Glad you came over from the podcast.
I bought a summer camp with no money down.
You can buy a business with way less money than you think. Here’s how mine worked.
That’s what I put down.
The bank did 70%. The seller financed the other 30%.
Putting nothing down is way outside the norm. It worked because a camp is land-backed, 200 acres with waterfront, and because somebody signed for me.
I needed four people.
A guide.Someone to guarantee the loan.A seller who would believe in me.And me, to run the camp.
Andy was my guide, and he ended up being the guarantor too. I would never be here without him.
The offer I made to the seller was, I’ll work for you for free for a year and do everything I can to help camp be successful.
At the end of that year, let’s see where we’re at. We didn’t sign anything. We shook hands. It was a big leap of faith for both of us.
We never negotiated on price. The seller had a number. We negotiated on terms. The best $40,000 I spent was to hire a great lawyer, because I’m not going to be world-class at a camp transaction the first time I do one.
It sounds like a fairy tale. But what I have seen over and over again is people are awesome. Go find awesome people and spend time with them. People call it networking. I call it making friends.
Build a mastermind group or join one. Tim Delaney, who had me on his show, runs one for people buying a business: powerofbiz.com/mastermind.
Jack
And if you’ve got kids, please find a camp to send them to.
Is your kid ready? Are you? 14 quick questions from a camp director who meets every new family in their living room.
Take the 2-minute quizOne of the questions: seven days with no texts from your kid. How does that feel?
Need help finding a camp for your family? Send me an email. I will happily help you find the right one. jack@kenwood-evergreen.com
My camp is Camps Kenwood & Evergreen in New Hampshire. Or find me on LinkedIn.