Harsh truth:

Running a company is simply a game of prioritizing problems.

Here’s how to become the Chief Problem Solver in your business: Want to know Elon Musk's "secret" to running Tesla, SpaceX, and 3+ other billion-dollar companies?

According to Marc Andreessen, it's simple:

"He shows up every week, identifies the biggest problem, fixes it, and does that 52 weeks in a row."

Opportunity nobody talks about:

Buying unwanted land.

With $10K and 7 days of work, I was under contract for 10 acres in West Texas.

Here’s how I did it (and why): Step 1: Set clear “make or break” criteria

I wanted:

• 10+ acres
• Located in West Texas (near Marfa/tourist spots)
• No restrictions on land use
• Under $10K budget
• Close in ONE week

In 2025, more people are buying businesses than ever before.

Here are 8 revealing stats from our comprehensive survey of small business buyers: 1. Top industry to buy in

Home services. Overwhelmingly.

Followed by:

- Professional services
- Health & wellness
- Construction

SBA loans are getting their biggest overhaul in years.

If you want to buy a business in 2025, here’s what you need to know: First, little disclaimer: SBA rules are crazy complicated.

This is the high-level overview, but ALWAYS double-check info you find online before applying it to your specific situation.

Here are 5 new policy changes that stood out to me:

This is Bill Perkins.

He's worth 100s of millions, a hedge fund manager, poker player, asymmetric thinker...

And my smartest mentor.

Steal his 7 principles on how the rich think differently: 1. You Have ZERO Risk

Most people are afraid of risk because their egos can’t stand looking like an idiot.

I remember being slightly mind-f*cked by Bill's idea that educated people have no actual financial risk.

Listen to him explain it here:

The system is designed to keep you comfortable, not wealthy.

This financial autopsy of a 36-year-old couple earning $350k proves it.

Look at these numbers: I just analyzed this financial autopsy of a couple in the Detroit suburbs:

- 36 years old
- $350K combined income
- $700K retirement accounts
- $900K mortgage

Looks like the American Dream on paper... Let’s look at the monthly

Last year, I brought together 100s of business owners and asked them: what's the biggest thing holding your business back?

This is what they said (& how I answered): 1. Hires That Weigh Down Your Business

Q: How do you know you’ve made a right hire off the bat, instead of wasting a bunch of time and money before you realize they’re a bad fit?

A:

Stressed about what you pay in taxes?

Start a business.

Whether you run a VC-backed startup or freelance on the side, the US tax code favors business owners over everyone else.

Here’s everything you should know: 1 - Business Expenses

You can take a deduction for anything you use to run your business.. internet, phone, software, conferences (including travel)

Business owners can also deduct their home office square footage from their rent or mortgage (which W-2 employees cannot!)

Business scaling isn't rocket science.

But it is a science.

After working with 100s of companies, I can tell you the difference between the ones that plateau and the ones that explode comes down to these 3 levers: Every scalable business needs:

- The right people (who)
- The right systems (how)
- The right focus (what)

Miss any one, and you'll hit a ceiling.

Let's break down each piece (and I'll share what most get wrong):

Build your business so it’s sellable… and you’ll never be forced to sell.

This is the map for a business that runs without you (& attracts serious buyers): Most people run their business until they're miserable. And then try to sell.

Don't be most people.

First step…

MBA graduates are no longer interested in employment at Goldman or Google.

They want ownership.

First wave was startups. Next wave will be acquisitions.

Here’s why buying businesses is the new gold rush: Building = years with no profit.
Buying = cashflow from day one.

When you buy a business, you're not gambling on potential.

You're getting proven profits, existing customers, and someone else's 10,000 hours of work... Made yours overnight.

27 tips to build your empire in the margins.

1. The Law of Two Hours: 2 hours of dedicated work is worth more than most people’s 8 hours. 2. How to never fail with a business: Start as a side project. Keep your job. Use your salary to fund. Quit when you have enough cashflow.

3. It's not about time. It's about the F word. Focus. You don’t need 24 hours a day to build a business.

An entire generation has been misled about startups and wealth.

• New business failure rate: over 65%
• Acquisitions failure rate: under 20%

Opportunity's here. But you might miss it..

How to decrease your chance of failure buying a business (The 3 M’s of Risk): Entrepreneurship is hard.

You'll lose money, sleep, time, and at the end of the day… It’s statistically likely that you’ll still fail.

Even the top .1% startup founders understand this truth:

Business is risk. You should expect to fail.

Underrated business model:

Turning a service into a product.

It helps solve the issue of scaling for:
• Agencies
• Freelancers
• Solopreneurs

Here’s how a "productized service" works: First, let's talk about the trap most consultants & contractors fall into:

Trading hours for dollars.

Even at high hourly rates, you're still capped by time. Earn more = work more.

Stop working, and the money stops too.

But there's a better way...

Underrated opportunity: Med spas.

• Average gross margin: 71%
• Market expected to grow 19% by 2028
• 1/3 of clients have an annual household income over $100,000

Here’s how a couple I know bought one and 4x’d it to replace their 9-5s: This is Olman.

His wife, Jen, got an $800 lip filler treatment that took 20 minutes.

Suddenly he looked at Botox, injections, and skin treatments… And saw profit margins, optimization, and dollar signs.

But do the numbers check out?

YouTube TV has its raised prices by 137%:

• 2017 launch → $34.99
• January 2025 → $82.99

Here’s how giant corporations get away with raising prices so often (& how a small business can do it the right way): Remember when YouTube TV was the cheap alternative to cable?

5 years after launch, the price doubled.

Fast forward to the hike in January and we’re starting to wonder if it's a ripoff.

Think YouTube felt that anger in their bottom line?

If you want to acquire a million-dollar company, you don’t need to have millions.

Here’s how to buy a business that pays for itself (9 negotiation tips for seller financing): First up:

What IS seller financing?

Doesn’t sound so nice as a seller… why am I paying for YOU to own my business?

That’s why I sometimes call it “self-liquidating acquisitions.”

Here’s how it works:

If you don’t understand acquisitions, you’ll never be truly wealthy.

Here’s what you need to know about how the rich buy businesses: Think of any 3 rich people.

They likely have 1 thing in common.

They own. Often, they own companies.

The average person doesn't understand this about wealth. I love how Sam Altman put it:

When you move from a worker to the leader, you have to change everything.

What no one tells you about the mindset of owners: You’re Either the Hammer…

Hammers make things happen. They aren’t afraid to swing hard, take calculated risks, and make an impact. They don’t wait for things to happen.

Biographies of billionaires teach you more than self-help business books.

Here are my 5 favorites: 1. Built from Scratch (Home Depot Founders)

Read for: Learning how to disrupt an industry.

Marcus & Blank were fired from Handy Dan. Then they noticed a gap in the system...

This UK entrepreneur turned a wire basket manufacturer into the world's largest advertising agency.

Warren Buffett allegedly offered to buy it at a 20% premium in 2012…

Here’s the strategy behind this now-$10B boring business: Our story starts with Sir Martin Sorrell.

But before that, it starts with Wire and Plastic Products plc.

It was founded in 1971 as a manufacturer of shopping baskets, rat cages, and clothes lockers.

That is, until Sorrell came along…