"If you're never been an entrepreneur before, I would suggest starting a business. If you have done it once, I would strongly advice buying a business. It's just a lot easier." - Bill D'Alessandro of Elements Brands If you've been listening to the podcast for a while now you might have noticed I that when I talk about my speaking engagements, I always give credit to someone who told me--back when I was unwilling to speak in front of a large crowd and would rather get a root canal--that I needed to do something that makes me uncomfortable to further my career and life. That someone is my guest in today's episode. Bill D'Alessandro is the founder of Elements Brands, a company that acquires and scales consumer products brands. He has been buying businesses for 7 years now and currently owns 9 brands with over 130 products. We invited him to be one of the special guests of our 100th episode and if you haven't listened to that, absolutely do so--you will find nuggets of advice you won't get anywhere. In this episode we discuss why he prefers buying businesses over starting one from scratch and when you can do the same. Here's an overview of what we discussed: How Bill and I met and how he helped push me to become a speaker Why he prefers buying existing businesses When it is right to start a business or invest in an existing one Bill's buying criteria and the attributes of a business that is a good buy Turning ugly into an opportunity What businesses to avoid buying The time when a third party tried to sue him for buying one of his businesses What he does after buying a business Why not all debt is bad, especially if you bought a business you want to grow (unless you have rich parents) If you want to explore the possibility of selling your business, you can reach out to Bill on Twitter or shoot him an email at bill@elementsbrands.com. Resources mentioned: AsiaInspection Stamped.io Elements Brands Under the Hood We have a new segment on the show! Starting next year, we will be featuring a segment called Under the Hood, where selected listeners get an hour (up to 1.5 hrs) of FREE coaching with Mike and Dave. In exchange, the coaching session will be recorded and turned into a podcast episode. If you want to ask Mike and Dave for ANY advice about your business absolutely for FREE and want to help put out good content for the podcast as well, we need you. Sign up at ecomcrew.com/UnderTheHood if you're interested. Thanks as always for listening, and until next week, happy selling!