need to do exactly what we're talking about. It's just. Take Jim's advice and then make the best use of it.

27:32.89
Jimmy Purdy
ah Don't listen to this podcast and just be like, this is exactly how I'm going to set my life up.

27:33.38
Jim Parker
And it's...

27:37.72
Jim Parker
Yeah, talk talk to your techs and your office manager. you know Instead of coming to you as the business owner with a problem, you know come with a situation and ah and tell them, you come to don't come to me with a problem. Come to me with a situation and a resolution to that situation. you know

27:55.66
Jimmy Purdy
I love that.

27:55.80
Jim Parker
Because that's you because you get you get five employees that come to you all with a problem within the first two hours you walk into the shop.

27:56.30
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah.

28:03.87
Jim Parker
You know, that's five problems you got to deal with, you know, within the first two hours.

28:07.25
Jimmy Purdy
I mean, im umm i'm calling jim I'm calling Jim Parker to and give him the keys. Find someone to buy this place, man. I'm done.

28:13.52
Jim Parker
And most of those employees, but like they can make the decision themselves. You know, they they they can, you know, they they know their job, you know, they got a good estimate.

28:16.62
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah.

28:20.81
Jim Parker
So.

28:21.87
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah, it's it's amazing. And i don't understand the mindset. And if I did, ah I mean, obviously I'd be in a much better ah situation.

28:32.68
Jimmy Purdy
I'd have the answer for everybody, right? If you could figure out why why that happens. But ah it just goes back to to taking accountability and having the right team members.

28:43.40
Jimmy Purdy
I mean, how how how does that affect when when you deal with clients looking to sell their business? Is it all about the people that are in that that are invested in that business?

28:56.08
Jim Parker
Yeah, you know, i think that when you're selling a business, it's about people in general. You know, it's like when you're selling ah a house or a piece of commercial property, you know, nobody could care care less who who owned the business before or who owned that property before, who lived there, et cetera.

29:12.69
Jim Parker
But when you're selling a business, I'm a firm believer that the buyer has to like and trust the seller. So the seller has to be likable and trustworthy themselves. And the buyer is going to do their due diligence once they go under contract, but they still got to feel good about them.

29:27.52
Jim Parker
And then, you know, the the seller usually wants to feel good about the buyer. You know, I found the best sellers to be the people that my very first phone call with them, they're like, You know, I want to maximize my sales price, but I also want my customers to be taken care of. I want my employees to be taken care of.

29:42.30
Jim Parker
And sometimes they even say, I want my suppliers to be taken care of, you know, and, you know, so they're looking for that culture fit with the buyer. And then the buyer, one of the biggest questions will be coming out of their mouth is, you know, will the employee stay on post-closing?

29:56.94
Jimmy Purdy
Sure.

29:57.19
Jim Parker
You know, do you think they will leave? Do you think that is there somebody that can step up and do some work? And, you know, what what's what what's the feeling going to be that once you the you as the owner leave?

30:09.01
Jim Parker
There's going to be a lot of questions about those employees. And it's a catch 22, Jimmy, because it's funny, because on one end, you know, you you the buyer wants to have key employees there that can step up and take over the owners that's selling job and, and spread that out.

30:25.05
Jimmy Purdy
sure

30:25.96
Jim Parker
And then they also have, you know, they also come in, that person can help train them. But on the flip side of that, then the buyer gets worried that, Oh, there's a key employee, not only losing the owner, but part of that key employee leaves.

30:37.21
Jim Parker
So it's kind of a catch 22, but those are just things that you have to talk about. And there's strategies to, you know, help ensure that employee stays around um post closing and, and, you know, keep them on monetary from a monetary standpoint, you know,

30:51.05
Jim Parker
But the big thing is you don't want anybody to know that your business is for sale. You don't want your employees to know, your customers to know, suppliers, competitors.

30:59.75
Jimmy Purdy
You know, i'm glad you brought that up because I was going through your website and i saw and I saw that in there, the confidentiality deal, right? And that's interesting to me because ah for me, i just feel like transparency is the way to go.

31:13.89
Jimmy Purdy
So I feel like if if I'm planning on selling next year, like I'm letting everyone know right now, hey, guys, like there's going to be an owner. Like and i'm i'm I'm trying to prep everyone, getting everybody to know.

31:24.57
Jimmy Purdy
um I kind of want... my client base to know. So I'm sending out emails and letting everyone know, Hey, you know, like we're in the process of selling or be noted, going to make sure it's going to good hands. What's the thought behind making sure that it's confidential?

31:40.07
Jim Parker
Yeah, so like the employees, the big thing with employees is that they usually don't like uncertainty. And when there's a lot of uncertainty, they get uncomfortable. You got to remember that employee is either paying their rent, they're paying a mortgage, they got a car payment to put food on the table.

31:55.18
Jim Parker
You know, they got a family and a big thing that's going running through their head is, oh, okay, the owner is going to sell the business. Am I going to have a job? Am I just going to show up one day? Maybe the business owner is just going to close the shop down or will he actually sell the business and the new owner come in and get rid of me as an employee?

32:13.31
Jim Parker
And they have to think about themselves and their family. They might start looking, you know, somewhere else, you know, for as a for a job and the customer, you know, you've got a you've got a car, you've got a car. It's a forty thousand dollar car and you're going to go drop that off to to get fixed.

32:29.09
Jim Parker
And, you know, there's a big sign out front, you know, says for sale. How comfortable are you going to feel that you're going to leave your car there behind? is that shop going to be there next week?

32:40.99
Jim Parker
You know, with if there was a sign out front like that, and competitors could use that against you in ah in marketing and when they're trying to, you know, land clients and just all the way around. It's not a good, good thing to let people know that businesses for sale until the business is actually sold.

32:55.50
Jimmy Purdy
Interesting. That's, that's where the experience comes in for sure. Cause I'm obviously, ah my thought was 180 degrees from that.

33:03.13
Jim Parker
yeah

33:03.92
Jimmy Purdy
that's where you, that's where you have the experience to know that's the better way to go. And if it feels a little, i don't know, it feels a little under cloak, like an under veil, right? Like we're there's a huge thing going on.

33:15.42
Jimmy Purdy
We're going to let anybody know it's the last day, but I feel like that's probably, Hearing it from that aspect, that's probably the the better way to go. Right. And then and and then you just kind of do a seamless transition. You get get everybody warmed up to it.

33:28.28
Jimmy Purdy
I just feel like as ah as a client, if you weren't aware and and say six months go by after the new owner comes in and all of a sudden they show up and it's it's a new owner. But I guess if it's the same staff, then it really shouldn't make too much of a difference.

33:41.22
Jim Parker
Yeah, yeah. and And it's the, you know, but think about the customers like at any kind of auto repair shop. At the end of the day, they want to make sure that they're, you know, they they trust the shop and they begin good work. They're hopefully satisfied with the price and the service.

33:55.82
Jim Parker
That's what you just got to continue just because the business has been sold. A customer going be like, oh, the business is sold, so I'm going to go find another shop. They're going be like oh the business sold. Okay, let's see if they continue giving me the same service and price that I have been getting coming to this shop for the last 15 years.

34:13.04
Jim Parker
And really, if you're selling a business that's successful, you you want to make as little changes as possible as the buyer post-closing.

34:13.17
Jimmy Purdy
Interesting.

34:22.33
Jim Parker
It's when you buy a bad business that's been underperforming that you put that sign out front that says, you know now under new management. But if you're buying a successful business, you really don't want to be pounding your chest up and down, screaming to the world that you just bought the business. You want to kind of slowly get into it now. But I do want to say, Jimmy, like ah once in a while, I do get a business owner that says, I want like my employees to know, I want key employees to know. And, you know, we can have those conversations and sometimes those conversations happen before closing, but typically you do not want, you do want to keep it confidential without anybody knowing the business is for sale.

35:00.67
Jimmy Purdy
It makes sense. What's, what's a ah good tactic that you've seen, or you've been able to employ with breaking that ice or letting employees know? Cause mean, whether it's new ownership, new management, new, even just having a new like a level technician come in, that's going to be the new diet tech.

35:17.90
Jimmy Purdy
Like, I think you can apply that kind of thought process to anything across the board, but like in your situation with bringing in a new owner, what's some tactics that you've been able to use successfully that kind of breaks that ice?

35:30.11
Jim Parker
I think the most successful business transactions are when the when the seller, like I said before, the first phone call I have have with them, there're they're they're telling me how important it is that their employees and customers are taken care of post-closing. And I think that sets it up all the way through because then you know what I'm trying to do is I'm trying to not only get their business sold, but maximize their sales price, get the best terms for them, but also find an appropriate buyer that fits the culture of the business and what they're looking for.

36:01.73
Jim Parker
So as they're going, as the seller's going through this process and they're talking to the buyers, you know, one of the things a lot of that for them is, oh, I think they would be great for our employees. Oh, I like that this, oh, ah they could be offering benefits to our employees that they've never been able to offer before.

36:18.53
Jim Parker
So they start asking buyers about benefits, you know, like industry buyers buyers and things like that. So on the day of closing, you know, and we actually close on the business, if there's a key employee or a couple of key employees, you probably want to pull them aside and have a conversation respectfully with them separate.

36:36.48
Jim Parker
ah But the best thing to do when you're when you're announcing it to everybody is just to thank them so much for everything that they've done for the business over the years and how proud and you are of been working with them and explain to them why, you know, you're you're going to have to be moving on and that you've spent months now.

36:54.52
Jim Parker
working with professionals to find a really great buyer for the business. And this, you know, and introduce the buyer that, by the way, this is the buyer. And, you know, this is why we chose this particular buyer. And you can kind of hit on the key points why you think that buyer would be good for them.

37:10.14
Jim Parker
And then the buyer should say immediately be like, I am so glad that you guys are all here. And the one of the biggest reasons I bought this business was because of you guys.

37:20.64
Jim Parker
And I know how special you guys are. And I'm really looking forward. I want to let you know that nothing's going to change right off the gate. You know, you're you know you're you're going to keep your salaries. We're actually going to be adding benefits to you. We're going to be adding blah, blah, blah if they are.

37:34.87
Jim Parker
And, you know, I'm looking forward to sitting down with each one of you individually to discuss how we can make the business even better or make your job more satisfying to you or more efficient.

37:47.60
Jim Parker
and du ah And then meet with each employee one-on-one. And usually you kind of do a scheme, the situation like that. If everybody fits good for everybody.

37:57.24
Jimmy Purdy
I really, man, I really think you can use that across the, across the board there. Right. Like that's, uh, that's just good management, you know, with, with anybody coming in, just, just being, you know, upfront and, and then the why, like, why, why is this change happening?

38:07.84
Jim Parker
Yeah. Yeah.

38:14.71
Jimmy Purdy
I think that's the most important thing. I mean, just listening to it from, as ah my technician mind listening to it, right. If I'm in that situation, like just the why helps, right. Cause we all have to make decisions.

38:24.33
Jim Parker
Well, you know, you know, Jimmy, you were talking earlier asking like, well, you know, somebody is 20, 25 years away. What can they do to, you know, build their business? And I was given a couple of things like peer groups and, you know, keep learning and, you know, work hard.

38:38.81
Jim Parker
But I think I think another thing with that is that, um you know, treat every customer so important. Just try to please not volumes.

38:50.08
Jim Parker
But think of that customer as an individual that you really want to please, you know, treat your employees, not just, oh, that's my employees, that's my labor force, but get to know them as an individual.

39:01.38
Jim Parker
Like, you know, you're going to be a better business person, the better you realize, the more you realize that you're in the people business, you know, whether that is building a good relationship with your employees and, and them trusting you and you trusting them.

39:15.94
Jim Parker
And, you know, they have your back and you have their back and your customers, they know that you have, that you're treating them well and you're being honest with them and you're looking out for them. And even as suppliers, you know, this whole mindset of, you know, got to beat up your suppliers, got to beat up your suppliers.

39:26.94
Jimmy Purdy
Thank

39:30.72
Jim Parker
I don't want to beat up my suppliers. want, want good profit margins. I understand that. But at the end of the day, if I have an emergency and I, have know, if I owned a shop and I had to get a part down to my shop ASAP,

39:43.41
Jim Parker
Who are they more willing to bend over backwards for that person that just beats them to death on pricing every which way they can or that that that customer that's like, hey, you know, i' we're in this together.

39:55.79
Jim Parker
We I realize we both need to make money and, you know, I respect this relationship and I'm not constantly beating up, you know, so.

40:02.73
Jimmy Purdy
That's true. I feel like the stigma, is there a stigma in your side of the industry where everyone thinks that the big bad owner is going to come into town and and just focus on numbers and and and do exactly that, right?

40:16.11
Jimmy Purdy
They're just going to come in with the 10-foot pole and just start whacking everybody over the head. and I feel like that's the stigma, right? like Anytime like, oh, you're you're selling the business, like for some reason we have this imaginary person that's going to come in that's a ah Wall Street you know guru that's just going to come in and like,

40:31.55
Jim Parker
Yeah.

40:32.89
Jimmy Purdy
and and and just make everyone's life so hard. Is there is there a stigma behind that that you you've found?

40:38.87
Jim Parker
Yeah. You know, and, and the first thing that they're going to look, first thing that's going to grab grab their attention, a buyer's attention, whether it's an individual or, you know, an industry player, or a private equity group, professional buyer, the first thing that's going to grab their attention is the numbers. You know, how much is it for sale for?

40:53.39
Jim Parker
How much am I going to make? You know, what's the gross sales, blah, blah, bla blah. That's what's going to grab their attention. But, Once that grabs their attention and they look at the financials, they're going to look at it as on a very broad look and just make sure the numbers make sense.

41:07.62
Jim Parker
But for buyers at that point, they want to know about the business. What's the culture of the business like? You know, what's the what are all the things you can't not necessarily see? They're going to go to visit their website. going to want to talk to the the seller. At some point, they're going to want to visit the shop.

41:23.75
Jim Parker
They're lot of questions about the employees and go have a lot of questions about the the seller themselves, why they're going to sell. What are they going to post closing? Like they want a good feeling of the business all the way around. Is the equipment in good condition? Has been maintained over the years?

41:38.27
Jim Parker
You know, what are we sitting? And then once they go under contract with them, then it gets back to the numbers and they dig really, really deep into the numbers, Jimmy. So the numbers are extremely important.

41:49.85
Jim Parker
But, you know, think of more as a bookend that grabs their attention in the front end. It's going to seal the deal on the back end. You know, that the numbers need to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt once they go under so under under um contract and they're in their due diligence.

42:02.62
Jim Parker
But there's going that part in between. That's a lot of, you know, the look and the feel and the emotion and the culture of the business that makes a big decision whether they want to move forward. And if they do, you know, what kind of price going to put on that business.

42:17.65
Jimmy Purdy
It's interesting you said that because I was going to ask you with the most what's what's more important and it sounds like there isn't. It sounds like but sounds like business is very complicated.

42:23.29
Jim Parker
No.

42:27.33
Jim Parker
You know, I'm going to tell you some horrible statistics. You want to hear some horrible statistics?

42:31.71
Jimmy Purdy
oh I love horrible stuff.

42:34.16
Jim Parker
It's estimated that only 10 to 20% of business businesses for sale actually sell. So 80 to 90% of the businesses for sale do not sell. That's a national statistic. That's crazy.

42:46.73
Jimmy Purdy
That is crazy.

42:47.58
Jim Parker
And 50% of the deals that go under contract fall apart before they get to the closing table, which is just blows my mind.

42:53.25
Jimmy Purdy
wow

42:55.49
Jim Parker
So when you have a good, so my sales, my sales, I sell businesses. It's, you know, I'm selling 90% of the things I take to the market. I am selective upfront, but we also got a great team and we got great processes and strategies, all that stuff aside.

43:10.27
Jim Parker
You know, when you are a business owner and you're looking to sell your business, You've got to price it reasonably on the marketplace and it's got to be handled properly, you know, because what happens in the marketplace, reason 80, 90% of the businesses for sale don't sell is most of the stuff on the business on the marketplace is either bad businesses or the businesses are overpriced or they're not being handled properly or everything above.

43:35.60
Jim Parker
And, you know, all these buyers have been looking for, they usually been looking for a couple months to a couple years. So when you have a business, hit when your business hits the market, your business is standing out. All those eyeballs are on your business and it's not going to last that long.

43:50.57
Jim Parker
So you want to make sure you have your I's dotted, your T's crossed. You got a good plan when you go to the market so you can capitalize on that situation. Because that the more buyers you have looking at your business,

44:01.85
Jim Parker
the better chance you're going to get multiple offers on your business. And when you get multiple offers on your business, that's where you're maximizing your sales price and getting the best terms possible.

44:11.84
Jimmy Purdy
It also seems like just having not scrambling at the end, right? Like from from what I've picked up from our conversation, it's like, it just seems like the sooner you get that stuff in order, more prepared you are when that day comes instead of waiting until you're 60 years old and spending three years getting your finances together. So it looks, you know, organized, like if they're always organized, then you're always ready.

44:37.75
Jimmy Purdy
Right. And then, and and then you're like, Hey, I'm ready to sell.

44:38.26
Jim Parker
Yeah.

44:40.81
Jimmy Purdy
Here's all my stuff. And then you don't have, you know, poor Jim having to like, make your, make your business look good. just like, it already looks good. Right.

44:48.11
Jim Parker
Well, you know, it goes back to the five D's that we were talking about. 50% of all deals are the business that are sold are done. That was an unexpected sale. You know, the divorce disability, you know distressed.

44:59.78
Jimmy Purdy
oh yeah. Yeah.

45:00.70
Jim Parker
So that's one reason why you need to keep you should keep your business like that, you know, in shape all the time.

45:00.70
Jimmy Purdy
yeah

45:05.23
Jim Parker
But also if you, if you position your business to be more sellable and you're not thinking about selling your business, I can tell you, you will,

45:16.12
Jim Parker
have a better run business that's a lot more stress-free for you as well. And then on top of that, you never know. Maybe you want to go out and get a loan so you can buy your own building.

45:29.50
Jim Parker
Or maybe you want to go out and get a loan because you want to open up, a you know, get a second location or acquire second location. So having those good financial records that we were talking about earlier, even if you're not selling, could come in handy if you need to get a bank loan.

45:43.82
Jim Parker
you know And also, you can then better analyze how well your business is actually performing because the P&Ls are really done appropriately and not not not the high taxes or high income from for tax purposes on the dollar.

45:57.97
Jimmy Purdy
Not to save 37 cents.

46:01.68
Jim Parker
You're losing an out on dollars.

46:01.82
Jimmy Purdy
yeah

46:02.83
Jim Parker
Yeah.

46:04.00
Jimmy Purdy
but do So on that, do you do you do like business evaluations if someone wanted you to go through and and see what it's worth, not put it on the market, but just if they were curious? Is that something you offered?

46:16.06
Jim Parker
Yeah, that's the first step. wasll I'll do a broker's opinion of value. If somebody's looking to sell their business now or in the next couple of years, I'll do a broker's opinion of value. Tell them what the most probable selling price There's no cost for that and no obligation to use my services.

46:30.46
Jim Parker
But I only do that for people that are like thinking about selling their business in the next couple of years.

46:35.20
Jimmy Purdy
ah okay

46:36.17
Jim Parker
and ah

46:36.09
Jimmy Purdy
Oh, okay.

46:36.89
Jim Parker
To me, it's building a goodwill with them.

46:37.26
Jimmy Purdy
in the hopes, in the hope that they're going to sell it, right?

46:38.87
Jim Parker
Yeah.

46:40.68
Jimmy Purdy
Or if they listen to the Gearbox podcast, you they could reach out to you, right?

46:40.84
Jim Parker
Yeah.

46:44.83
Jim Parker
Exactly. I would love to talk to anybody from the gearbox.

46:45.61
Jimmy Purdy
Not to flood your email box, but... Yeah,

46:48.82
Jim Parker
Please do.

46:50.78
Jimmy Purdy
I mean, it's it's important. to know I mean, and if if nothing else, it it gives you a better night's sleep or lights the fire or and under your butt to to get your your stuff together, right?

47:00.17
Jim Parker
Yeah, yeah.

47:00.15
Jimmy Purdy
like Like, I mean, like the false sense of entitlement or overconfidence. I mean, I think that's rampant and in the auto industry. I think, I mean, especially technician turn to shop owner.

47:12.99
Jimmy Purdy
It's like, if you can fix anything, like you can fix a business. And then, you know, you're paying your bills, paying your rent. and you're like, man, this place has got to be worth 5 million bucks. Like I'm doing a great job. And then, you know, talk someone like you and you're like, no, you got a lot of work to do.

47:25.80
Jim Parker
No, you you know what, though?

47:26.32
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah.

47:27.47
Jim Parker
You know what, though? I mean, gosh, you know, you're youre you're du you did something, though. You know how I think most I think in in our country, in the United States of America, I think most people grow up with the belief that part of the American dream is owning your own business.

47:45.56
Jimmy Purdy
Sure.

47:45.67
Jim Parker
And I think so many people dream of owning their own business, dream about it. But very few people actually do it. So I think those of us that that do go into business for ourselves, whether you're small, you turn out to be huge, you turn turn out to be the next Steve Jobs or anything in between, you should be proud.

48:08.97
Jim Parker
You know, you did something what most people were afraid to do and you did it. And you know, the only thing is this is I feel like in life, we're not competing against each other.

48:19.90
Jim Parker
You know, we're not competing against each other. We're competing against ourselves and ourselves only. I do think that there's two people you need to impress in your life. Do you know who I think the two people are that I think everybody needs to impress in their life is?

48:35.09
Jimmy Purdy
i think I think one of them is me and the other one isn't here.

48:39.00
Jim Parker
One of them is your eight-year-old self and the other one's your 80-year-old self.

48:41.89
Jimmy Purdy
Oh. Oh, wow. That's deep.

48:44.92
Jim Parker
And if you, and you can impress your eight-year-old self,

48:44.90
Jimmy Purdy
I like that. That was a lot better. That was a lot better than my answer.

48:51.79
Jim Parker
but you should be proud. You know, it's, you you built the business. So like, I don't, I never critique a ah business owner. You did business owners do, gosh, they're living it. That's so fantastic.

49:02.98
Jimmy Purdy
That's a good point. That's a good outlook. I mean, I think we forget. I forget that. I definitely do. Because we all just put Steve Jobs on a pedestal and we're like, if we're not making it like him, then we're failing, right?

49:13.31
Jim Parker
Yep.

49:13.21
Jimmy Purdy
especially when you're like an A level, like a type A personality business owner, like you have to exceed what, you know, Warren Buffett and Steve Jobs has done or you've failed.

49:24.57
Jimmy Purdy
And we forget like how I forget how far I've come, right? from From having almost zero in account to where we're at. Like you just forget that stuff and how much work it takes and and how special those people are, right? Like that's the other thing. Like you look at Steve Jobs, like,

49:42.51
Jimmy Purdy
That's a special individual. hey

49:44.77
Jim Parker
Yeah. Yep. ye

49:45.78
Jimmy Purdy
ah Yeah. Don't put it. Don't don't like I mean, use him as inspiration, but also like it's just not going to happen, man. A lot of us are just average and that's totally OK.

49:56.18
Jim Parker
Exactly. And that's okay. and That's why I say you're only competing against yourself. You're only competing against what abilities you were born with. You know what I mean? As an individual. yeah have you have strength We all have strengths and we all have weaknesses.

50:06.01
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah.

50:09.62
Jim Parker
And I feel like if you can just go through life and you can be better than what you, better than the talents and the skills you were born with, you've lived a great life. Even if that's, even if you end up being ah a hundredth of net worth of somebody else or 100. It doesn't have to be but monetarily. um just My point is you're not we're not competing against each other.

50:32.33
Jim Parker
Competing against yourself.

50:32.30
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah.

50:34.23
Jim Parker
you know, that's all. We all run our own race.

50:35.76
Jimmy Purdy
Wake up.

50:38.57
Jim Parker
And we should all be cheering on each other.

50:40.69
Jimmy Purdy
We should be.

50:41.05
Jim Parker
You know? Somebody else that we know does something and they, they, they've, they've, they did something that became really successful.

50:42.35
Jimmy Purdy
Should be. and

50:48.12
Jim Parker
They landed a big deal and, you know, sad. So many of us are like, oh, that, oh gosh, I, I wish they went, no, cheer them on, you know, cheer them on, you know?

50:59.34
Jimmy Purdy
yeah Yeah, I mean, that's that's how it's supposed to be.

51:02.59
Jim Parker
Yeah.

51:02.79
Jimmy Purdy
i think that comes with age and wisdom.

51:06.41
Jim Parker
Yeah.

51:06.39
Jimmy Purdy
once once Once all the testosterone is burned out of us when we get I'm blissfully ignorant is what it is.

51:06.69
Jim Parker
Maybe.

51:12.92
Jim Parker
But you know what? I think you've got the person personality. You're going to kill it. You're going to kill it because you I think the biggest motivator is fear in life. And and ah you know you want to learn and you you you're motivated by the fear.

51:29.97
Jimmy Purdy
and And I feel like the more I learn, the more I start ah not shutting down, but I start, I'm like, Ooh, Oh, I see why no one's doing it like that. But if you don't know any better, you're like, yeah, I'll dive in. I don't care.

51:42.06
Jimmy Purdy
like you know, like you don't see the sharks in the water unless you know they're there. Right. So you're like, I'll dive right in.

51:46.38
Jim Parker
That's so true.

51:47.79
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah.

51:47.96
Jim Parker
That's so true. Like, like a lot of things, like if if you, if you, when you jump in and you do something, once you know what you jumped in, because usually we jump into stuff, we don't really know what we're in for.

51:59.44
Jim Parker
But those, once we, we know what we're in for, like, I don't know if I would have jumped into that, if I would have known the all this, you know what I mean?

51:59.45
Jimmy Purdy
Yep.

52:05.98
Jim Parker
Like, it's good to be dumb. Yeah.

52:10.00
Jimmy Purdy
and Blissfully ignorant is what I call it.

52:11.83
Jim Parker
Yes.

52:12.52
Jimmy Purdy
and try to try to Try to church it up a little bit, you know?

52:17.08
Jimmy Purdy
Well, Jim, I think this has been ah extremely insightful.

52:17.24
Jim Parker
That's great.

52:19.72
Jimmy Purdy
If anybody wants to get in touch with you, you are the auto repair boss. I like that.

52:25.02
Jim Parker
Yeah. You can visit my website at www.theautorepairboss.com. I'd love to, love to chat with anybody that wants to talk.

52:34.19
Jimmy Purdy
get a business analysis.

52:34.47
Jim Parker
I appreciate you having me on Jimmy.

52:36.30
Jimmy Purdy
Yeah. I mean, this is, this is important stuff, you know, and, and, and it's definitely missed. It's something you don't think about. and I think a lot of us don't need to worry about it for a long time, but it just comes right.

52:48.01
Jim Parker
Yeah.

52:48.02
Jimmy Purdy
We don't even have to try because the day our our our end is coming, right? Whether we want it to or not. and so And it's one thing I've learned with like you brought up getting a loan and stuff like that is like now I'm scrambling for three weeks trying to get all my paperwork together to try to go submit to see how much money I can get. it's like, man, I'm just going to keep it like this. So the next time I'm ready, I'm like, everything's organized.

53:10.99
Jimmy Purdy
But also like going through the process of me buying the shop that I did, it was definitely eyeopening to see someone spend 30 some odd years of of their life that was passed down from their father.

53:23.26
Jimmy Purdy
And then at the end of the day, like, I'm giving them less than a hundred thousand dollars for it. It's like, man, that is just, I wish I could do more.

53:29.25
Jim Parker
Yeah.

53:30.65
Jimmy Purdy
Right. But at the end of the day business is business and you have to make sure like, I'm not overextending myself to get something that where I could just start it from scratch, you know?

53:31.66
Jim Parker
yeah

53:39.44
Jimmy Purdy
So i was like, look, if you want this, I can give it to you. Otherwise I'm just going to walk away because you're not going to get it more anywhere else. um And yeah, it's like, what am I going to do in 30 years? I want to make sure that I'm set up, that my time was used wisely and that all the employees that are spending their time in here are also going to be taken of as well.

53:58.25
Jimmy Purdy
You know, because, you know because That's part of the equation too, right? if if If you set it up for success and then you have a big, I don't know, don't call them an entity, but if you have an investor come in, right, and you can actually have the proper negotiation because you have something that's worth something, you know your employees are going to be taken care of.

54:04.06
Jim Parker
Yep.

54:17.80
Jimmy Purdy
And that's the gist I'm getting from it.

54:19.93
Jim Parker
ye Yep. Absolutely. Absolutely.

54:23.39
Jimmy Purdy
We're learning something. I learned something today.

54:26.40
Jim Parker
and Absolutely. Well, you know, you acquiring that business is a great way. and You know, you might want to keep acquiring shops, you know, over the years, you know, maybe go on a 10, 10 shop chain someday.

54:37.05
Jimmy Purdy
There's that blissful ignorance starting to melt away because I'm like, I don't know if want to do that again.

54:44.55
Jimmy Purdy
Now I know too much.

54:47.68
Jim Parker
That's great.

54:48.03
Jimmy Purdy
i Thanks again, Jim. appreciate your time. And then hang out for just a minute because it takes a little time.