oday's interview is one of those stories.

An ambitious, well-meaning entrepreneur buys a business, and the whole enterprise unravels.

Justin Willess spent every last dollar of the $1m in his 401k to acquire the business, then inject money into it to cover payroll.

Nothing worked; we hear the painful details.

Financials that weren't what they seemed.

Dysfunctional relationship with a toxic seller.

What a confession of judgement is and why you should run the other way if you see one.

We also hear about the emotions of this crucible.

We hear about the leadership required, how you have to remain steady-handed even as things collapse around you.

Justin Willess with fool's gold
Finding the humor: Justin with fool’s gold

Now, I do want to sound a note of optimism in this otherwise shattering story:

Justin sees himself doing this again at some point, buying another business. He is proud of the work he & his team did to improve the mess they inherited. As you'll hear, things were on the right track when it all came to screeching halt. So this isn't his final chapter. What hasn't killed him has made him stronger.

And finally, a request. Consider sending Justin a note of support, a note of thanks for doing this interview. (Here’s his LinkedIn.)

These horror stories are in fact hugely beneficial to others considering this path. If just one person who hears this interview decides to do a quality of earnings when they otherwise wouldn't have, or pushes back when they see a confession of judgement in their deal docs — well, years of pain might be averted.

So if you would, let Justin know how much we appreciate him putting himself out there like this.

OK, here he is, Justin Willess, former owner of a construction business in Northern Virginia.