042 | The Green Swan | Why Start a Business, When You Can Buy One?

042 | In Episode 42 we have a wide ranging discussion with JW from The Green Swan about his FI path, going into business with family, buying an existing business and much more.

In Today’s Podcast we cover: A discussion with JW from The Green Swan about financial independence and busing buying and ownership How JW got involved in the FIRE community A discussion of life insurance and how much someone in the FI community really needs to think about

They were already on a path to financial independence even before finding the FI community online How JW approached college with the mindset of graduating early JW’s dad passed many of the tips and tricks of the FI community to him in his teens JW’s relationship with his older brother made a big difference in his FI journey and they long talked about buying a business

The concepts discussed in the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad and how it could help you get multiple streams of income JW and his brothers were saving for many years in anticipation of buying a business How they researched the options of buying a business How they could step in and grow the business they intended to purchase What did they do to fix the culture in the business and reassure their employees about the future of the business How did they know they could add value to this or any other company? How they structured their legal entity to optimize most efficiently

They are investigating purchasing a similar business to expand their business What does the path look like for each of the four brothers and how have they navigated the sibling dynamic? They entered the business with ‘eyes wide open’ to the potential to damage their family relationships

They built an operating agreement with all potential future possibilities so they could navigate future issues. It was important that they did this from the outset The unexpected joys and crazy things that happen when you own a small business with many employees and JW’s examples How are they funding a future potential acquisition? How do these businesses impact JW’s financial independence number?

He is calculating his FI number without even considering the income or equity in the businesses Hot Seat Questions Favorite life hack is listening to podcasts and audio books at 2x speed He wishes he would have done ‘house hacking’ like his father did when he was younger