London Real is On Sale. Would You Buy & Run It As a 1-Person Business?
The real question is: What makes a good business model for a 1-Man Consultant?
Let us assume that Brian Rose is not lying on YouTube. Then, yes. London Real is on sale.
I love consuming content from that independent media platform. There is no element of political correctness.
There are only real questions and genuine responses.
London Real has had hundreds of high-caliber guests on the show. I enjoyed their YouTube content featuring Robert Kiyosaki, Nomi Prins, James Rikhards, Grant Cardone, Dan Pena, and many others.
They have 2.09 million subscribers on YouTube as of today. Total viewership of London Real content since Oct 24, 2011, adds up to 286,038,844.
I am a fan of London Real. But what about their business?
Is it a good business to purchase and operate?
I will share my thought processes starting with my personal experience.
Many Friends Approached Me to Buy Their Small Businesses. I Rejected 99.9% of Them.
The challenge of running a business is running the business. It is not about the money.
Neither is it about the valuation of the business. Here’s why.
99.9% of small businesses don’t make money. Buying over to run them means injecting more capital to take these businesses to profitability.
Valuations based on future cashflows are irrelevant. The business must survive years into the future before benefitting from incoming cash.
And then, there is the element of time.
- How long does it take for the business to become profitable? Months? Years?
- How much time do I have to work on the business? 40 hours a week? 70 hours? 80?
I prefer investing time in my 1-Man consulting practice. I understand the business and the industry's needs.
Other businesses? I need time to study and scrutinize.
Let me share one personal story.
About 6 months ago, a close connection of mine asked me out for dinner. Jacqueline asked me to purchase her group-buy business for $200,000. This is a simple home-based operation born out of the Pandemic era.
I asked her why. She told me sheepishly that the business has been incurring losses for the past 9 months.
Gosh. I must look stupid to Jacqueline.
I proceeded to ask what assets the business has. This is Jacqueline’s response.
- 500 printed plastic bags
- 400 pieces of keychains
- 380 smartphone chargers
- 260 stick-to-the-fridge magnets featuring the 7 World Wonders
- 250 water bottles (1 liter)
My eyes popped out. Trust me. Her list is longer than this one. I will spare you the trouble of going through all the bullet points.
But something feels off. I asked this question next.
How many repeat customers do you have?
She told me 5. And their average purchase quantum per order is $10.
I smiled. Jacqueline babbled on, but I was no longer listening.
There is no way I will fork out $200,000 to take over Jacqueline’s inventory-based business. Of course, I kept my mouth shut.
She spent a lot of time building this business from scratch. I must take care of her feelings.
Deep down I know I cannot operate her business without external help. But doing so requires me to spend time building a small team.
I may be wrong.
But what if I am right?
Back to London Real
Would I buy it and run it to complement my 1-Man consulting practice?
Short answer, no.
Long answer, no. And here’s why.
- I foresee issues inviting renowned guests to the show. Nobody knows me.
- The studio is well-furnished, and the videos are well shot. I assume high operating costs.
- London Real operates an online financial education academy known as Crypto & DeFi Academy. I have zero interest in the cryptocurrency and M.O.O.C. space (Mass Online Overseas Course).
I look for businesses that I can understand… that means where I feel that I have a high degree of confidence in my ability to see what they’re going to look like 5, 10, 20 years from now.
I share my role model’s sentiments on running businesses.
I wish I have 48 hours a day to learn how to operate multiple businesses in different industry sectors. But I don’t. I have a day job and a 1-Man consulting practice to run.
The businesses we seek to run must match our individual capacities and interests.
That is the first part. Now for the next question.
How does London Real monetize its work?
These are my premature observations.
- They monetize a portion of their videos on YouTube
- They collect email addresses from audiences interested in exclusive video content behind their website
- Cryptocurrency-based options trading courses
- Online community-based courses geared towards running small businesses
It dawned on me that their monetization model relies heavily on Brian Rose’s personal brand. Branding is their number 1 asset.
Content consumers watch London Real and attend the Crypto & DeFi Academy because of Brian Rose. Not for anyone else.
I cannot match that. And that is one severe limitation on my end.
The business will tank when Brian leaves.
Why would I invest money to buy over the business when I expect it to do worse on Day 2 compared to Day 1?
I pass.
I pass too, even if it is buying over a 20% stake of the company.
Parting Keynotes
I love watching London Real. The interview content is top notch and renowned guests can speak up without interruption.
That is like a breath of fresh air to me.
The situation is different when it comes to running their business. I don’t know enough to operate an online academy and independent media.
And I think that is a viable reminder to all 1-Man consultants aspiring to run multiple businesses.
It can be distilled into this one question.
Are we willing to enter a new industry without experience and exposure?
I have my answer. I am sure you have yours.
As a content contributor, I write my observations from daily life and my business exposure. Because our life experience is the bedrock of our unique perspectives.
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