Thanks for checking in.

I’m on a journey to “buy right” a homerun, off market, Boomer owned digital business. A “mismanaged gem,” as I’ve heard it called.

You can learn a lot from someone who’s done it 100 times — but you can learn a different set of things from someone who’s doing it for the first time.

My update is meant to capture the latter.

Lead list update: success

Celebrated a great win this week: we hit our lead goal, and we hit it ahead of schedule.

I’m right at 5,000 leads now (4,943 to be exact). Most of the leads will not make amazing acquisition opportunities.

But, if you’ve been reading my weekly update, you know there are some real gems.

I estimate 10% of the 5,000 leads are business owners that I will/would pursue if given the opportunity. That’s plenty for me.

The cost to acquire these leads

Aside from the first 20 leads, I hired two VAs to run the entire search process. My total, all-in cost to get to 5,000 leads is below:

• $70 for a job posting

• $100 for paid interviews

• $800 hourly VA pay

• $1,000 bonus

• $60 software

All-in cost: $2,030 and a lot of my time.

A new bottleneck to solve

My bottleneck right now is not leads. It’s sending owner outreach.

Between managing VAs, researching businesses, and connecting with owners — I haven’t made time to be consistent with outreach (I have a day job, too).

So I made a tweak this week: my VAs will now split their time 50/50 between continuing research and owner outreach.

In a nutshell, my formula for a successful cold email outreach is:

1. Reach the owner

2. Write a personalized email to the owner - owners respect the sincerity

I’ve handled this part of my project exclusively to this point. But, now, I’m going to test my VAs to handle it. If it works, I’ll just respond to owners who’ve shown interest in a conversation.

I do not doubt the team’s ability to execute this — they are fantastic.

The key to my VA partnerships

What makes them so fantastic?

I’ve hired 13 virtual assistants. I’m 10-for-13 in successful outcomes. A couple have been absolute standouts.

In general, I’ve found folks from the Philippines exude a desire to do excellent work.

In my opinion, the key is finding the right person for the job and then communicating expectations with over-the-top precision.

Jeff Bezos made a rule at Amazon: if you hold a meeting, you must write a brief beforehand for everyone in attendance to review.

The act of writing forces you to be self-aware and precise.

I believe it and try to practice it (that’s why I write this email).

Clear, articulate explanations are rocket fuel for a virtual assistant who’s eager to do well.

The trouble is, most people hire a VA because they’re lazy.

Hiring a VA isn’t a great idea if you’re lazy. You have to be willing to work to give them the chance to be successful (at least upfront). You cannot teach that what you do not understand.

But, when they’re successful, you can spend time on other things.

If you’re wondering, I hope I get the chance to work with more Filipinos in a potential acquisition. It’s a great lever to make a business better.

Next week I plan to write an email on the questions I’ve been asked most frequently. If you have a question, ask away.

Keep on!

Mike