Today we will talk about how long it’ll take you to become OWNER INVESTORS. 

First, as a reminder, our belief is you can be an OWNER OPERATOR, aka do all the work and replace your current job with a business you at least own, but you don’t have to. You can be an OWNER INVESTOR like Matt Aitchison (one of our interviewees who will be in Unit #2 – click the link to follow him). Matt’s a great example of a normal guy, who used real estate as a way to wealth, and then built and bought businesses around it such as: 

• a Laundromat business that shoots off $125k in profit where he is an owner investor, not an owner operator
• a distressed boutique hotel in Tahoe
• a construction business
• a property management business.

Matt is a great example of an owner investor. He works 2 hours a week on each of his businesses, maximum. He does a weekly call on Fridays with each of his operators to get their KPIs (key performance indicators) and their P&L and cash flow. This allows him to understand how they are progressing on their goals and ensure that he is tracking his investment.

He calls these sessions his Financial Fridays (we’ll outline one of these for you later) and runs them across all his businesses from real estate to construction to real estate management to hotels and finally laundromats. If he wants to get more involved, he can. But he doesn’t have to. This understanding of your personal and investment finances is CRUCIAL btw. Mistakes, when caught early, save millions. 

The Details on Laundromats:

He set up this particular deal in laundromats so that he gets paid out on a monthly and quarterly basis. He used OPM (other people’s money) to execute the transaction, as the all-in cost for the laundromats was about $900k. They expect to break even on their investment over the course of 24-36 months but for cash flow to start in the first quarter of ownership. 

One of Matt’s core unfair advantages is digital marketing and media (a rarity in small blue-collar businesses), so he leverages his team to apply that to his laundromats and other businesses. Whether it’s his Instagram, his top 100 podcasts, or his masterminds, he uses those to drive additional value to the business. But he certainly doesn’t spend his time exclusively on a deal that comprises a small % of his total earnings. 



So you see, owning a business doesn’t have to be all-consuming. It can be done while you have a full-time job, and in fact, for your first business, we recommend that. ALSO: ask yourself – what is the unfair advantage you will bring your business?

Sounds great Codie. BUT, how long will this all take me?

If someone was fully motivated and executed on a daily basis you could go through our entire program, start executing it and close a business within 3-4 months.  We’ve had attendees to our presentations (who are further along the learning scale) do it within 30 days. Use the business buying checklist and calendar in the course to set yourself up for success.

That stacking of businesses is how you create horizontal income streams. Most people’s standard income stream is their salary. That is 90% of their income if not 100%.

Think about that… on top of what you make now, you could have income that is horizontal (doesn’t rely on you to be there 100% of the time to make it). This is FCF – free cash flow – to you.

Whether you go in at the outset with someone who wants to run the business (what Matt did), or you find an operator post-acquisition, there are many ways to take on these revenue streams without taking on the job. 

DISCLAIMER: no one ever hands you free money! 

You’re going to have to work to do the due diligence, to find the business, to hire or partner with a team. There is no free lunch. BUT – the upfront work is what pays the long term pursuits. Financial freedom is the goal we are all moving towards. You can too. 

Like I said… there are no rules — so make your own

The UA course here OR if you are serious about buying a small business (and haven’t joined us already), join our Mastermind.