Welcome to The Main Street Minute, your shortcut to small business buying and scaling.
Below, we’re giving you one of the coolest things we’ve ever made… completely free:
Yup, we nerded out hard, went a little crazy, and made you a beautifully crafted, 40+ page deep dive into everything we’re seeing right now in the small biz economy.
When we started, we asked a simple question:
What are America’s small business buyers and owners actually thinking?
We thought finding out would be a quick project.
Boy, were we wrong.
As you probably know, the SMB acquisition space is en fuego🔥. But good data on who’s actually doing it? Almost nonexistent.
So… we fixed that, with the help of our own community:
Hundreds of surveys, dozens of interviews, and 40+ pages of insights later, we ended up with one of the most detailed looks ever at Main Street business trends across acquisitions, technology, and more.
Yeah, we probably should’ve charged for this… Too late now.
Small businesses employ 46% of the workforce and create 64% of new jobs. If you care about where the real economy is headed, this is required reading.
You can grab a copy today, totally free, by clicking here:
Inside you’ll find:
📊 Real market data on SBA lending
🧠 Business buyer demand trends
🤝 Data on the ownership succession gap
🔍 An inside look at Main Street tech and AI
Down below, get a peek under the hood, in 5 charts… 👇
But first, there’s something you need to know…
If you didn’t know better, you might think it’s impossible to buy a business right now.
We get it. These days, the LinkedIn doom posts are all screaming “valuations are through the roof everywhere,” “rates are killing all deals,” and “all the good businesses are already gone.”
But we’re seeing a TOTALLY different reality inside the Contrarian Academy and across the Main Street ecosystem.
Sure, our members have to work very hard to do deals, as always, but they’re still doing deals. Right now. In this market.
Like Shon:
And Bethany:
And Matt:
…And many more where they came from.
The important thing is you understand we’ve been working with thousands of people through multiple market cycles.
Doesn’t matter; the fundamentals are the fundamentals.
When someone who believes in the power of small business ownership finally has the right tools and tactics to act on it, magic can happen.
Which is why we’re thrilled to tell you:
The doors to our virtual business buying bootcamp in June are open!
This is our multiday accelerator that walks you step-by-step through the entire small business buying process.
Sourcing
Negotiation
Due diligence
Financing
Leveraging AI
You’ll get frameworks, tools, and playbooks to execute at every stage, with experts guiding you through all of it.
If you’re looking to gain the fundamental skills to start immediately taking action toward buying a business, it’s almost like this event was designed perfectly for you in a lab.
Hope to see you there.
Now, back to that report we were telling you about…
DATA DROP
5 Pieces of Data That Caught Our Eye
1. A WHOLE lot of boomers are about to retire…
America is getting old. Fast. In 2005, about 12% of the population was at or beyond retirement age. By 2040, that number hits 22%, or nearly 78 million people.
Why does that matter for you? Many of those people own businesses. And many of them don’t have a succession plan.
See where we’re going with this? That’s an opportunity for you.
2. The SBA just broke its own lending record (again)
In fiscal year 2025, the SBA approved 78,078 loans through its 7(a) program, totaling $37.3 billion. Both all-time records. That’s an 11% jump in volume and 20% more dollars than the year before. Translation: lenders aren’t shying away from Main Street. They’re leaning in. The capital is there. The question is whether you know how to go get it.
3. We know your Google search history…
Okay, not actually. But we do know America’s. And across the board, search volumes for terms like "buy a business," "sell a business," and "business for sale" peaked in late 2025 and are still running high.
4. Wait until you see what SMBs are doing with AI
Replit told us they’ve seen 16x year-over-year growth in SMBs building on their platform. Over 70% of those users are building actual business applications. Not playing around. Building.
Custom software used to be a big company thing. Not anymore. The small business operator who figures out AI first has a massive leg up on everyone still doing things the old way. As Replit’s CEO put it: “Small businesses powered by AI will define the future of the global economy.”
We believe it.
5. Pipes, HVAC, and landscaping > apps, crypto, e-commerce
When we asked buyers what they’re targeting, home services ran away with it. HVAC, plumbing, landscaping. Otherwise known as unglamorous, unsexy, and absolutely capable of printing.
The pattern is obvious: buyers want AI-resistant and recession-resistant businesses with local demand and steady cash flow.
Hungry for more? There’s a lot more where that came from. Go grab the full report here:
Want to join our groups of thousands of smart business builders and buyers?
Get access to our live expert calls (and so much more) when you join our Contrarian Academy or Growth Boardroom.
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