“There are no good deals out there.” I hear some version of this almost every day from first-time buyers. Here’s the checklist most of them are working fromredactedno customer concentration, GM in place, owner out of the day to day, recurring revenue, growing revenue, owner not needed in sales. All at a 3x multiple. That’s the equivalent of wanting a man in finance, 6’5”, blue eyes, with a trust fund. (Gothamist ran the numbers. There are maybe 100 to 250 of those guys in the whole US.) Y’all. You can have SOME of what you want. You can’t have ALL of it. And if you do find the 6’5” business, get in line. Good listings get 200 inquiries in the first 24 hours, and you’re up against experienced buyers with deeper pockets. Sorry to break it to youredactedyou are not the catch. The seller is. Most first-time buyers don’t have a deal flow problem. They have a filter problem. The fantasy checklist keeps them scrolling right past the business that could be their match, flaws and all. I wrote up the full breakdown, link in the comments.