Hello Freedom Seekers!
Thank you so much for subscribing to Buying Freedom, I am excited to embark on this journey and see where this goes. To kick off, I want to explain my thesis & why for going all in on content for SMB acquisition / ETA.
Also, if someone forwarded this to you or you’re reading on web, I’d love to earn your trust and a spot in your inbox. Subscribe Here
State of the Union
ETA feels similar to what I would think the real estate boom leading up to 2008 had to feel like:
People with low/no relevant experience…
Putting all of their eggs in one basket…
Fueled by extreme levels of leverage…
Chasing returns largely comprised by successful exit (sale of asset) expectations
Even worse, we now have social media where every 3 scrolls on [any social media platform] we have gurus shoving it down our throat that we HAVE to be taking advantage of the once in a lifetime trillion, billion, quadrillion dollar shift in wealth from baby boomers to the next generation. The grass is greener on the other side mantra has never felt stronger & more relevant in the age of social media.
However…the proposition kind of makes sense, to you, the person on the other side of the screen (hello) have likely been a high achiever your whole life across academics, athletics, career, social status…you ALWAYS figure it out. So why wouldn’t you be able to nail this?
The brutal reality is +50% of traditional ETA ventures FAIL. And these people that fail are not amateurs, they are Ivy League MBAs, Navy Seals, folks with significant buyside experience…
And failure in ETA extends far beyond traditional “failure”…
This is not a missed deadline, a poor performance review, an F on an exam.
This is…
Prime career years down the drain
Extreme levels of stress on you, your spouse, family and other relationships
Material net worth reduction, wipeout, or personal bankruptcy
Yet, nobody is talking about this coin flip of catastrophic failure & success.
Introducing Buying Freedom
In this newsletter, I want to start the conversation around approaching ETA in a more approachable and balanced risk-reward framework.
What Buying Freedom Will Not Be Talking About:
Selling you a dream of buying a baby boomer business with 90% leverage
Quitting everything and “betting the house” to go all-in on a single acquisition
Million dollar exits
Multi-year searches for “the one”
What Buying Freedom Will Be About:
ETA in a more approachable, realistic, risk-averse, and “dipping your toes in” framework
Tools, templates, playbooks, and frameworks from boots on the ground experience
Structuring your acquisition criteria to “solve for” lifestyle goals
Owning a small businesses while keeping your W2
Financing acquisitions without any external parties
Case studies & real world examples of people doing it (including myself)
Market trends and actionable opportunities
Research and fact-based statistics on the space
Mission: Helping individuals actually achieve what they want via ETA → freedom
Why me? Why now?
Why this subject matter? I truly think there is massive opportunity in ETA for folks to truly achieve freedom, but the existing narrative is way too risky and doesn’t actually give people freedom. Out of all the entrepreneurial opportunities out there, I believe that buying an established business gives individuals the highest chance of success, but just like anything else it should be approached in a thoughtful way.
Why me? Done it and have seen both the bad & the good. I acquired my first business while working as a full time M&A professional at a sponsor-backed software firm. I was able to flip the business model to 95% passive (~1 hour / month for invoicing) and continue working my W2 with zero interference. I am now fully funding my lifestyle with this business after leaving my W2 in July 2025 and just recently acquired another similar business in December 2025. I believe I have a unique perspective from a combination of both corporate and self-funded, entrepreneurial M&A vs just one or the other.
Why content / why putting yourself out there? As AI continues to rapidly engulf everything around us, I truly believe authentic content will be one of the only things left standing. There is so much AI slop EVERYWHERE and we are only really 3 solid years in. There will literally be no way to decipher bot vs human in cold messaging very soon. I don’t think the risk is putting myself out there with content, the risk from my point of view is NOT putting myself out there with content. I am really excited to build trust and a community anchored on authenticity and transparency.
Secondly, I truly do love writing and am especially passionate about this subject. It is entirely therapeutic to me and has helped me understand myself better and work through many different areas of my life. I own two other newsletters (via acquisition) that are businesses, not passions. This is a true passion for me. I have been consistently writing on this subject for an audience of zero for years at this point in a Google doc full of “what if I posted this one day” posts, essays, frameworks, and yes…rants. I say it all the time now, but if everyone had a source of passive-ish income to do what they actually wanted in life (not just “work to live”), the world would be SUCH a better place! Everybody could really chase & spend time doing what they authentically want to do. I am hoping that this newsletter can help at least one person do that.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading! If someone forwarded this to you, you can subscribe here.
Think I missed something?
Think I mischaracterized anything?
Have any other thoughts or questions?
Want me to focus on something specific in an upcoming issue?
Let me know! Reply to this email, shoot me a direct note at [email protected] or connect & DM me on LinkedIn. I’d love to connect with each and every one of you to help in your journey.
~Mitch
