The 7 Steps

To Buying A Profitable
Revenue Stream
After getting an engineering degree at Northeastern University, I
started a career in corporate sales for The Torrington Company. I
quickly advanced and ran the elite sales team in Detroit, having been
responsible for $400 million in sales. It was fun and I learned a lot.

After volunteering to take the #1 problem account and, with a great

team, securing the largest contract the company had ever seen, I had
the itch to build a company of my own.

I moved to New York and built a consulting company. We were

fortunate enough to represent numerous Fortune 500 clients. The
cumulative savings we generated for those clients exceeded $2
billion.

In 1993, while growing my first company, I met Dan Peña and we’ve
worked together ever since.

Dan has created more than $50 billion in wealth since then.

That didn’t happen by accident, and I learned a lot with him.

I’ve boiled down the methodology Dan used to create this wealth,
coupled with lessons I’ve learned from my over 20 years in the
business.
I trust these 7 steps
are helpful and if you
need further assistance Let me be blunt. If you are looking for a “get rich quick” scheme, this
please email me. isn’t it. This process is simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Being
successful is hard work and anyone who tells you differently is simply
To Your Quantum Leap, lying in my experience.
Bruce Whipple
Managing Member So, if you’re not willing to do the work, walk away now. These steps
brucewhipple.com
won’t help you succeed without the work.
PO BOX 127 25 PLEASANT ST.
SOLON, ME 04979-0127 If you are willing to put in the time and effort, though, here are the 7
PHONE: 203-257-6407
DISCLAIMERS Steps to Buying A Profitable Revenue Stream…
Step 1 Your Mind Set

The more I work with entrepreneurs, the more I realize their mindset
can be the #1 thing holding them back.

By mindset, I mean self-image, FEAR, and self-confidence.

Frankly, this could be a whole course, but let’s hit the high points.

Most people take for granted what they do well and dismiss it as
something everyone does. Then, they take the area where they feel
they’re most lacking, and compare themselves to people for whom
that area is their strongest asset. As a result, they create a wide self-
image chasm. Often, they were told as kids they wouldn’t be a success
and it became an imprinted self-fulfilling prophecy.

Now that we understand what FEAR really is (False Evidence

Appearing Real), let’s look at how we can improve our self-image… and
our mindset.

1. Read Release Your Brakes by Jim Newman. Dan suggested this

book to me in 1993. It is about expanding your comfort zone.

2. Write out your goals as affirmations. Here’s an example “I KNOW

I trust these 7 steps
are helpful and if you
need further assistance 3. Write down all of the things you are proud of having accomplished.
please email me.
To Your Quantum Leap,
Bruce Whipple
Managing Member
brucewhipple.com 4. It always helps to think about a problem by saying, “What’s the
PO BOX 127 25 PLEASANT ST.
SOLON, ME 04979-0127
PHONE: 203-257-6407
DISCLAIMERS
AND FEEL COMFORTABLE BELIEVING THAT I WILL TAKE THE
NECESSARY ACTIONS TO {fill in what you want to accomplish}. If
you write these down and read them first thing in the morning and
last thing at night, your odds of accomplishing them are good. And
when you look back after you’ve accomplished them, it can’t help
but improve your self image.
Reading this list when FEAR and doubt creep in will help a lot.
Your mind simply can’t hold two thoughts at the same time. This
exercise will replace the negative thoughts with positive ones.
worst thing that can happen?” Most of the time, it is not life and
death. And when you think back at the “impending disasters” in
your life, you’ll almost always see the anticipation was worse than
the event, and usually had a positive contribution for you.
Step 2 Get Motivated
People do things for two reasons: inspiration or desperation. The
starting point of all accomplishments is a “burning desire,” as
Napoleon Hill called it in Think & Grow Rich (If you haven’t read his
book… you should).

Part of my motivation was this

thought: imagine if Hell was
having to watch an endless
video of what your life could
have been had you made the
effort and taken the actions to
make it so.

Now that we have each other’s

attention, your big business
goal should be something you
can get passionate about.

Why?
Because you will have ups and downs in accomplishing something
extraordinary. If you are passionate about getting it done, that passion
will carry you through the setbacks. You’ll think of them merely as
speed bumps.

I often talk with budding entrepreneurs who say, “I don’t care about
the industry. I just want to make money.” That just won’t work. You
need passion AND money if getting wealthy is your goal. Look at
almost any success story and you will see they were run through the
mill before they made it. Their passion kept them from quitting in the
I trust these 7 steps
are helpful and if you face of adversity. There is always another level of wealth, so money
need further assistance alone won’t be enough to motivate you. That’s why you need to create
please email me. your business and career around your passion.

To Your Quantum Leap,

Bruce Whipple
Managing Member
brucewhipple.com
PO BOX 127 25 PLEASANT ST.
SOLON, ME 04979-0127
PHONE: 203-257-6407
DISCLAIMERS
Step 3 Get a Dream Team
Build A Board Of Directors (or… How to Get a Track
Record of Success When You Don’t Have One)

So, if you have worked on steps one and two, you are now ready to
pick an industry in which to make acquisitions.

What if you’re just starting out and have no track record?

Why is anyone going to want to sell you a business… especially if you

don’t have a war chest of cash? Good question!

The way you get a track record is to surround yourself with people
who have one.

They are your Board of Directors.

You want people who have “been there, done that!” They are given
equity in your venture and under no circumstances do you ask for or
accept money from them. You want their expertise, not their capital.
This isn’t an act of deception. Most of these people will say, “I’m
interested in your project if I can provide value.”

Now when you approach a business to buy, bring your chairman or

other board members, and the seller will think your board wouldn’t be
involved with you if you weren’t “the real deal.”

They are right. You must act ethically and behave in a way that never
jeopardizes the reputation of your Board of Directors.

I trust these 7 steps

are helpful and if you
need further assistance
please email me.

To Your Quantum Leap,

Bruce Whipple
Managing Member
brucewhipple.com
PO BOX 127 25 PLEASANT ST.
SOLON, ME 04979-0127
PHONE: 203-257-6407
DISCLAIMERS
Step 4 Hire The Best
Bring On Top Notch Legal And Accounting Firms
(don’t worry…you CAN afford them)

This is critical, but let’s keep this brief. You interview the firms with
members from your Board of Directors (aka, your “Dream Team”).
You explain your mission and that you are interviewing (yes, you are
interviewing, not begging!) You want to find a firm that wants to share
in that mission. You want your law and accounting firms to work on a
success-oriented basis fee (those words are critical). They will get paid
upon successful completion of a deal. Failed acquisition deal fees, if
any, will be rolled into the billing at completion of a successful deal.

Most account firms will tell you that, according to GAAP rules, their
fees can’t be contingent. They can, however, be deferred.

Step 5 Find a Deal

People might tell you to call a business broker. WRONG!
Look for an industry that is comprised of “Mom and Pops” and has
good profit margins.

Why?
Because a fragmented business can be consolidated. Think about
what Home Depot did to the corner hardware store or what Staples
did to the local stationary store. Good margins allow some room for
I trust these 7 steps error so mistakes aren’t fatal.
are helpful and if you
need further assistance Then, generate a list of businesses that fit your profile. Write a short
please email me. letter to the owners. You’ll want to introduce yourself and your board,
explain what you are doing and ask if they’ve ever entertained selling
To Your Quantum Leap, their business. Then, suggest you talk. The letter I drafted 25 years ago
Bruce Whipple
still works great.
Managing Member
brucewhipple.com
I recently had a mentee use this letter. Here are his results. As the
PO BOX 127 25 PLEASANT ST. saying goes – these results are not typical. He sent 100 letters, talked
SOLON, ME 04979-0127
PHONE: 203-257-6407 to fifteen owners and met with five who were interested. Those
DISCLAIMERS numbers simply work!
Step 6 Finance the Acquisition
The beauty of Dan’s QLA methodology is that he targeted it toward
people who didn’t have ready cash to fund an acquisition.

So, how do you fund an acquisition?

With a combination of conventional debt coupled with an owner

taking back paper, “friends and family,” or, if need be, private equity.

Private equity is expensive. They will take most of the deal. Your law
and accounting firms will help you evaluate and structure a proposal.

Step 7 Run the Business

I have worked on a lot of deals where the CEO and management
team took their eyes off the actual running of the business, and then
watched the business they worked so hard to acquire crash and burn.
You may not be an expert, but you must surround yourself with people
who are. These people must be competent and able to run a business
successfully. Then, you can acquire, another and another.

Conclusion
That’s the overview of how you buy a profitable business. This is the
exact process that I’ve used to help my clients create two billion
dollars in cumulative wealth since 1993. Obviously, each of the steps
involves more depth and detail, but, clearly, it’s a process that works.
I’m fortunate to have been able to teach this process to many
I trust these 7 steps successful business owners like you.
are helpful and if you
need further assistance If you’re interested in flattening the learning curve and saving a bunch
please email me. of time and effort building a business from scratch… If you’d rather just
jump into buying a profitable revenue stream, we might be able to
To Your Quantum Leap,
work together.
Bruce Whipple
Managing Member
brucewhipple.com Send me an email letting me know you’re interested in learning more.
We’ll set up a time for us to speak. You can tell me more about your
PO BOX 127 25 PLEASANT ST.
needs, and you’ll learn a little more about me. In the end, if we both
SOLON, ME 04979-0127
PHONE: 203-257-6407 think it’s a good fit, we can talk about working together. If not, you’ll
DISCLAIMERS still come away from the call with some good tips and direction.