Disagreeing (and Admitting When You’re Wrong)

One thing you might not realize about running a family business: you’re gonna butt heads. A lot. But every now and then, you learn a lot from the disagreement, even if you were the stubborn one. Kim talked about our old job coach who kept telling her to stop wasting time on things that didn’t move the business forward (she liked counting money, what can I say?). She eventually admitted he was totally right, and it freed her up to focus on the good stuff.

Me? My dad once saved me from myself when I wanted to build a shelf in the store breakroom. I thought it was genius. He told me it would just fill up with junk. Three months later, that shelf was packed with random stuff and nobody ever cleaned it. Score: Dad - 1, Brian - 0. We’ve all had those moments. If you can laugh about it, even better.

The “Almosts” We’re Grateful For

Sometimes, the smartest thing we ever did as a family was not buy something. Tom reminded us about this giant store in Minnesota we almost bought, which would have been a nightmare to manage from so far away. We looked at everything from Dairy Queens to Christmas tree farms (seriously), but every time, we had to ask: Does this really fit our family and our way of doing things? Usually, if we couldn’t see ourselves making it work, or if the numbers didn’t add up, we let it go.

One close call that stands out: Kim and I almost bought a Hispanic grocery store in town. We thought it’d be a neat addition, but in the end, we realized we didn’t know the culture well enough and the lady who ran it couldn’t stay. Disaster avoided. Same with a Dairy Queen, looked good on paper, but then the buyers who DID get it had a septic issue and the whole basement flooded. That phone call alone made saying no feel like a win.

Getting Wise About the Numbers (And Trusting Your Gut)

The longer we’ve been at this, the better we’ve gotten at spotting red flags in a business’s numbers. Kim says it best: when you’ve looked at 10, 20, or 30 sets of books, you can smell something fishy a mile away. At first, we probably took things at face value, but now we ask harder questions. Is there really enough cash flow here? Are these “expenses” legit? If the answer’s no, we’re out.

But it’s not just about the P&L sheets. It’s also about whether the business fits. We aren’t looking for a company that just becomes another job, we want something that works with our system, where we can put in a manager and not stress about every little thing. If it’s just extra headaches with pennies for payoff, it’s not worth it.

If You’re Not Making Real Money…Why Bother?

Tom put it perfectly, if you’re doing all this work and not earning anything, what’s the point? There’s this weird temptation in business to collect properties or stores just for the sake of owning them, but that’s a trap. Some of the places we almost bought are now out of business, which tells me we dodged a bullet. But a few actually did well for somebody else, and that’s fine! Not every deal is meant for us.

All About Family, Mess-Ups, and Moving On

In the end, every deal we passed on taught us something, about business, about each other, and about what we actually want out of all this. We learned that you can’t be afraid to check things out, run the numbers, or walk away if it’s not right. We also learned that if you can do this kind of work together (and still laugh at the old stories at dinner), you’re doing something right.

So here’s my advice: don’t get hung up on the “almosts.” Sometimes, saying no is what keeps you sane, and sets you up for the next big thing. Got a wild business story, or a close call of your own? Shoot us a message at Brian@mixingfamilybusiness.com We love hearing all about it.

Make sure to check out episode 78 here and follow our other blog posts where we go in depth into other episodes!