Sellers are paid and working capital has hit the bank. Finally closed on my first acquisition. Quite a journey to get to this phase, but excited for the next step. It's a PR (public relations) business here in Boston, 20 years old with 7 employees. I know I haven't joined a lot of the calls and be super active in the group recently, but can attribute a lot of the mindset and approach that I used throughout the search process to various people in this group, so just want to say a quick thank you!

Very excited to share that I have my first accepted LOI. This is for a heating oil business in MA. Obviously, still a long way to go. A lot can and will happen during DD, but excited to cross another milestone!

Another LOI drafted, cross checking with a lawyer and SBA lender to see the proposed offer is feasible, but if all goes well, another LOI sent. They say closed mouths don't get fed. In the meantime, evaluating 2 other CIMs today, and preparing for 2 seller calls tomorrow.

Heard back from a broker on an LOI I submitted last week (Apparel screen printing business in my local area). Unfortunately, they are going with a different buyer who gave them full asking price, whereas my offer was slightly lower. For what it's worth, broker said the seller was seriously considering my offer, so asked me to check back in 1-2 months to see if the deal is back on the market. So, back to the drawing board. Today's plan is to evaluate CIMs and financials for two new businesses also in my local area, and schedule broker/seller meetings tomorrow or next week.

All, As I'm sure most of us can agree, searching is a grind. Showing up with daily consistency, little to no immediate gratification along the way, with only yourself (and Searcher School) to look to for structure, it's no shocker that searchers make bad decisions from deal fatigue. While the actual mechanics of our search undoubtedly matter, I'm curious what everyone is doing in their off time to keep their head on straight. My question to all of you is, what are tools do you keep handy for keeping your energy tank full when the search turns into a slog? Exercise, journaling, meditation, interpretive dance?? For me (and it might sound like cliche clickbait), but consistent daily morning and evening routines have been my life raft - happy to discuss these routines if anyone is curious. I also discovered surfing this past year - may sound like knocking off of work, but I can typically sneak in 30-60 minute sessions a couple times a week and have noticed an exponential benefit in keeping my head clear. The benefits have clearly translated to keeping me in the search game. Would love to hear how some of you are fueling up in your non-search hours.