My First Million

The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.

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Buy an existing profitable business as career transition from corporate job

Corporate employees (especially CTOs, engineers) looking to become business owners

6-12 months search, immediate ownership

What Success Looks Like

First-year profit exceeds highest corporate salary while building long-term sellable asset

Steps to Execute

Identify target industries and business types

Search for 6-9 months, evaluate multiple opportunities

Focus on businesses with existing customer relationships but poor systems

Negotiate acquisition using business cash flow for financing

Implement basic systems and contracts that previous owner neglected

Grow through operational improvements rather than strategy changes

Checklist

Business has existing profitable customers

Previous owner willing to sell at reasonable multiple

Business can finance its own acquisition

You can add value through better systems/operations

Industry has growth tailwinds

You can handle the operational demands

Inputs Needed

6-12 months dedicated search time
Understanding of business fundamentals
Access to deal flow and brokers
Willingness to operate unsexy businesses

Outputs

Immediate income replacement
Long-term sellable asset
Business ownership experience
Profit growth potential

Example

“Dan (Facebook CTO) searched 6-9 months, bought bag manufacturing/sales company serving Ulta and other retailers. In first 5 months of ownership, made more profit than his highest corporate salary while building long-term asset.”