Business Buying for Financial Independence

In this episode, Tim breaks down an important distinction for business buyers: a distressed seller is not the same thing as a distressed business. A seller may simply be burned out, approaching retirement, dealing with changing priorities, or lacking a succession plan, while the underlying business remains profitable and healthy.

Tim explains why those situations can create strong acquisition opportunities when the buyer focuses on a fair, ethical, win-win transition rather than trying to exploit the seller's circumstances. He also shares examples from his own liquor store acquisition and discusses how seller motivation can influence price, terms, and transition timelines.

Tim T. Delaney is an entrepreneur who believes everyone should explore the opportunities that business and real estate can provide on the path to financial freedom. He owns and operates a wine & liquor store, a software startup, a consulting company, and a growing portfolio of commercial and residential real estate.

Tim's passion for independent business has led him to support dozens of other business owners. For over a decade, he has worked with businesses on strategy, processes, finances, and marketing. These experiences, along with analyzing dozens of other businesses for potential acquisition, have provided Tim with an immense knowledge base to pull from.

Tim has appeared on multiple top-tier podcasts in the financial space, such as Bigger Pockets Money and The Freedom Chasers Podcast.

00:00 – Distressed Seller vs. Distressed Business

00:36 – What Makes a Seller Distressed?

01:40 – What Makes a Business Distressed?

02:10 – Why the Difference Matters

04:00 – Finding an Ethical Win-Win Deal

05:11 – Understanding the Seller's Motivation

05:47 – Burnout, Retirement, and Succession Planning

07:26 – Signs of a Distressed Business

08:40 – Gross Profit and Increasing Debt

10:22 – Why Distressed Businesses Are Risky for First-Time Buyers

11:39 – Ethical Acquisitions and the Ripple Effect

12:39 – The Best Type of Distressed Deal

If you found value in today's show, make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode packed with insights to help you buy and grow a business that creates real financial freedom.

Connect with Tim and the community:

Website: https://www.powerofbiz.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@powerofbiz

Instagram: @timtdelaney

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@timtdelaney

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timothytdelaney

Facebook: facebook.com/timtdelaney

Tweetable Quotes:

"Distressed sellers are not the same as distressed businesses." — Tim T. Delaney

"There are millions of small business owners out there that have no idea what they're going to do with their business when they're ready to retire." — Tim T. Delaney

"Distressed sellers with healthy businesses create the best win-win deals." — Tim T. Delaney

Tom Larsen has spent decades building businesses, learning from mistakes, and turning those lessons into a long-running insurance career. In this episode, Tim and Tom walk through how Tom bought his first restaurant in his early twenties, used creative financing and seller notes to get deals done, expanded too quickly into a second restaurant, and ultimately filed for bankruptcy. Tom explains why the first business worked while the second struggled from the start, how bankruptcy reshaped the way he thinks about credit and risk, and how he later rebuilt his career by betting on himself, developing a niche, and building relationships without relying on pushy sales tactics.

Tim T. Delaney is an entrepreneur who believes everyone should explore the opportunities that business and real estate can provide on the path to financial freedom. He owns and operates a wine & liquor store, a software startup, a consulting company, and a growing portfolio of commercial and residential real estate.

Tim's passion for independent business has led him to support dozens of other business owners. For over a decade, he has worked with businesses on strategy, processes, finances, and marketing. These experiences, along with analyzing dozens of other businesses for potential acquisition, have provided Tim with an immense knowledge base to pull from.

Tim has appeared on multiple top-tier podcasts in the financial space, such as Bigger Pockets Money and The Freedom Chasers Podcast.

[00:00 – 01:17] Tom Larsen's Business Story and the Cost of Starting From Scratch

[01:17 – 07:42] Buying a Building, Seller Financing, and Starting an Insurance Agency

[07:42 – 17:44] Buying a Duplex and a Restaurant in His Early Twenties

[17:44 – 22:25] The Second Restaurant, Bankruptcy, and Rebuilding Credit

[22:25 – 29:20] Lessons From Failure and Returning to the Insurance Business

[29:20 – 35:21] Commission-Only Sales, Multiple Income Streams, and Starting Over

[35:21 – 43:42] Entrepreneur Groups, Masterminds, and Lifelong Learning

[43:42 – 50:21] Cyber Coverage, Workers' Comp, Umbrella Policies, and Insurance Due Diligence

[50:21 – 56:44] Helping Instead of Selling and Staying Top of Mind

Tom Larsen is the owner of Larsen Insurance Agency and has worked in the insurance industry for more than three decades. Before starting his own agency, Tom owned restaurants and invested in real estate, experiences that gave him firsthand lessons in entrepreneurship, financing, risk, bankruptcy, and rebuilding. Today, he continues to operate his insurance agency, participate in entrepreneur and real estate communities, and share practical advice drawn from decades of business experience.

Instagram: instagram.com/the_insurance716/

Facebook: facebook.com/tom.larsen.9066/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/larseninsurance/

Website: https://www.powerofbiz.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@powerofbiz

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/timtdelaney/

Threads https://www.threads.com/@timtdelaney

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothytdelaney/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timtdelaney

"You never know until you ask." — Tom Larsen

"I believe learning never ends." — Tom Larsen

"When you're truthful with people, it ends up coming back to you." — Tom Larsen

In this solo episode Tim walks through the year leading up to his first business acquisition. He shares what life looked like before buying the store, why his remote job felt like it had a shelf life, how his savings were being depleted, and why he eventually shifted from "this would be nice to do" to "this is what we're going to do."

Tim T. Delaney is an entrepreneur who believes everyone should explore the opportunities that business and real estate can provide on the path to financial freedom. He owns and operates a wine & liquor store, a software startup, a consulting company, and a growing portfolio of commercial and residential real estate.

Tim's passion for independent business has led him to support dozens of other business owners. For over a decade, he has worked with businesses on strategy, processes, finances, and marketing. These experiences, along with analyzing dozens of other businesses for potential acquisition, have provided Tim with an immense knowledge base to pull from.

Tim has appeared on multiple top-tier podcasts in the financial space, such as Bigger Pockets Money and The Freedom Chasers Podcast.

00:00 – The Year Before the Deal

01:10 – Life Before Buying the Store

02:37 – Rethinking Business Ownership

03:21 – The Job Had a Shelf Life

04:24 – Savings and the Ticking Clock

05:48 – Searching for a Business

07:26 – Getting Ready to Be Ready

09:15 – The Liquor Store Opportunity

10:28 – Setting a Deadline

12:00 – Accountability and Taking Action

If you found value in today's show, make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode packed with insights to help you buy and grow a business that creates real financial freedom.

Connect with Tim and the community:

Website: https://www.powerofbiz.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@powerofbiz

Instagram: @timtdelaney

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@timtdelaney

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timothytdelaney

Facebook: facebook.com/timtdelaney

Tweetable Quotes:

"We weren't necessarily ready to buy the wine and liquor store, but we were ready to be ready." — Tim T. Delaney

"There was a real ticking time bomb that I needed to pull the trigger on before we had not enough money to do this." — Tim T, Delaney

"Make sure you set some goals, some accountability, and some deadlines for yourself." - Tim Delaney

Anthony Lawson built his path from real estate investor to group home operator and debt fund leader by focusing on a niche most buyers overlook: group homes with government-backed contracts and healthcare-related operations. In this episode, Tim and Anthony walk through how Anthony went from buying a six-bedroom single-family home, learning the group home model from scratch, and creating housing for veterans, to acquiring existing facilities with staff, licenses, contracts, and real estate already in place.

Tim is an entrepreneur who believes everyone should explore the opportunities that business and real estate can provide on the path to financial freedom. He owns and operates a wine & liquor store, a software startup, a consulting company, and a growing portfolio of commercial and residential real estate.

Tim's passion for independent business has led him to support dozens of other business owners. For over a decade, he has worked with businesses on strategy, processes, finances, and marketing. These experiences, along with analyzing dozens of other businesses for potential acquisition, have provided Tim with an immense knowledge base to pull from.

Tim has appeared on multiple top-tier podcasts in the financial space, such as Bigger Pockets Money and The Freedom Chasers Podcast.

[00:00 – 01:49] Anthony Lawson and the Debt Fund Mission

[01:49 – 06:07] Turning a First Property Into Veteran Housing

[06:07 – 09:24] OpCo/PropCo and Operating Group Homes

[09:24 – 17:50] Creative Scaling, Seller Calls, and Rental Arbitrage

[17:50 – 23:00] Seller Financing and Partnership Structure

[23:00 – 29:07] Halfway Houses, Nonprofits, and Buying Existing Facilities

[29:07 – 45:08] The First Existing Group Home Acquisition

[45:08 – 52:23] Systems, Speed, and Building the Debt Fund

[52:23 – 01:05:00] Debt vs. Equity, Investor Protection, and Final Advice

Anthony Lawson is a seasoned real estate investor with more than 10 years of experience and a former United States Army veteran. He leads a debt fund focused on delivering fixed returns to investors by acquiring group homes with government contracts and healthcare businesses.

Instagram: instagram.com/anthony_theinvestor/

Facebook: facebook.com/anthony.lawson.90829

Website: www.globalinvestmentcapitalgroup.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/anthony-lawson-a2b924163

Website: https://www.powerofbiz.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@powerofbiz

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timtdelaney/

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@timtdelaney

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothytdelaney/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timtdelaney

"If you feel like you don't know enough, it's okay." — Anthony Lawson

"When you buy something long distance, it forces you to create a system." — Anthony Lawson

"If you're using other people's money, make sure you're talking to the right professionals." — Anthony Lawson

In this episode, Chris Larsen discusses why real estate should be viewed like a business, especially when it comes to controlling purchase price, increasing income, understanding net operating income, and using tax advantages strategically. Chris shares how his early experience house hacking a townhouse helped shape the way he thinks about assets, liabilities, and using income-producing property to create more freedom.

The conversation also covers Chris's "family bank" strategy, where cash value life insurance policies created liquidity that could be used to fund a car wash down payment. Chris explains how the policy loan gave him access to hundreds of thousands of dollars within 24 hours, and how the car wash then paid that loan back with interest and profit.

Tim is an entrepreneur who believes everyone should explore the opportunities that business and real estate can provide on the path to financial freedom. He owns and operates a wine & liquor store, a software startup, a consulting company, and a growing portfolio of commercial and residential real estate.

Tim's passion for independent business has led him to support dozens of other business owners. For over a decade, he has worked with businesses on strategy, processes, finances, and marketing. These experiences, along with analyzing dozens of other businesses for potential acquisition, have provided Tim with an immense knowledge base to pull from.

Tim has appeared on multiple top-tier podcasts in the financial space, such as Bigger Pockets Money and The Freedom Chasers Podcast.

[00:00 – 01:49] Using a Family Bank to Buy a Car Wash

[01:49 – 06:47] Chris's Background and Real Estate Mindset

[06:47 – 12:16] House Hacking, Assets, and Financial Independence

[12:16 – 18:15] Buying Car Washes and Evaluating Deals

[18:15 – 24:40] Underwriting, AI, and Discounted Opportunities

[24:40 – 29:47] Car Washes, Equipment, and Tax Advantages

[29:47 – 34:07] Business Ownership, Real Estate, and Tax Strategy

[34:07 – 37:19] Policy Loans, Liquidity, and the Family Bank

[37:19 – 44:45] Entity Structure, Roll-Ups, and Thinking Bigger

Chris Larsen is the founder and principal of Next Level Income. He has been investing in and managing real estate for more than 20 years, beginning with his first rental property at age 21. Since then, Chris has expanded into development, private lending, distressed debt, commercial offices, commercial real estate syndications, and active business ownership.

YouTube: @thenextlevelincomeshow

Website: www.nextlevelincome.com

Book : NextLevelIncome.com/financialfreedombook

Website: https://www.powerofbiz.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@powerofbiz

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timtdelaney/

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@timtdelaney

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothytdelaney/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timtdelaney

"Seek to own assets and rent liabilities." — Chris Larsen

"Get really clear on what you want before you start looking at deals." — Chris Larsen

"If you don't have the strength to operate the business, partner with somebody who does." — Chris Larsen

In this episode, Brian Hulet shares why side hustles are not always the cleanest path out of a 9-to-5. He had previously started a private school and community center while still working full-time, but even the part that worked became incredibly time-consuming and was not enough to replace his day job. That experience helped him understand the difference between building from scratch and buying something that already has customers, employees, and momentum.

Tim is an entrepreneur who believes everyone should explore the opportunities that business and real estate can provide on the path to financial freedom. He owns and operates a wine & liquor store, a software startup, a consulting company, and a growing portfolio of commercial and residential real estate.

Tim's passion for independent business has led him to support dozens of other business owners. For over a decade, he has worked with businesses on strategy, processes, finances, and marketing. These experiences, along with analyzing dozens of other businesses for potential acquisition, have provided Tim with an immense knowledge base to pull from.

Tim has appeared on multiple top-tier podcasts in the financial space, such as Bigger Pockets Money and The Freedom Chasers Podcast.

[00:00 – 03:40] Brian's Background and Why He Wanted to Buy

[03:40 – 08:59] Side Hustle Lessons and the Cost of Starting From Scratch

[08:59 – 14:20] M&A Experience, Coaching, and Making the First Calls

[14:20 – 22:43] Hiring a Coach and Getting Comfortable Spending Money

[22:43 – 33:57] Choosing the Sporting Goods Store and Building Seller Trust

[33:57 – 41:35] SBA Financing, HELOC, and Finding the Cash

[41:35 – 47:20] First Six Months and Inventory Challenges

[47:20 – 55:50] Retail Lessons, Store Focus, and Gradual Improvements

[55:50 – 59:48] Giving Back and Supporting Local Businesses

Brian Hulet is a father, volunteer, and the owner of Sports Exchange in Mesa, Arizona. After a 20-year career in health care administration, Brian bought the business and now focuses on local community partnerships and making sports equipment more accessible.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brian-hulet

Website: SportsXchangeAZ.com

Website: https://www.powerofbiz.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@powerofbiz

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timtdelaney/

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@timtdelaney

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothytdelaney/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timtdelaney

"Everybody who has ever bought a business had to ask somebody for the first time." — Brian Hulet

"If you are trying to replace your 9-to-5, a side hustle can be a long, slow path." — Brian Hulet

"Buying a business is all about building a relationship." — Brian Hulet

In this episode, Tim goes solo to name the four fears that stop most people from ever buying a business, and gives a reframe and a real mitigation for each one.

It opens on a 2013 phone call. Tim had a business plan he believed in, money saved, and a wine and liquor store he wanted to buy. Then the banker asked what experience he had in the wine and liquor industry. The honest answer was none. The deal got funded anyway, and that store has since paid for a plaza and a portfolio of apartments.

The four fears are looking stupid, losing the money, feeling trapped, and failing where everyone can see it. All four are legitimate. None of them is a reason. Tim walks through what actually shrinks each one, including the deal structures that make the money question smaller than people think, the industry-job test almost nobody runs before they buy, and the reason buying an established business is the risk mitigation rather than the risk.

Tim is an entrepreneur who believes everyone should explore the opportunities that business and real estate can provide on the path to financial freedom. He owns and operates a wine & liquor store, a software startup, a consulting company, and a growing portfolio of commercial and residential real estate.

Tim's passion for independent business has led him to support dozens of other business owners. For over a decade, he has worked with businesses on strategy, processes, finances, and marketing. These experiences, along with analyzing dozens of other businesses for potential acquisition, have provided Tim with an immense knowledge base to pull from.

Tim has appeared on multiple top-tier podcasts in the financial space, such as Bigger Pockets Money and The Freedom Chasers Podcast.

[00:00 – 01:11] "What Experience Do You Have?" I Said None

[01:11 – 02:19] Fear #1: The Fear of Looking Stupid

[02:19 – 03:09] Peace Corps to Ethiopia: Where Self-Belief Actually Comes From

[03:09 – 05:20] The Rooms That Made Buying a Business Feel Normal

[05:20 – 07:35] Fear #2: Losing the Money, and the Math on 10% Down

[07:35 – 09:01] The Risk of Staying Put Is a Number Nobody Writes Down

[09:01 – 11:08] Fear #3: Feeling Trapped, and the Test Almost Nobody Runs

[11:08 – 13:22] Fear #4: Failing Where Everyone Can See It

[13:22 – 14:46] Why the Right Room Beats Willpower

[14:46 – 15:50] Stop Asking "Can I?" and Start Asking "How Can I?"

Key Takeaways

1. The fear of looking stupid has no shortcut. You feel it, you do the thing anyway, and it shrinks with reps. Analyzing more businesses is the rep that makes seller and banker conversations easier.

2. Price is one term out of many. Seller financing, SBA guarantees, a working capital cushion and escrow holdbacks are what decide whether a slow quarter is a problem or an emergency. Buyers who lose everything almost always skipped the structure.

3. Standing still is a position and it has risk. If you get laid off next quarter, the down payment you were protecting becomes six months of living expenses instead.

4. You are not stuck. You bought it, you can sell it. Inside year one it probably costs you money. Two or three years in, you have paid down debt and you likely clear a profit.

5. Test the industry before you own it. Take a job in it, or adjacent to it, even at a small pay cut. Six months of that is cheaper than any diligence you will ever pay for.

6. Buying established is the risk mitigation. A business that has run 20 or 30 years takes real effort to break in the first couple of years if you run it roughly the way it has been run.

7. The room does the work. Tim had no coach or formal mastermind in 2013. He had rooms full of people who thought buying a business was a normal thing to do, and the fear got quieter because it stopped being reinforced.

Resources Mentioned

The Buyer's Profile, a short assessment that shows you which parts of buying a business you are already strong in and which parts are actually in the way: powerofbiz.com/buyers-profile-survey

The Buyers Table, Tim's mastermind for people actively working toward buying a business.

Connect with Tim and the community on social media for more tips and updates:

Website : https://www.powerofbiz.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@powerofbiz

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timtdelaney/

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@timtdelaney

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothytdelaney/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timtdelaney

Tweetable Quotes

"The only way to get past it is to just do the thing. There's no magic bullet other than feeling stupid for a little while." — Tim Delaney

"There are risks associated with not investing your money into yourself, and you should really be weighing those." — Tim Delaney

"Buying an established business helps mitigate the risk of failure, and therefore the risk of public failure." — Tim Delaney

"Don't just say I can't. Say how can I." — Tim Delaney

In this episode, Tim welcomes Zach Jones to the show to talk about buying businesses through the lens of AI, operator leverage, and creative deal-making. Zach is an Army veteran, husband, father, entrepreneur, and the founder of an AI-native holding company built around acquiring businesses and using AI tools to improve operations, data, workflows, and scale.

Tim is an entrepreneur who believes everyone should explore the opportunities that business and real estate can provide on the path to financial freedom. He owns and operates a wine & liquor store, a software startup, a consulting company, and a growing portfolio of commercial and residential real estate.

Tim's passion for independent business has led him to support dozens of other business owners. For over a decade, he has worked with businesses on strategy, processes, finances, and marketing. These experiences, along with analyzing dozens of other businesses for potential acquisition, have provided Tim with an immense knowledge base to pull from.

Tim has appeared on multiple top-tier podcasts in the financial space, such as Bigger Pockets Money and The Freedom Chasers Podcast.

[00:00 – 00:42] What Is an AI-Native Holding Company?

[00:42 – 05:36] From Army Officer to AI Entrepreneur

[05:36 – 09:55] Buying a Liquor Store by Walking In and Asking

[09:55 – 12:23] Structuring a Low-Cash, Value-Add Deal

[12:23 – 15:35] Turning AI Consulting Into Acquisition Flow

[15:35 – 20:09] PE, Family Offices, and the Future of the HoldCo

[20:09 – 23:45] The Biggest Tech Gaps in Small Businesses

[23:45 – 28:29] Using AI Without Removing Human Judgment

[28:29 – 35:38] Fit, Risk, Seller Financing, and Betting on Yourself

Zach Jones is an Army veteran, husband, father, and entrepreneur based in Augusta, Georgia. After serving as a commissioned Army officer for more than ten years, Zach began building AI tools and micro-SaaS products before moving into the intersection of AI and small business operations.

Threads: threads.com/@notindyjones

Website: gowaffl.com

Website : https://www.powerofbiz.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@powerofbiz

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timtdelaney/

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@timtdelaney

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothytdelaney/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timtdelaney

"If you could do the same amount with less, then you should be able to do more with more." — Zach Jones

"You don't know what opportunities are out there unless you just go and start having conversations." — Zach Jones

"Fail forward instead of being stagnant." — Zach Jones

In this episode, Tim sits down with Kevin Rapport to talk about self-storage acquisition, why self-storage operates like a business and not just a pure real estate play, and how investors can evaluate the opportunity if they want to buy into the space.

Tim is an entrepreneur who believes everyone should explore the opportunities that business and real estate can provide on the path to financial freedom. He owns and operates a wine & liquor store, a software startup, a consulting company, and a growing portfolio of commercial and residential real estate.

Tim's passion for independent business has led him to support dozens of other business owners. For over a decade, he has worked with businesses on strategy, processes, finances, and marketing. These experiences, along with analyzing dozens of other businesses for potential acquisition, have provided Tim with an immense knowledge base to pull from.

Tim has appeared on multiple top-tier podcasts in the financial space, such as Bigger Pockets Money and The Freedom Chasers Podcast.

[00:00 – 00:32] The Math Didn't Math

[00:32 – 06:03] Kevin's Path from Residential to Self-Storage

[06:03 – 09:01] Why Self-Storage Beat Tenant Problems

[09:01 – 13:57] Coaching, Confidence, and Taking the First Jump

[13:57 – 18:20] Trading a Sixplex for a Storage Facility

[18:20 – 23:25] Finding the Deal and Making the Offer

[23:25 – 30:00] Due Diligence and Boots on the Ground

[30:00 – 42:55] Remote Operations, CapEx, and Financing Options

[42:55 – 55:29] Buy Box, Hard Money, Coaching, and Going All In

Kevin Rapport is a self-storage investor, hard money lender, and coach for investors looking to get into self-storage. He started investing in residential real estate in 2009 while attending the University of Arizona, buying houses near campus and renting them to college students. After building experience in residential rentals, small multifamily, construction, property management, and lending, Kevin transitioned into industrial and self-storage. Today, he invests in and operates self-storage facilities across multiple states, focuses on mom-and-pop facilities in tertiary markets, and helps other investors understand how to find, evaluate, finance, close, and operate self-storage deals.

X: @storage_venture

Email: [email protected]

Websites: www.myfoundingcapital.com / www.storageventure.com

Website: https://www.powerofbiz.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@powerofbiz

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timtdelaney/

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@timtdelaney

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothytdelaney/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timtdelaney

"So the math—the math didn't math, right?" — Kevin Rapport

"If you never make the offer, you're never going to buy the thing, right?" — Kevin Rapport

"Most people build wealth becoming an expert in 1 or 2 things. They don't build wealth by becoming good at 15 things." — Kevin Rapport

In this episode, Tim sits down with Alan Underwood, a coach, speaker, investor, and entrepreneur, to talk about the seller side of small business transactions.

Alan shares the story of building and selling a car dealership, including launching from a former junkyard, surviving a fire before opening, navigating the 2007 credit crunch, and eventually growing the business into a multi-location dealership doing roughly $16 million in annual revenue.

Tim is an entrepreneur who believes everyone should explore the opportunities that business and real estate can provide on the path to financial freedom. He owns and operates a wine & liquor store, a software startup, a consulting company, and a growing portfolio of commercial and residential real estate.

Tim's passion for independent business has led him to support dozens of other business owners. For over a decade, he has worked with businesses on strategy, processes, finances, and marketing. These experiences, along with analyzing dozens of other businesses for potential acquisition, have provided Tim with an immense knowledge base to pull from.

Tim has appeared on multiple top-tier podcasts in the financial space, such as Bigger Pockets Money and The Freedom Chasers Podcast.

Content note: This episode includes discussion of grief, depression, PTSD, and suicidal ideation.

00:00 – 01:34 | The Burning Junkyard and Seller Perspective

01:34 – 03:02 | The Car Dealership Alan Sold

03:02 – 08:15 | Choosing Ownership Over Security

08:15 – 13:21 | Launching From a Junkyard on Fire

13:21 – 18:38 | Learning Business Through Pizza and Systems

18:38 – 27:18 | Growing Through Financing, Customers, and Process

27:18 – 34:30 | Why Alan Decided to Sell

34:30 – 40:09 | Understanding the Seller's True Situation

40:09 – 50:51 | Healing, Coaching, and Final Lessons

Alan Underwood is a coach, speaker, investor, and entrepreneur who has built and sold multiple businesses, including pizza restaurants and a car dealership. His car dealership grew to two locations, earned strong customer reviews, built a major local following, and reached approximately $16 million in annual revenue.

Instagram: instagram.com/thealanunderwood/

Facebook: facebook.com/alan.underwood.54

Website: thealanunderwood.com/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/the-alan-underwood

Website: https://www.powerofbiz.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@powerofbiz

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timtdelaney/

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@timtdelaney

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothytdelaney/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timtdelaney

"Pray hard, work hard, and treat people right." — Alan Underwood

"A business can be financially valuable and personally crushing at the same time." — Alan Underwood

"The number on the offer sheet does not always tell the whole seller story." — Tim Delaney