hese days when you hear "marketing agency," you probably think a dispersed, remote team of graphic designers, social media managers, and Google ad buyers.

But envision instead the traditional agency, the Mad Men-style, in-person office experience where creative types are ideating, iterating, challenging each other.

The campaigns are less about conversion rates and ROAS and more about spreading ideas.

That's the type of agency that today's guest bought.

At age 57, Bryan Houck set out to buy a business for his next chapter.

He hired a buy-side advisor, Calder Capital, whose name you have heard on this podcast, and who happened to be based in Bryan's own Grand Rapids, Michigan.

We hear all about the experience (and costs) of working with a buy-side advisor, which I increasingly feel is a strong if overlooked option for many searchers.

That said, it is not a panacea.

Bryan was spending money quickly and went through 3 broken LOIs before finally getting to close with the firm he bought, Extra Credit Projects.

So he was fatigued and wondering if this path of buying a business was the correct one for him.

One of his key learnings from that uncomfortable search was to meet sellers very early.

When you're doing a proprietary search (or having a buy-side advisor do it for you), sellers that engage are not as decided that they want to sell their business.

So you would be well advised to figure out as soon as possible if you think you can get all the way with a seller.

Those 3 broken LOIs of Bryan's? Largely attributable to sellers who only later realized they didn't actually want to sell their business.

That and much more in this interview with Bryan Houck, owner of Extra Credit Projects. Enjoy.