We’ve all seen the TikTok that starts with someone shouting, “Here’s how I make over $3,000 a month without lifting a finger. Last year, I bought a vending machine business and now...” The rest of the video is a bunch of clips of coins spilling into buckets, some satisfying clinks and clunks, and an automatic counter tallying up all this “free money.” By the end of the video, you’ll find yourself thinking, Now hold on, I also like free money. I should own a vending machine business. But if you’ve ever talked to a business owner, they’ll be quick to tell you that’s not how ownership really works. We spoke with @redacted‌ who knows what it’s like because she’s lived it. She’s bought two small businesses: a laundromat in San Francisco and a window-cleaning company called Sunshine Window Cleaning in San Diego. She’s learned first-hand that there’s nothing passive about owning a business. What looks like a simple buy-and-hold play online is, in reality, a job that demands all of you: your time, your judgment, your energy, and your willingness to squeegee windows and fold t-shirts at 7 a.m. on a Saturday when someone calls out sick. Do you believe in life after search? Most people fall in love with the search for a new business. They build models, compare multiples, and chase down the perfect deal. It’s an exciting phase of life, as each opportunity gives you something to dream about. But what comes after you sign the dotted line isn’t a spreadsheet problem you can model out while sipping on the brew of the day at your local coffee shop. You’re typically going to have to deal with people problems. Don’t get me wrong. The search phase can still be very difficult. It can be hard to experience rejection or to make the call on one of the biggest investments of your life. But at the same time, it’s a different kind of hard compared to operating the actual business. According to Keira, a business is really all about the people and managing them. “If EBITDA and spreadsheets are what excite you,” she said, “don’t do it.” Instead, ask yourself if you know how to hire a reliable manager, how to fire the employee who’s not the right fit, how to create a good work culture. The search phase rewards patience and pattern recognition. The operating phase rewards endurance and know-how. They’re both necessary, but they require completely different muscles. You can spend months fine-tuning your model, but you can’t model what it feels like when your only technician quits and you’re the one showing up with the ladder. Sweat equity isn’t a metaphor When Keira and her husband bought their window-cleaning company, the plan was to ease into ownership. Instead, they were scrubbing windows within two weeks. Some of their employees had left, and they had full schedules, so somebody had to keep customers happy. “The first six weeks were rough,” she said. “Fifteen-hour days. Not seeing friends. Had to stop my jiu-jitsu training.” Keira’s no stranger to the idea that you can ease into ownership and make things more efficient. Before buying her own businesses, she had done some work in brokering SBA loans where she regularly came across people who had just graduated from some MBA program, cut their teeth in private equity, and then wanted to start fresh with buying a business. And, as is the current fad, they’re typically drawn to businesses like HVAC, pest control, or roofing. The problem is that these businesses, like all businesses, require expertise and hands-on work. A lot of people might say they want to be hands-on. But few mean it. When Keira had to roll up her sleeves in both her businesses, she gained valuable insight into what each job really required, how long it took, and what was frustrating to her employees. The typical corporate way of gathering this information would be a survey that employees would dread and likely not take seriously. But, Keira learned for herself how much time and effort has to go into cleaning that one segmented dormer window because she’s been up on the ladder. The massive benefit from this is how it shapes her systems later on. She now knows how to better quote houses with those features, which ultimately makes her business a little better. Know thyself and thy leadership style -Socrates One of Keira’s big takeaway’s from owning her business has been what she’s learned about herself. Her leadership style is tailored to building systems. When she took over her laundromat, for example, she pieced together the previous system that was spread across a series of sticky notes. By the time she sold that business, she left behind a nine-tab Excel spreadsheet that documented every process until the place could run without her. With all this structure, she was able to market the business as packaged and ready to go and sell for a higher multiple. In her new business, Keira has carried that habit over to now building SOPs, values, and an employee handbook. These strategies are reflective of her form of leadership. She doesn’t think of herself as a “visionary” but as an operator who gives people the structure to succeed. Keira has since started sharing things she’s learned while in the space by way of consultations to help others who are on a similar journey. Leadership styles are personal. Some lead through energy and personality. Others, like Keira, lead through structure. By knowing your own strengths and weaknesses, you’ll be able to position yourself to lead your business to greater success. Building a business that fits your life Most people in acquisition like to talk about scale. What’s the multiple? How do I pump those numbers up? Those are rookie numbers. Keira, however, likes to talk about lifestyle. When she thinks about buying or selling, she starts with a simpler question: What kind of life do we want right now? Given all the hands-on experience, Keira recognizes that being on-call might work for now, but it might not in the future. So for Keira, her goal is to build a life that makes sense. At the moment, that means working hard and making sure things are running. But, eventually, she might want to step back when it’s time for something else. “We might sell this business in three to five years,” she said. “Maybe then we’ll start a family, maybe buy something smaller. It doesn’t have to be linear.” That kind of self-awareness is rare in the ETA world, which tends to be a bit of a frenzy. Search, buy, operate, sell, and repeat. It’s important to not lose sight of your personal goals in the middle of all this movement. If you can do that, you’ll likely be a lot happier with whatever phase you’re in.