For the longest time, I had a story I told myself on repeat: "I'll start my business when I have more money saved up." It sounded reasonable. It felt responsible, even. But if I'm honest, it was just a comfortable excuse. Because the truth is, I could've kept saying that for another five years and never actually started. Then one day, I stopped waiting for a "big enough" number in my bank account and asked myself a different question: what's the smallest possible step I can take right now? The answer surprised me. Not $10,000. Not a business loan. Not a warehouse full of inventory or a team of people to manage $9. That's genuinely what it cost me to remove my last excuse and put something real into motion. Less than a lunch order. Less than most people spend on subscriptions they forgot they had. Here's what nobody tells beginners when they're stuck scrolling business content at 1am, feeling like everyone else already "made it": the barrier to entry today is lower than it has ever been. The tools, the platforms, the ability to reach an audience things that used to require serious capital and a full team a decade ago are now available to anyone willing to spend less than the price of a coffee run and show up consistently. What I had was a small, low-risk starting point and a decision to actually use it instead of just thinking about it.. And that's exactly why it did work. Low stakes meant I actually took action instead of overthinking it into oblivion. Looking back, that $9 wasn't really about the money at all. It was about proving to myself that "I don't have the capital" was never the real problem. The real problem was waiting for permission that was never going to come. If you're sitting on an idea or even if you have no idea yet, just a feeling that you want to build something I want you to really sit with this: what would you do differently if starting only cost you $9 and an afternoon of your time? Because that's the world we're actually in right now. The excuse of "I need money to start" doesn't hold the way it used to.

If you or your clients are preparing to sell an appreciated asset—such as real estate or a business—there are exit strategies that can help mitigate potential capital gains tax issues without relying on a 1031 exchange, purchasing additional properties, or insurance products. Whether it’s a long-held rental portfolio, a BRRR investment with debt exceeding basis, a luxury home expected to sell above cost plus improvements, commercial or industrial property, land, or a business, it’s wise to explore strategies that can defer, reduce, or in many cases eliminate capital gains taxes at both the state and federal levels. If you’re looking to start or expand a real estate brokerage that helps sellers navigate these issues while also generating repeat and referral business, there are options out there.

April has been flipping houses in Jacksonville for years. Ask her what actually built that business and the answer is always the same: leads. Not contractors, not funding, not systems. Leads first, everything else after. No leads, no deals. No deals, no business. This community already has 4,100 people in it. Only a fraction show up to the Wednesday call every week, and they're the ones actually turning this into deal flow. Every Wednesday at 3:30pm EST, April breaks down what's actually working in lead gen right now, the same tactics she uses to keep her own pipeline full. Come with a question, leave with something you can run this week. Free. Same link every week. Join here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87105007205?pwd=966xaopMI5fyecfqRz6JAJIc2aZGv3.1 Comment below: where are most of your leads coming from right now?