Nicole Galloway

CFO @permanentequity

[Brent Beshore @BrentBeshore]

We’re about a month out from @MainStSummit. Here’s a guide I put together.

When: Nov. 4-6
Where: Columbia, MO
Who: 1000+ SMB owners, operators, investors
What: 2.5 day festival, 120+ speakers, 16 venues
Why: To bring together the SMB community

GA passes start at $250. That gets you access to the main stage, held at the historic Missouri Theater.

If you’re interested in small group Sessions snag the Classic Pass ($1,325), which covers everything off-main stage.

Most of the speakers hang out at The Atrium and do small talks there, which is built out to be like the highest-end airport lounge you can imagine. Stocked with an absurd amount of snacks and drinks and places to meet and chat. Flagship Pass ($3,675) gets you in, plus invite-only events and quite a few meals. Heads up, as of this morning, there are only 5 Flagship passes left to purchase.

There are also 7 tracks: Health, Faith + Work, Non-Profit, Construction, Venture, Manufacturing, and Franchise. Tickets to these tracks are $750, which gets you all the small group Sessions in that track, plus the main stage.

*Note, a Classic Pass gets you access to all the tracks…literally all the content, except for the invite-only events within the Atrium and at night.

My advice is to match your ticket with your goals.

GA: If you’re just starting out and want to meet a variety of people, snag a GA ticket and get in the mix.

Classic: If you work or invest in the SMB space and want to get to know people, get a Classic Pass.

Flagship: If you want the red carpet treatment, to spend quality time with speakers, and have a lot going on every night, get the Flagship Pass.

The graphic below are the speakers. Above the line are who you can expect to see on the main stage.

Feel free to ask any questions I may have missed. Hope to see you there!

[Nicole Galloway @nicolergalloway]

If you plan to be at the Berkshire meeting in May- let us know!

https://t.co/fSfuB5eZ79

[Emily Holdman @emilyleldridge]

We have a @PermanentEquity field trip coming up the first weekend in May! A group of us is headed to Omaha, and will be hosting a few small events amidst all the Berkshire festivities…

[Brent Beshore @BrentBeshore]

Announcing the 2025 @MainStSummit speaker lineup!

Who: 120+ speakers and 1000+ owners, operators, investors
What: SMB festival
Why: Make friends. Learn. Have fun.
When: November 4-6
Where: Downtown Columbia, MO
Cost: Starts at $250

Tickets are on sale. I hope to see you there.

[Permanent Equity @PermanentEquity]

ICYMI: We dropped the intro for our Succession Planning Library today over email and as a newsletter over on LI.

The project is part of our ongoing mission to find out not only what works and what doesn’t in succession planning, what elements are needed in a good plan, who should be responsible for it, and what it should look like, but also the motivations, incentives, and interactions that can send the best plans sideways.

The first full installment – What should be included? – comes out tomorrow. Links to subscribe are in the comments!

[Brent Beshore @BrentBeshore]

2024 @PermanentEquity Annual Letter is live: https://t.co/I9uIbiLbuH

1) Renovated our operating system
2) Changed our tune on boards + <51% deals
3) Partnered with Brian's Cabinets
4) Investing in AI for SMBs
5) Discussed lives detonating + my journey from 252 to 185 lbs

[Brent Beshore @BrentBeshore]

Been a while since I hit publish. But prompted by a couple questions I've recently gotten on the topic of generating quality deal flow, I figured I'd share something.

Hope it's helpful to those getting started, or a reminder for those who've been at it for a while.

---------

Just Know I Passed On That Deal…Twice

When we first got into the small business acquisitions space, I couldn’t believe how many deals we got to look at. It was easy — contact an intermediary, tell them what you were looking for, they’d put you on a list, and you’d start seeing deals. Lots and lots of opportunities. In fact, I used to tell people how many deals we’d look at a year as a metric of success.

Then one day, I talked with an intermediary and he mentioned that they’d recently sold a company in an industry we were interested in. I was shocked. We hadn’t seen the deal and we would have loved to buy the company. I asked why we hadn’t seen it. He said, “Well, that one didn’t hit our list. We did a small matchmaking process with a couple buyers we knew well.”

The only deals we were seeing were the ones that the high-quality buyers had passed on. The realization that we only saw leftovers hit me hard. The SMB market is rife with businesses that shouldn’t be sold, but if you remove the highest quality opportunities from the mix, you’re basically playing a highly handicapped game or potentially an un-winnable one.

About two weeks later I was on the phone with a friend from Texas asking him about a deal we had gotten fairly serious about. It was in the oil and gas space, where we had self-admittedly little expertise. He ran an investment firm not too dissimilar from Permanent Equity, but we had a great relationship and he graciously offered to coach me up on some O&G nuances. As soon as we got on the phone he laughed about the deal and said, “I can definitely give you a rundown on the deal because I’ve passed on it twice.” My stomach dropped. He went on to say, “And not to be cavalier about it, but if you see any O&G deal come out of Texas, you should assume I’ve passed on it twice. I know all the bankers who have the best deals and I see all of them early.”

That phrase has never left me — just know I passed on it…twice.

Said differently, always ask yourself why you’re the lucky one. Of all the people who could have seen this investment, why are you the one who was given the opportunity? If you can’t clearly articulate the reason, get concerned. That doesn’t mean that seemingly random opportunities can’t turn out great. They can. But, odds are there’s something you can’t see yet that prevented others from investing, especially if it’s outside of your core area of expertise.

This applies far beyond SMB investments. If there’s a job candidate who looks incredible and has an almost too-good-to-be-true resume, get the story. If you’re a dentist and a local land developer wants to give you “free money” for your co-signature on a big deal, get the story. If you’re an insurance agent and you get an opportunity to invest in a fast-growing video game company out of South America by a friend you just met, get the story.

These are all examples I’ve seen play out first-hand, unfortunately. Caveat emptor. Buyer beware.

[Permanent Equity @PermanentEquity]

The PE Operator's Dictionary is live today!

We've collected the definitions we've been dropping all summer into our indispensable guide to the terms, ideas, and phrases we use on the daily – and what we really mean when we do.

Check it out here: https://t.co/i1qsGrD6Xb

[Brent Beshore @BrentBeshore]

When I was getting started, I would have loved to attend something like @MainStSummit.

So if you're just starting your career, changing careers, starting a small business, or would benefit from a little help, reply below with your story.

We'll award 10 scholarship passes.

[Nicole Galloway @nicolergalloway]

The challenge with selling a family business is that you’re likely to only get one shot at it, so it’s worth doing research ahead of time to prepare. The second edition of The Messy Marketplace is an indispensable part of that process for anyone going through it.

[Brent Beshore @BrentBeshore]

The 2nd edition of The Messy Marketplace is now on pre-sale! It's all I know about the market for SMBs crammed into 180 pages.

It's also half of the original price, updated with 7 more years of experience, and includes a new section on due diligence. https://t.co/kKWf1iY55N

[Brent Beshore @BrentBeshore]

The 2nd edition of The Messy Marketplace is now on pre-sale! It's all I know about the market for SMBs crammed into 180 pages.

It's also half of the original price, updated with 7 more years of experience, and includes a new section on due diligence. https://t.co/kKWf1iY55N

[Jon Galloway @gallowayj]

Awesome two days for the Galloways. First, Ben was a finalist in the @GrantAllStars Geography Bee and then Will received the @ColumbiaColg Outstanding Citizen Award from @jmscyclones. Super proud of each of them for their contributions to their schools!

[Jon Galloway @gallowayj]

Tonight @CPS_HRdept meets to consider redrawing @GrantAllStars. Opt 1 saves Grant & Opt 2 takes kids 4 blocks away & busses them 2 miles. 67% support keeping Grant intact. 68% oppose bussing &breaking up 114 yrs of tradition. Let your voice be heard at https://t.co/G5vNGvVyuG.

[Jon Galloway @gallowayj]

Last night @CPS_HRdept heard from @GrantAllStars & @nicolergalloway standing against tearing their neighborhood and school in half - 72% of voters are against this plan! Via @CoMissourian https://t.co/gwsxwtnant

[Jon Galloway @gallowayj]

These out of town @CPS_HRdept consultants want my kids to ride a bus twice as far to school versus just walk or ride their bikes 4 blocks. They’ve clearly never set foot in the @GrantAllStars neighborhood.

[Jon Galloway @gallowayj]

I live 4 blocks from @GrantAllStars and my kids walk and bike to school nearly every day. Today Columbia Public Schools used some consultant to recommend my kids drive twice as long, leave friends and cross a major road. Makes no sense. Keep Grant School together!

[Mark Brooks @markbrooks]

Leadership is hard, and often lonely. We want to help. Introducing Prep Talks, a collection of interactive pieces dealing with some of management’s most challenging questions. Let us know if you have an idea for a topic! Link in next tweet:

[Mark Brooks @markbrooks]

If you’re in the small business space as an owner, operator, service provider, broker, or investor, we can’t wait to host you @MainStSummit !

[Brent Beshore @BrentBeshore]

2023 @PermanentEquity Annual Letter is live: https://t.co/pRCrmugDtP

1) Partnership with Rylee + Cru (https://t.co/wrroulp5uB)
2) Challenges of career risk, shifting markets, and buying the misunderstood
3) Fitness journey update
4) Perils of false self
5) Goodbye to Mr. Munger

[Brent Beshore @BrentBeshore]

We're hiring @PermanentEquity across the portfolio and would appreciate any help getting the word out. Here's our job board: https://t.co/J2GFi8ZKFo

If you or someone you know is interested, have them connect with @keliemorgan.

As always, thanks!

[Permanent Equity Jobs @PermEqJobs]

.@CapitalCamp is creating high-quality, intentional, and non-traditional events tailored to the finance, investing, and business industries.

And they're growing! 📈

We're looking for a marketing professional with hands-on experience growing a brand:

https://t.co/CYW1SBwyAe