More Than a Course, It Feels Like Having People in Your Corner
My husband and I joined Contrarian Academy because we want to become entrepreneurs and acquire our first business, but we also knew there was a lot we didn’t know. What I’ve appreciated most is that it doesn’t feel like we were handed a bunch of videos and told, “Good luck.” We’re currently under LOI on our first deal, a non-emergency medical transportation business, and being able to bring real questions into office hours, deal advisor sessions, and one-on-one conversations has been incredibly valuable. The advice isn’t always “keep going,” either. We’ve been challenged to slow down, question our own assumptions, dig deeper into the numbers, look at operational risk differently, and make sure we understand what we’re actually buying. That matters to me. CT Deal Advisor Hants White recently spent time with us before an important seller diligence call. He didn’t try to make the decision for us. He challenged how we were looking at the deal, shared lessons from his own transportation experience, and helped us think about the difference between buying a stable business and potentially buying something that needs to be turned around. We left that conversation with better questions, but more importantly, with a better way to think about the deal. We’ve also gotten a lot of value from seeing the deal through the lender’s eyes. Working with CT Director of Business Lending Jordan Gregory on the financing side has helped us understand that lender approval and buyer confidence are not the same thing. A bank may be willing to finance a deal at a certain level, but that does not automatically mean it is the right price for us. Seeing how a lender looks at historical earnings, debt coverage, and what the business can realistically support has made us much more disciplined about separating: “Can we finance it?” from “Should we buy it?” That has been a really important lesson for us. The access to people who will challenge your thinking, not just cheer you on, has been one of the strongest parts of the Contrarian community for me. We still have a lot to learn, and we haven’t completed an acquisition yet. I actually think that is worth saying because we’re still in the middle of the process. But my husband and I are much better buyers today than we were when we joined. We’re learning how to look at a deal from multiple sides: the operator’s perspective, the lender’s perspective, the seller’s perspective, and ultimately our own perspective as the buyers who will have to live with the decision. And I think we’re starting to understand that becoming an entrepreneur is about much more than finding a business and getting a loan. It’s learning how to evaluate risk, make hard decisions, ask better questions, and be willing to walk away when something isn’t right. For me, that’s the real value of Contrarian Academy. You’re learning how to buy a business, but you’re also learning how to think like an owner. And while you’re learning, there are people in your corner who genuinely want to see you succeed. ❤️