When I was searching for a business to acquire, I wasn’t just looking at revenue, EBITDA, or cash flow. I was asking a different question: How durable is this business over the next 10–20 years? Can it withstand… Technology & Digital Disruption • ✓ Artificial Intelligence (AI) • ✓ Automation • ✓ Rapid technological change • ✓ Search engine algorithm changes • ✓ Social media algorithm changes • ✓ Dependence on third-party platforms you don’t control Global Competition • ✓ Offshoring • ✓ Overseas manufacturing • ✓ Low-cost foreign competition • ✓ Amazon and other dominant platforms Economic & Market Pressures • ✓ Recessions • ✓ Tariffs • ✓ Rising fuel prices • ✓ Commodity inflation • ✓ Changing political and regulatory climates • ✓ Margin compression • ✓ Competitors willing to compete on price Industry Risks • ✓ Extremely low barriers to entry • ✓ Commoditization • ✓ Fraudulent bad actors siding the industry to scam, spoof, and steal • ✓ New entrants flooding the market Is it… • ✓ Essential? • ✓ In constant demand? • ✓ Built around real complexity? • ✓ Protected by a defensible moat? • ✓ Difficult to replicate? • ✓ More than a commodity? • ✓ Operating in a blue-ocean market instead of a red ocean? • ✓ Serving high-value, high-trust customers? • ✓ Able to command premium pricing because of expertise rather than being the lowest bidder? These are the types of questions I asked while searching for a business, and they played a significant role in why I ultimately acquired Tommy Pollina Landscape Co. Inc . Since then, I’ve organized those ideas into a 27-Point Business Durability Checklist to help entrepreneurs, searchers, investors, and franchise buyers evaluate businesses beyond the financial statements. If you’re evaluating a business or franchise, I think you’ll find it useful. Take the assessment redacted