Would you rather own: 1- The manufacturer of the lift 2- The dealer/servicer 3- The rental company 4- The contractor using it Rank them best to worst business to own. (Bonus for explaining your answer.)

Only 5 of 102 candidates followed the instructions in our job ad recently. Two takeaways: • Hiring is still super tough • Small, specific hurdles in your job posting will save a bunch of time

I've built free resources on everything from great business ideas to hiring, meetings, and growing an audience on social media. But my Dr Evil Master Plan is to ask for your email address to get them. (Then, I'll send you Chili's menu tips.) girdley.beehiiv.com/c/resources

1) Go to VRBO / Airbnb 2) Find a rental you like. 3) Identify the property manager firm in listing 4) Google firm name 5) Book property on their website 6) Save $400 Every. Single. Time.

I asked an auditor: "What's the #1 way to prevent theft as a business owner?" He said: "Simple. Each month, review every transaction. Don't hide that you're doing it."

I’ve been an entrepreneur for 30 years now. I’ve started 12+ businesses. I wrote a 40-page guide. Boiled it down to 4. Download free! girdley.com/products/lr...

HOW TO DEAL WITH PANIC ATTACKS (they suck) Get too stressed in life and business -> they can happen. Many leaders have had them, whether you recognize it or not. Three thoughts:

"Hire smart people. Leave them alone." Terrible advice.

One reason CEO roles are so draining: There's no boss to give you positive reinforcement for good work.

I boiled my 40-page business incubation system down to 4 pages. And made it free.  But I’m still harvesting your email for nefarious purposes! girdley.com/products/lr...

Not long ago, the housing market hit its lowest point in 30+ years. For many Gen Z and Millennials, buying a house is as realistic as flying to Mars. How did we screw this up so badly?  Let’s dig in, Margot-Robbie-in-a-bathtub style.

Sad prediction: AI and offshoring are going to wreck the accounting profession for junior jobs in the next decade. Combine that with the pain every company has with this function and it’s a recipe for economic disaster.

I made this guidebook for my 1-1 manager meetings with reports. What would you change or improve?

I've built free resources on everything from great business ideas to hiring, meetings, and growing an audience on social media. But my Dr Evil Master Plan is to ask for your email address to get them. (Then, I'll send you Chili's menu tips.) girdley.beehiiv.com/c/resources

Reading 25-year-old business books is bizarre. Especially when the author is like: “You can see this method used at the greatest companies of our time like Enron, WorldCom, Kodak, Pets .com, and GE.”

I'm hosting a free lecture today at 12 CT / 1 ET: Top Roles to Offshore to LatAm Join me and the @hirewithNear CEO Hayden Cohen, and bring your questions! RSVP here to get the link: lu.ma/dfh81ogm

The next free event in my holdco lecture series is this Thursday: Top Roles to Offshore to LatAm Me + @hirewithnear CEO Hayden Cohen. Join us at 1 ET and bring your questions! lu.ma/dfh81ogm

I love sitting down to record new Acquisitions Anonymous podcasts. - Bill teaches ecommerce - Heather teaches funding - Mills teaches services & PE - I make dad jokes about Chili’s Sponsorship slots opening up soon!

“Will you join our advisory board?” “Sure. What is the deal?” “Well, we give you 0.0001% of the company and you work for a few hours a month unpaid and we put you on our slide deck alongside 16 other advisors.”

Question for the Twitter crowd: Who would be great-fit sponsors for my newsletter? - 42K readers (and growing) - 62% business owners, multiple business owners, or professionals - Almost entirely US readers Got a few slots opening up!

This question came up in @joinScalepath recently. Here’s two uncommon takes on the question 👇

I published a new free resource last weekend.  The boiled-down version of my “low-risk business” system. (Originally a 40-page ebook — way too long for the internet.) Subscribe and read it in 3 minutes or less!  girdley.com/products/lr...

When should you hire your first salespeople? Sales managers? Here’s how to know.

Compelling writing is a learned skill. It helps me write emails, memos, X posts, YouTube, video shorts — everything. My Favorite 4 rules for great writing:

I’ve been an entrepreneur for 30 years now. I’ve started 12+ businesses. I wrote a 40-page guide. Boiled it down to 4.  Download free! girdley.com/products/lr...

Cost-cutting trick for small business: Once a year, report all your company credit cards as lost. A bunch of recurring charges will never come back.

Considering buying a business? It can go VERY wrong. And put you in the poor house. I’ve studied 1,000s of businesses for sale. The 11 biggest traps for you to avoid: 🧵

“How do you compensate your CEOs?” My answer: a bonus structure that aligns with MY goals. If you want maximum profit, don’t incentivize maximum growth. I use a simple template that’s easy to build, understand, and remember. Download it here! www.girdley.com/products/ce...

Monopoly tactic to alienate your friends: 1. Sell everything for maximum cash. 2. Go all in to get an orange/violet monopoly. 3. Build 3 houses on each property (optimal ROI - small enough to be affordable, large enough to cause pain to others) 4. Dominate until your friends get wise.

Someone emailed this question to the Acquisitions Anonymous pod recently. Some marketplaces charge hundreds of dollars annually, but there are free listings on BizBuySell. Should business buyers pay to see listings?

My favorite airport hack: Pick up arriving passengers at the departure level. Always deserted.

You know that person you've worked with for ages? Communication, working together... it all gets SO EASY. Why not short-circuit getting to know each other? I built a 1-page "Work With Me" user manual, and it works wonders. Get the template free! www.girdley.com/usermanual

On our podcast Acquisitions Anonymous, we see this often: A retiring person owns a business worth $750k. But they used that business years ago to own real estate worth $5mm today. This is how to set it up. 🧵

We had a lawyer once. Was very good. But then: He won a big case (for somebody else) and made tens of millions in fees.

If your husband drives one of these, he's definitely not having an affair.

Our podcast Acquisitions Anonymous has a few sponsor slots opening up soon! - over 10K weekly listeners - audience of searchers, sellers, M&A, and ETA nerds Our sponsors tend to stick around for the long haul. (That’s gotta be a good sign, right?) Email [email protected]!

The dumbest mistake young entrepreneurs make: Starting out at home. Instead, you should go into a coworking space every day. Here’s why:

We’re all going to die sooner or later. So don’t waste your time on bad business ideas.  Here’s my guide to generating great ideas… and how to eliminate 99% of them. Exercises, razors, moats, mistakes to avoid. Free! bit.ly/4hPA3i3

Generation X is weird. These 43-58 year-olds are so strange it presents golden opportunities. Here are 10 mind hacks to use with Gen X:

Do you help people… - Run their business better - Start a new business - Buy a business My 43K+ newsletter readers want to hear from you. Sponsor an issue!  DM me and I’ll connect you.

I introduced my son to the family business: a 12-day sprint of selling fireworks out of a stand. Here’s how it went:

I wrote a rant about Unlimited PTO policies. (I think they suck - not just for workers but everyone.) Here’s the article → girdley.beehiiv.com/p/unlimited...

My annual rankings of US airlines: Tier 1: Delta Tier 2: United, Alaska Tier 3: American, Spirit, JetBlue Should be shut down and sold for parts: Southwest

Starting in an hour. My next online (free) lecture. It’s like a podcast but you have to show up on time. This one is on franchising. Starts in 1 hour. RSVP here (we’ll send the recording even if you can’t make it): lu.ma/dxjc70m0

24 hours until my Franchise Tell-All online lecture with Connor Groce. Ask us anything about franchising (and I’ll make sure Connor answers you!) RSVP here → lu.ma/dxjc70m0

How do you motivate your team? Before you shout “CASH OR GTFO”... Read this.

As a serial company builder, I used to look down on franchising.  I didn’t think owning a McDonald’s or an Orange Theory was “true entrepreneurship.”  But I’m getting older and (theoretically) benefiting from experience… Here’s why I’ve changed my mind.

My next online lecture series is this Thursday. @ConnorGroce and I will be answering all your questions about entrepreneurship via franchising. Free. Entertaining. You’ll learn something. Mar 6 @ 12 CST / 1 EST. lu.ma/dxjc70m0

We hired a private chef to cook for our family.  It was an amazing decision. What we learned was surprising:

Hot take: 41 is the perfect age for men. You're not so old that the end seems near but you're still strong and full of energy. And you've learned enough in 20+ years of adulthood to be only kinda stupid.