How to Start a Service Business

Today, I’m talking with my new Capital Camp buddy Andrew Finn. He is the co-founder of the blog Wait But Why. Since age 25 he’s been patiently building, buying, and operating small businesses. Now, he and Tim Urban share a portfolio of cash-flowing small businesses. Together we discuss how to get a free company, why it is often easier to buy a company than build it, and when to eat a shitburger. Enjoy these topics and countless others on this episode of Jorgenson’s Soundbox. 

Additional resources to help enrich your experience below:

Topics Covered: 

• How to get a “free” business
• What a $100,000 failure in early stage podcasting looked like
• Why it’s easier to buy a company than build a company
• Why “doing it later” is a risk and the opportunity cost that comes with it
• The importance of judgement and getting experience making ‘real decisions’
• How to be a legitimate player in “the game”
• An illustration of a jobless renegade pirate’s day looks like
• Eating shitburgers, and how to know when to stop

Favorite Quotes:

• “If I do all this maneuvering, find this company, sell at this price, sell some debt and get some money. In 5 years it’ll be like poof here’s a free company and I get my money back.” - Andrew Finn

• “Your job is not to win the SMB game, it’s to win the game. It’s to win the game of money in a way that will benefit your life. Like, we’re invested in crypto, and the stock market too.”

• “All service businesses are chicken, just as much as software. You pay someone $X. Resell their time for $X + $Y. And the entirety of the business is justifying and expanding Y to both customers and workers. Y comes from well managed opex, capex, and organization structure. To do it well, you have to just laser focus on what you're providing in exchange for Y. The market gets pissed long-term if it doesn't feel like you're providing enough, and every day it conspires to ask you the question.” - Andrew’s Twitter

Additional Resources:

• Wait But Why
• Andrew Finn’s Personal Blog
• G64ventures - Andrew’s holding company
• Andrew Finn Linkedin
• Jorgenson Leverage Course 

Additional Episodes If You Enjoyed:

• Andrew Wilkinson: Investing vs. Operating, De-risking Leverage, and The Best Part About Business
• Nick Huber: How to Leverage Twitter, an Abundance Mindset, and A Love of Chaos
• Sky King: The Next Level of the Internet, Decentralization, and Becoming a Player in the Game of Life

If you enjoy podcasts with Brent Beshore of Permanent Equity or Patrick O’Shaughnessy, you’re going to love this one! 

Huge thanks to Modern Stoa (modernstoa.co) for their help on creating and growing this very podcast you’re listening to now. If you need help with podcast growth or monetization, go to modernstoa.co or hit the founder up on Twitter (@consumersky) or Instagram (@iamaskyking).   

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