Action Academy Podcast: Episode Summary

Episode Overview

Title: BUILDING Businesses vs. BUYING Businesses (Which One Is Better???)
Host: Brian Luebben
Date: October 6, 2025

This episode tackles the foundational question for aspiring entrepreneurs: Should you BUILD a business from scratch or BUY an existing one? Drawing from his experience having built and bought multiple companies, Brian candidly unpacks the realities, requirements, and rewards of each path. The conversation is focused on helping high-performing professionals replace their jobs with entrepreneurial cash flow, especially for those considering leaving corporate careers.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Breaking the Myth: Is Buying "Cheating"? (00:00–00:28)

• Many aspiring entrepreneurs are fixated on the idea that real entrepreneurship means building something new.
• Brian explains his background ("I've built four, bought four") and admits his bias as a natural builder, emphasizing authenticity in perspective.

2. The Building Process—Unfiltered Reality (00:28–08:22)

Steps to Building from Scratch:

1. Solve Your Own Problem

   • “A lot of people tend to miss… they just pick an idea and try to solve a problem for other people they have not yet solved themselves.” (01:04, Brian)
   • Use actual experience; e.g., Brian leaving a high-paying corporate job as a foundation.

2. Document and Share Publicly

   • Share your story honestly before you prescribe solutions to others.

3. Help Others for Free

   • "You should not do that. You should start off low and slow like I did... Free. F R E E. You go do it for free at minimum five times.” (03:32, Brian)
   • Prove you can replicate your results with real people.

4. Build a Minimal Viable Product & Iterate

   • Launch with an “irresistible low offer” and collect feedback to shape the real business.

5. Scaling the Business

   • Start increasing prices as validation and capabilities increase.
   • Great sales benchmarks: “If you’re closing 30% of your customers, that is a banger. 20% is still amazing. 40 to 50%? Double your prices.” (06:28, Brian)

6. Wearing Every Hat

   • “I was the marketing guy, sales rep… onboarding, customer service… finance and HR and legal…” (06:52, Brian)
   • Builders do everything at the beginning.

7. Takeaways

   • Building is the "hardest path to entrepreneurship."
   • “But if you’re so inclined and everything I just said sounds super sexy to you… You will make millions and millions.” (08:00, Brian)

Memorable Quote:

“Inspiration has a shelf life. Ideas have a shelf life. If you have an idea, you need to get that idea out into the world as fast as humanly possible.”
— Brian, (07:28)

3. Unveiling the Buying Path—Fast-Tracking Success (12:16–16:10)

• Teams & Infrastructure Day One:
  "Not only do you have talent that’s already in place, that's already been hired and trained, but… they’ve been doing the thing for three to five years in their position." (12:02, Brian)

• Customers and Cash Flow Exist:
  “The customers already exist. ...buying a business is like you’re starting on the opponent’s 20 yard line.” (12:24, 13:09, Brian)

• Proven Operations & Market Share:

  • Do not buy businesses under $1 million revenue: “Beneath a million dollars is still a hobby. It’s a side hustle." (13:34, Brian)
  • Ideal targets: Operate 3+ years, $2M+ in revenue, $400K+ in profit, full team intact.

• Real Example:

  • Brian discusses buying an Alaska tourism company, benefiting instantly from a #1 market position on Tripadvisor and similar platforms (15:00).
  • “I’ve never even been to Alaska, dude… I put $150,000 down... next, we just open for summer.” (15:41, Brian)

Notable Analogy:

"Building a business from scratch is...you’re all the way back in your end zone... buying [one], you’re starting on the opponent’s 20 yard line... you have options."
— Brian, (12:24–13:13)

4. Getting Paid: When Does the Money Come? (16:10–18:53)

• Building from Scratch:

  • Takes longer and is more labor-intensive.
  • "I was also working a hundred hours a week. So...just doing a really highly PA job at that point." (16:26, Brian)
  • Initial profits are smaller and require years of effort for serious upside.

• Buying a Business:

  • Immediate cash flow to owner:
    "When you buy a business, you're buying a deal that prints you out a hundred to two hundred to three hundred thousand dollars. Take home to you, day one, year one." (17:48, Brian)
  • Debt service eats into profit, but owner is paid upfront.
  • Downside: delayed gratification for higher upside if building, less debt if built from scratch.

5. Who Should Build? Who Should Buy? (19:03–19:27)

• Builders:

  • “If you have to ask, then you shouldn’t build. That’s the answer.” (19:27, Brian)
  • True builders are relentlessly self-motivated; they feel compelled to bring a specific idea to life no matter how hard it seems.

• Buyers:

  • If you want “passive income, want cash flow so I can leave this job... I want to work hard for something I own”—BUY a business. (19:42, Brian)
  • Most people are better suited for this option.

Standout Conclusion:

“The people that are the builders are the ones that are like, this needs to happen. This needs to exist in the world and I will bend the earth and reality to my whim to make it come true. That’s a builder.”
— Brian, (19:27)

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• “I have never once met a financial advisor that’s financially free ever in my life.” — Brian (02:12)
• “I made my first hundred thousand dollars living in a house in Brazil with barely any WiFi, no bank account, no LLC, no website, no landing page...” — Brian (07:28)
• “You should not do that. You should start off low and slow like I did. So what you do? What do you do? Free. F R E E.” — Brian (03:32)
• “Do not buy something beneath a million dollars. Beneath a million dollars is still a hobby.” — Brian (13:34)
• “If you have to ask, then you shouldn’t build. That’s the answer.” — Brian (19:27)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:28–07:06 — Deep dive into building a business from scratch
• 07:28–08:22 — Launching Action Academy as a case study
• 12:16–13:13 — Football analogy: building vs. buying
• 13:34–16:10 — Why to avoid small businesses, example of Alaska tourism company
• 16:10–18:53 — When does the money actually come, for both paths?
• 19:03–19:27 — Who should build, and who should buy?

Episode Takeaways

• Building a business is grueling but rewarding for those with unwavering conviction and a personal itch to scratch. It’s about solving your own problem, documenting success, helping others, slowly charging, and doing everything yourself, at least at first.
• Buying a business is a shortcut to existing cash flow, market share, and infrastructure—ideal if your dream is cash flow, not the grind. The best acquisition targets are already well-aged with proven teams.
• Final guidance: If you’re questioning your “builder DNA,” you’re probably a candidate for buying; if you’re driven by obsession to create, start building.