You Don't Have to Work From 9am to 5pm - In Search of a Boring Business: making it work

"Younger would-be chief executives are increasingly seeking profits — and freedom from the 9-to-5 — by pivoting from corporate jobs into often unglamorous small-business niches.

“Making It Work” is a series about small-business owners striving to endure hard times.

When Nicole Rizzo saw the “For Sale” listing for Die Cleaning Equipment, the first detail she liked was that it was run by a married couple. Ms. Rizzo, then 43, was searching for a company to run alongside her own husband. But her husband, David, was puzzled by the name. Was it something involving janitors?

Die Cleaning Equipment, as it turned out, employed welders. The company in Phoenix made machines that cleaned other machines — specifically, aluminum extruders, which force the metal into shapes useful for everything from bumpers to stethoscopes to gun parts. Steve Smith oversaw the shop, where a small team assembled vats and pumps out of stainless steel. His wife, Kristin, handled the finances.

The Smiths had carved out their niche-within-a-niche from scratch, with Ms. Smith initially moonlighting as a church secretary to keep food on the table. But as the couple approached their 70s, they dreamed of a new relationship with aluminum, involving monthslong trips in an Airstream trailer.

A younger couple like the Rizzos were not the obvious choice. Neither knew much about aluminum. Ms. Rizzo had worked in local government, and Mr. Rizzo had held mostly corporate jobs in farming. But a visit to the Smiths’ shop near the Phoenix airport proved illuminating.

“I saw the machines and I was like, This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” Ms. Rizzo said. In June 2021, the Rizzos bought the company for about $600,000. Ms. Rizzo became chief executive. Almost four years later, the couple have recovered their investment.

The ranks of “searchers,” as prospective buyers like the Rizzos are often called, are growing. That’s partly a product of demographics — the generation in their 30s and 40s is the largest ever — and also of a surge of workers pivoting toward greater autonomy. On BizBuySell, the popular listings site where the Rizzos found the Smiths, “corporate refugees” ditching the 9-to-5 have surged to 42 percent of buyers, roughly double the 2021 figure. Meanwhile, nearly a quarter of American small businesses are owned by people 65 and older, making the Smiths part of a “silver tsunami” of sellers.

Enrollment has soared in business school courses on “entrepreneurship through acquisition” — the art of building upon success, rather than hatching it. But an M.B.A. is no requirement.

A legion of influencers on YouTube, LinkedIn and TikTok bear advice for how to “think niche” and “buy boring.”

“People are realizing that buying a business is a much less risky proposition than starting a new one,” said Bob House, the president of BizBuySell.

Part of the appeal are loans from the Small Business Administration that can require as little as five percent down (30 000 dollars in example above) from small-business buyers.

But borrowers are on the hook for failure. More than a third never find a buyer.

Among searchers, one adage is to fall in love with the economics of the business first. Prepare, then, to be fascinated by the day-to-day details — and challenges.

Brittney Orellano, 39, first learned about “the search” in 2022, through a podcast interview with Codie Sanchez, a YouTuber who often posts about the virtues of acquiring a “boring business.” Ms. Orellano and her husband, Ray, 46, had built a property management company together in Kansas City, Kan. But it had never occurred to her that she could buy a business that was already successful.

The Orellanos’ search was immediately “a full-court press.” She downloaded more podcasts and quizzed her accountant, her friends, her plumber: Was anyone looking to sell?

Six months into their search, the couple acquired Radio Controlled Garage Door & Gate for just under $1 million, financed primarily through an S.B.A. loan.

But they soon realized that, in their excitement, they had “missed some red flags.” The seller walked away with boxes of physical sales records, leaving them without a customer database.

The person described as a “general manager” was merely a dispatcher. To turn off one of the vans they inherited, they had to pop the hood and unscrew a valve.

Still, nearly two years later, Ms. Orellano doesn’t regret the venture. She was proud of offering an everyday service over a glitzy one — even as she avoids boring friends with the finer details of garage door clickers.

Most searchers, Ms. Orellano realizes now, are more calculated. The average search is about 18 months and involves browsing through online listings, bonding with reputable brokers, and sending cold emails to potential retirees in the search for a hidden gem. Certain criteria prevail: strong revenue, a “fragmented” industry where small operators can thrive, room for growth.

“A lot more people are getting in the game,” said Nick Haschka, 39, an entrepreneur and investor known for his advice on LinkedIn and X. In 2017, after a failed startup endeavor, he and a business partner bought the Wright Gardner, a 30-year-old San Francisco company that maintains indoor office plants. His friends had questions: He was doing what with his M.I.T. degree? Landscaping? He was far younger than most of his 11 employees.

“I don’t think I had any grand expectations to go and rule the world,” he said. “It was almost the opposite.” If he could not be a tech titan, he could water their ficuses.

Today, would-be entrepreneurs also face growing competition from “search funds” run by recent business school graduates who partner with outside investors, and from private equity firms. Mr. Haschka advises searchers to consider overlooked trends. He had recently begun buying generator businesses, reasoning that the disruptions to California’s power grid aren’t going anywhere.

In Phoenix, the Smiths were proud of their products, which safely automated a hot and caustic process. But they struggled to find a buyer who wanted to keep the business and its employees where they were. “We didn’t want our baby to die,” Ms. Smith recalled. .

Then came the Rizzos. They had considered Jiffy Lube franchises and inquired about a port-a-potty service, but it had already sold, it turned out, to their real estate broker.

When the deal closed, it was an adjustment. Two days in, an expert welder “went to see about her horses,” Ms. Rizzo said, and never returned. They were midway through building two machines at the time.

But another welder stepped in, and the contracts kept coming. The couple, who are currently looking for a bigger space, have added services like installations. If they have any complaints, it’s that success in a niche can be lonely. “Only a few of our relatives think it’s impressive,” Ms. Rizzo said. “Most people are like, whatever.”

If they want to “get nerdy” about aluminum, they still have the Smiths. Every few months, the two couples have breakfast together. Mr. Smith recently teared up when he heard about their latest contract. “His greatest fear was that the person who bought the business would fail,” Ms. Rizzo said. Each new machine was a sign that he had put his baby in the right hands.

It was time for the Smiths, at last, to go camping." [1]

1. In Search of a Boring Business: making it work. Barber, Gregory.  New York Times (Online) New York Times Company. Mar 12, 2025. 

Europa nesugeba reaguoti į pasaulį, kuriame Jungtinės Valstijos nenori tiesiog sudarinėti susitarimus, o nori iš esmės pertvarkyti pasaulinę prekybos tvarką, kad Jungtinėse Valstijose būtų gaminama daugiau

 „Europos Sąjunga reagavo į Amerikos plieno ir aliuminio tarifus savo tarifais valtims ir burbonui – ir pažadėjo daugiau.

 

 Europos Sąjungos lyderiai aiškiai pasakė, kad nori derėtis su Jungtinėmis Valstijomis dėl prekybos, kad išvengtų visiško konflikto. Tačiau susitarimo nepastebėjus, pareigūnai trečiadienį paskelbė planą, kuris turėtų smarkiai atsiliepti, nes įsigalios plieno ir aliuminio tarifai.

 

 Prezidentas Trumpas įvedė 25 procentų muitus visam pasauliniam plieno ir aliuminio importui, įskaitant produktus, kuriuose yra šių metalų, pavyzdžiui, virtuvės reikmenis ir langų rėmus. Atsižvelgdama į tokį platumą, Europos Sąjunga teigė, kad JAV rinkliavos gali paveikti apie 26 milijardus eurų – 28 milijardus dolerių – bloko eksporto.

 

 Taigi, blokas paskelbė planą, kuriuo siekiama vienodai atkeršyti.

 

 Atsakymas bus sudarytas iš dviejų dalių. Blokas padidino muitus įvairioms prekėms, keršydamas už JAV priemones per pirmąją D. Trumpo kadenciją, tačiau jie buvo sustabdyti, vadovaujant Bideno administracijai. Šis sustabdymas nustos galioti balandžio 1 d., padidinus muitus milijardų eurų vertės produktams, įskaitant valtis, burboną ir motociklus.

 

 Pasak jo, antrasis bloko žingsnis būtų įvesti muitus papildomiems produktams, kurių vertė apie 18 mlrd. Europos šalių atstovai dvi savaites konsultuosis, kol pareigūnai galutinai sudarys paveiktų prekių sąrašą.

 

 Siūlomi įtraukti pramonės ir žemės ūkio produktus. Jie skirti produktams, įskaitant sojų pupeles, jautieną ir vištieną, kurie yra svarbus eksportas iš respublikonų tvirtovių. Tai apima Luizianos rajoną, kuris išrinko Mike'ą Johnsoną, Atstovų Rūmų pirmininką.

 

 Siekiama, kad naujosios priemonės įsigaliotų iki balandžio vidurio.

 

 Šis pranešimas buvo Europos pradinis žingsnis besiplečiančiame prekybos konflikte, kuris, kaip tikimasi, sustiprės ateinantį mėnesį.

 

 Blokui Amerikos plieno ir aliuminio tarifai yra tik pradžia to, kam grasino D. Trumpas. Jis ne kartą žadėjo nuo balandžio 2 d. nustatyti plataus masto tarifus Amerikos prekybos partneriams visame pasaulyje. Jis teigė, kad rinkliavos automobiliams galėtų būti 25 proc., o tai būtų skausminga Vokietijos ir Italijos automobilių gamintojams.

 

 „Dabar esame šioje didėjančioje spiralėje“, – sakė Carstenas Brzeski, banko ING pasaulinis makro tyrimų vadovas.

 

 Viena vertus, Europos Sąjunga nenori eskaluoti prekybos karo. Europos pareigūnai pavadino tarifus „ekonomiškai neproduktyviais“, perspėdami, kad kova dėl tarifų pakenks visiems dalyvaujantiems.

 

 „Tarifai yra mokesčiai“, – trečiadienį per televiziją pareiškė Europos Komisijos pirmininkė Ursula von der Leyen, kuri yra bloko vykdomoji institucija. „Darbas yra ant kortos, kainos kyla, niekam to nereikia.”

 

 Tačiau D. Trumpo administracija nenorėjo derėtis, o tai verčia Europos politikos formuotojus laikytis agresyvesnės pozicijos.

 

 „Praėjusį mėnesį keliavau į JAV; Siekiau konstruktyvaus dialogo, kad išvengčiau nereikalingo skausmo dėl priemonių ir atsakomųjų priemonių“, – šią savaitę per spaudos konferenciją sakė vyriausiasis Europos Komisijos prekybos pareigūnas Marosas Sefcovic. „Galų gale, kaip sakoma, viena ranka negali ploti. Atrodo, kad JAV administracija nesiryžta sudaryti susitarimo.”

 

 E.U. lyderiai trečiadienį pabrėžė, kad bloko atsakas turi būti proporcingas, o J. Sefcovic pabrėžė, kad jų galima išvengti, „jei JAV administracija priims mūsų ištiestą ranką“.

 

 D. Trumpo tarifai Europos ekonomikai taikomi sunkiu momentu. Po kelerių metų stulbinančio augimo visos bloko įmonės žiūri į pablogėjusias prekybos sąlygas, kurios gali pakenkti jų verslui užsienyje.

 

 Pavyzdžiui, Vokietijos plieno pramonei atstovaujančios grupės teigė, kad tarifai taikomi „netinkamu metu“, kai Europos Sąjungos gamintojai susiduria su pigia Kinijos konkurencija.

 

 Europa bent jau nebuvo nustebinta. Į prekybą orientuota grupė Europos Sąjungoje, šnekamojoje kalboje vadinama „Trumpo darbo grupe“, didžiąją praėjusių metų dalį praleido ruošdamasi įvairiems prekybos konfliktų scenarijams.

 

 Tačiau europiečiams ir kitiems Amerikos prekybos partneriams buvo sunku nuspręsti, kaip reaguoti. Taip pat neaišku, kokie yra D. Trumpo tikslai ir kurie, galiausiai, bus išlaikyti, nes jo administracija įprato grasinti ir bent laikinai atsitraukti.

 

 „Sunku žinoti, kas prilips, o kas neprilips“, – sakė Michaelas Strainas, Vašingtone esančio Amerikos įmonių instituto, neseniai surengusio renginį su ponu Sefcoviciumi, ekonominės politikos studijų direktorius. Europos pareigūnams taip pat sunku paskambinti savo kolegoms amerikiečiams.

 

P. von der Leyen su D. Trumpu individualiai nekalbėjo nuo jo inauguracijos.

 

 Sekmadienį spaudos konferencijoje paklausta, kada galėtų su juo pasikalbėti, ji atsakė: „Mes surengsime asmeninį susitikimą, kai bus tinkamas laikas“.

 

 Bloko vyriausioji diplomatė Kaja Kallas vasario pabaigoje Vašingtone turėjo susitikti su JAV valstybės sekretoriumi Marco Rubio, tačiau ponas Rubio šį susitikimą atšaukė.

 

 O diplomatams iš visos Europos Sąjungos ir jos šalių narių buvo sunku nustatyti, su kuo kalbėtis Trumpo administracijoje, iš dalies dėl to, kad trūksta aiškumo, kaip priimami sprendimai.

 

 „Manau, kad administracijos tikslai kelia tam tikrą pasipiktinimą“, – sakė Vašingtone įsikūrusios tyrimų institucijos „Atlantic Council“ Europos centro vyresnysis direktorius Jörnas Fleckas.

 

 Jis sakė, kad Europa gali nesugebėti reaguoti pasaulyje, kuriame Jungtinės Valstijos nenori tiesiog sudaryti susitarimą, o nori iš esmės pertvarkyti pasaulinę prekybos tvarką, kad Jungtinėse Valstijose būtų gaminama daugiau.

 

 "Galbūt, nėra jokio susitarimo", - sakė jis." [1]

 

Ir nebus. Užtenka joti į rojų ant amerikiečių sprando. Pasiimkite jūsų žaislus iš Ukrainos ir eikite dirbti. Pagaminkite ką nors naujo, ką pasaulis norėtų pirkti. 

1.  Europe Makes Its First Move as Trump’s Trade Fight Widens. Smialek, Jeanna.  New York Times (Online) New York Times Company. Mar 12, 2025.

Europe is struggling to respond to a world in which the United States does not want to simply make a deal, but rather wants to fundamentally reorder the global trade order so that more is produced in the United States

 

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"The European Union responded to American steel and aluminum tariffs with its own tariffs on boats and bourbon — and pledges of more to come.

European Union leaders have been clear that they want to negotiate with the United States on trade to avoid a full-blown conflict. But with no deal in sight, officials announced a plan on Wednesday that is meant to hit back hard as steel and aluminum tariffs come into effect.

President Trump has imposed 25 percent tariffs on all global steel and aluminum imports, including products that contain those metals, such as cookware and window frames. Given that breadth, the European Union said that the U.S. levies might affect some 26 billion euros — $28 billion — of the bloc’s exports.

So the bloc announced a plan that is meant to retaliate in equal measure.

The response will come in two parts. The bloc had increased tariffs on a range of goods in retaliation to U.S. measures during Mr. Trump’s first term, but they were suspended under the Biden administration. That suspension will be allowed to lapse on April 1, increasing tariffs on billions of euros worth of products that include boats, bourbon and motorcycles.

The bloc’s second step, it said, would be to place tariffs on about €18 billion worth of additional products. Representatives from countries across Europe will consult for two weeks before officials finalize the list of affected products.

Items that have been proposed for inclusion are industrial and agricultural. They are meant to target products — including soybeans, beef and chicken — that are important exports from Republican strongholds. Those include the Louisiana district that elected Mike Johnson, the House speaker.

The goal is to have the new measures in force by mid-April.

The announcement was Europe’s opening move in an unfolding trade conflict — one that is widely expected to intensify over the month ahead.

For the bloc, the American steel and aluminum tariffs are just the start of what Mr. Trump has threatened. He has repeatedly vowed to set wide-ranging tariffs on American trading partners globally as soon as April 2. He has suggested that levies on cars in particular could be 25 percent, a figure that would be painful for German and Italian automakers.

“We’re now in this escalating spiral,” said Carsten Brzeski, the global head of macro research at the bank ING.

On the one hand, the European Union does not want to escalate the trade war. European officials have called tariffs “economically counterproductive,” warning that a tit-for-tat tariff fight would harm everyone involved.

“Tariffs are taxes,” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, said in a televised statement on Wednesday. “Jobs are at stake, prices up, nobody needs that.”

But the Trump administration has been reluctant to negotiate, which is pushing European policymakers to adopt a more aggressive stance.

“I traveled to the U.S. last month; I was seeking constructive dialogue to avoid the unnecessary pain of measures and countermeasures,” Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission’s top trade official, said during a news briefing this week. “In the end, as it is said, one hand cannot clap. The U.S. administration does not seem to be engaging to make a deal.”

E.U. leaders emphasized on Wednesday that the bloc’s response is intended to be proportionate, and Mr. Sefcovic stressed that they were avoidable “if the U.S. administration accepts our extended hand.”

Mr. Trump’s tariffs come at a tough moment for the European economy. After several years of flagging growth, businesses across the bloc are staring down the prospect of worsening trade conditions that could hurt their overseas business.

Groups representing the German steel industry, for instance, have said that the tariffs come at an “inopportune time,” when producers in the European Union are dealing with cheap competition from China.

Europe has not been caught by surprise, at least. A trade-focused group within the European Union, colloquially called the “Trump task force,” spent much of last year preparing for various trade conflict scenarios.

But it has been hard for Europeans — and other American trading partners — to decide how to respond. It is also not clear what Mr. Trump’s goals are or which ones will ultimately be retained, because his administration has made a habit of threatening and then backtracking, at least temporarily.

“It’s hard to know what is going to stick and what’s not going to stick,” said Michael Strain, the director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, which recently hosted an event with Mr. Sefcovic.

European officials have also struggled to get their American counterparts on the phone. Ms. von der Leyen has not spoken individually with Mr. Trump since his inauguration.

Asked at a news conference on Sunday when she might speak to him, she said: “We will have a personal meeting when the time is right.”

Kaja Kallas, the bloc’s chief diplomat, was supposed to meet with Marco Rubio, the American secretary of state, in Washington in late February, but Mr. Rubio canceled that meeting.

And diplomats from across the European Union and its member countries have struggled to identify whom to talk to in the Trump administration, in part from a lack of clarity about how decisions are being made.

“I do think there’s a level of consternation at the objectives of the administration,” said Jörn Fleck, senior director with the Europe Center at the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based research institution.

He said that Europe might struggle more to respond in a world in which the United States does not want to simply make a deal, but rather wants to fundamentally reorder the global trade order so that more is produced in the United States.

“Maybe there isn’t any deal to be had,” he said."" [1]

And it won't be. Enough of riding to paradise on the backs of Americans. Take your toys from Ukraine and get to work. Make something new that the world would want to buy.

1.  Europe Makes Its First Move as Trump’s Trade Fight Widens. Smialek, Jeanna.  New York Times (Online) New York Times Company. Mar 12, 2025.