I don’t think there’s a way to completely avoid working hard after an acquisition, especially in the beginning. The better question is whether the business can eventually operate without you being involved in every decision. Strong management, documented processes, recurring revenue, and low owner dependency are usually good signs that you're buying a business that can become an investment rather than a permanent job.

I think this largely depends on what you want. Just my two cents, the purpose of ETA is use capital (levered or unlevered) to acquire asset (client list, equipment, relationships, and people's time, etc) and hope for returns (work life balance, money, etc). The biggest difference is that you get 100% of the reward or losses, a job is almost never that (usually, you need to create more for the company than you earn). I think a good comparison is like day trader vs SP500 all the way? Both are investing, one is hands on and one is passive.