I requested more information about a listing and the broker asked for a 15-minute call. The listing was under LOI and none of their other listings are in my target geography, but I figured it can't hurt to network.

I think I might have said 3 sentences over 45 minutes on the phone.

Without asking me any questions, he essentially tried to explain why I would never be able to buy a business like the one I asked about.

After the call, I was full of self-doubt and discouraged, but that quickly passed.

Not all brokers are created equal. First time I've ever had an experience like this. Note to Self: Consider the source

highlights of the wisdom he offered

search funds (even though I'm self-funded): "Got to watch out for those. They'll use you to source the deal and cut you out" "You have to have an MBA from Harvard and bring $1M to the table"

banks: "They don't care about your credit score or if you have a $5M net worth. They won't lend to you if you don't have experience in that industry."

white collar owners: "every white collar guy that buys a blue-collar business fails"

seller financing: "Any quality deal will have at most a 5% seller note"

SBA lenders: "10% down is just for marketing. No deal ever gets done close to that amount"