605 – Finding the Right Small Business
The How of Business - How to start, run, grow and exit a small business.
Henry Lopez, Levante Business Group
4.7 • 522 Ratings
🗓️ 27 April 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
How to find the right business by evaluating whether to buy, build, or franchise while aligning with your finances, goals, and mindset.
Show Notes Page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/605-finding-the-right-small-business/
Choosing the right business is one of the most critical decisions an entrepreneur will ever make, and getting it wrong can cost years of time, money, and energy. In this roundtable discussion, Henry Lopez is joined by Giuseppe Grammatico, Rocky Lalvani, and David Barnett to break down how to approach finding the right business opportunity.
The conversation explores the key paths available to aspiring business owners - starting from scratch, buying an existing business, or investing in a franchise - and the pros and cons of each approach. The group emphasizes that before evaluating any opportunity, entrepreneurs must first shift their mindset and understand what it truly means to become a business owner.
Financial readiness is a major theme throughout this roundtable discussion. From understanding cash flow realities to avoiding unrealistic expectations about early profits, the panel highlights why having the right financial foundation is essential. They also dive into common mistakes buyers make during due diligence, including misinterpreting financial statements, overlooking hidden risks, and failing to validate assumptions.
A key takeaway from this conversation is the importance of aligning the business with your personal goals, lifestyle expectations, and tolerance for risk.
As Henry shares: "Be careful not to fall in love with the business before you finish the due diligence."
This episode sets the foundation for the rest of the series by helping you think critically about how to choose the right business and avoid costly mistakes early in the process.
This episode is hosted by Henry Lopez. The How of Business podcast focuses on helping you start, run, grow and exit your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, small business coaching, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the How of Business with your host, Henry Lopez, the podcast that helps you start, |
| 0:05.9 | run, and grow your small business. And now, here is your host. |
| 0:13.1 | Welcome to the How of Business podcast. This is Henry Lopez. And this episode is a special |
| 0:18.0 | roundtable conversation with three trusted friends and fellow |
| 0:21.9 | small business experts. Giuseppe Gramatico, the franchise guide, and my trusted advisor for |
| 0:27.9 | everything franchises, Rocky Lalvani and David Barnett. All three of them are also small business |
| 0:33.9 | podcasters. I've had the privilege of being on their podcasts, and they have all been |
| 0:38.2 | guests on the Hawa Business Podcast. And in this first part of a three-part series, we're tackling one of the |
| 0:44.2 | most important and often overwhelming stages of entrepreneurship, finding the right business. |
| 0:50.0 | Should you start from scratch, buy an existing business, or invest in a franchise? And just as importantly, |
| 0:56.4 | how do you know what's the right fit for you? We break down the practical, financial, and mindset |
| 1:02.8 | considerations that you need to think through before you make that leap, because the right decision |
| 1:08.5 | here and deciding on a business for you sets the foundation for |
| 1:13.4 | everything that follows. Welcome, everyone. We have a very exciting show for you today. We are going to |
| 1:18.5 | cover the three phases of entrepreneurship. My name is Giuseppe Gramatica, host of the Franchise |
| 1:23.6 | Freedom podcast, and I wanted to introduce our guests and my good friends. |
| 1:28.2 | Glad to be here. This is Henry Lopez, and I'm the host of the Hawa Business Podcast and an entrepreneur. |
| 1:33.4 | Hey, I'm David Barnett, and I've been talking about buying and selling small and medium-sized |
| 1:37.8 | businesses now for over 11 years on YouTube. I've got a bunch of books that I've written, |
| 1:41.2 | and I work with people every day, helping them to analyze deals |
| 1:44.3 | and hopefully avoiding mistakes. I'm Rocky Lalavani, host of the Profit Answer Man podcast. We work with |
| 1:51.2 | seven and eight figure business owners helping them to scale and grow their profit and cash flow. |
... |
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