One reason that many Acquiring Minds guests have arrived at the decision to buy a business is the realization that a W-2 is less secure than it seems.

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Today’s guest learned that young. Marco Hsu watched his father get laid off repeatedly, and his mother restart her career late in life.

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Marco is a mechanical engineer and lifelong car guy. He bought Clewett Engineering, a one-man, home-garage maker of engine upgrades for vintage Porsches, with $600–700k of revenue and $350k of SDE. You'll hear me use the word "artisanal" a lot.

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It took three LOIs for Marco to get the deal done; he was committed to this project. He valued getting in the game, and the business-buyer fit couldn't be tighter. The owner said that Marco reminded him of him 30 years ago.

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Year one in the business has been pretty brutal — far harder than Marco expected, and he lays out what he got wrong.

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Also listen for Marco's goals with this project.

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He isn’t trying to build an empire; he wants a good living and a reasonable work week in his area of passion. We discuss exactly what would qualify his acquisition as a success.

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Here is Marco Hsu, owner of Clewett Engineering.