419 - Try Again, But Do It Differently!

0:00Bruce Whipple:In my last video, I asked a simple question, are you missing the boat? And today I want to follow up with another question. Have you tried something before, failed, and decided it simply won't work for you? If so, you may be making the wrong decision. There's nothing wrong with trying again. Maybe you're smarter now, maybe you've learned something, maybe you have better resources, or maybe, which is often the case, your reason for succeeding is finally strong enough. But trying again does not mean blindly repeating exactly what failed before. It means coming back with better information, a better approach, and a stronger reason to keep pushing.

0:45Bruce Whipple:Let me give you a personal example. I was recently diagnosed with atrial fibrillation or AFib. AFib can be serious because it can increase the risk of blood clots and stroke. I went to the emergency room, was evaluated, and was prescribed a blood thinner to reduce my stroke risk. But I still need to see a cardiologist to determine what should be done about the AFib itself. Unfortunately, getting a medical appointment today can be difficult, particularly here in Maine. The first cardiology appointment I was offered was in February. If I would see a different cardiologist, I could have it December 24th.

1:31Bruce Whipple:That's nearly three months away. Could I have accepted that? Sure. I could have said, well, that's a healthcare system today. There's nothing I can do about it. I'll just wait. But I was not comfortable waiting that long for a cardiology review of a newly diagnosed heart condition. So I started pulling every lever I knew how to pull. I followed up. I asked questions. I looked for alternatives. I called again. And finally, I said, if you have a cancellation, please call me. There's a reason that my mentor, Dan Pena, calls me and gives me the moniker, never ask, never get. It has served me well.

2:12Bruce Whipple:The next day, they called, and they said they had a cancellation, and I was given an appointment October 1st. Instead of waiting nearly three months, I will be seeing the cardiologist in a matter of days. The point of that story is not that I'm special. The point is that when your why is strong enough, you push harder. You will make another call. You will ask another question. You will look for another route. Avoiding a stroke is a pretty strong why. At least for me it is. And what does this have to do with buying a business? Everything. Perhaps you've tried to acquire a business before and it didn't work.

2:56Bruce Whipple:Maybe sellers rejected you. Maybe a deal fell apart. Maybe you couldn't raise the capital that you needed for a down payment if you needed one. Maybe you became discouraged and stopped. If so, you are not alone. That previous failure does not prove that business acquisition doesn't work. It only proves that it didn't work for you at the time using the knowledge, resources, effort, and techniques you had then. Before you try again, answer two questions. First, does the process actually work? There's plenty of nonsense on the internet, so investigate it. Look for credible proof. You can go to my Pantheon on my website and listen to people who I've placed in the Pantheon who have done multiple deals.

3:48Bruce Whipple:And unless I've hired a collection of actors, you can actually hear directly from the people who follow the process and bought businesses. Does that mean I can guarantee that you will buy a business? Absolutely not. I do not know how hard you will work. I don't know whether you will follow the process. I don't know how well you handle rejection. I don't know whether you have the discipline to keep going when nothing seems to be happening. No honest mentor can guarantee your outcome. But if you decide that the process is real, then you must answer the second question. Why do you want to do this?

4:30Buying a business is not easy. It requires work. There will be rejection. Sellers will ignore you. Deals will fall apart. Banks will say no.

4:41Bruce Whipple:You will have days when you question whether you should continue. Your why must be strong enough to carry you through those moments. During our recent VIP Mastermind training, I read the why written by one of our mentees in the VIP Mastermind, who has just turned 21. Let me say that again. who has just turned 21. It was a fantastic why because it was not only about him, it was also about the people around him and the impact his success could have on their lives. That is the kind of why that keeps someone moving forward. Once you know the process works and understand why you want it, examine how you are executing.

5:30Bruce Whipple:30 years ago when I began this, we primarily used letters and cold calls. This will be hard for you to understand, but I didn't have an email address until 1995, but I started this before then. We didn't have an internet at that point. We didn't have today's internet databases, social media, artificial intelligence tools. Is it easier today because of that? In terms of tools, yes. The techniques have changed. The underlying principles have not. Find the right business. Reach the owners. Build trust. Put a team around you. Understand the seller's motivation. Analyze the financials and structure a workable deal based on what that seller is looking for.

6:19And keep following up. If you don't know the steps, go to brucewhipple.com and look at the Acquisition Advantage Bootcamp. It's been updated for 2026. It teaches you the process that I learned from my mentor, Dan Pena, who I met in 1993 a long time ago. And you will also have the opportunity to participate in a monthly group call I do where I answer questions. If you're truly serious and want the highest level of support and accountability I offer, look at the VIP Mastermind under the coaching options. We have two groups, Sunday and Tuesday, and there are a few spots still available in both of them, actually.

7:05You can find the details at brucewhipple.com forward slash VIP mastermind. Do not allow, please do not allow one failed attempt to become a permanent verdict on what you can accomplish. Check the process, strengthen your why, and improve your approach. then pull the lever again. I hope you take that to heart. You hope you realize that defeat is not failure unless it's accepted as that and that those defeats teach you lessons if you learn and if you impart different skills and techniques on top of those things that didn't work before that now could work. I hope that helps. Again, brucewhipple.com, you'll find all that information.

7:54But I look forward to getting to know you. And I hope if you want to do the VIP Mastermind that you send me an email letting me know that. I don't let anyone in that I don't interview. I just turn someone down for the VIP Mastermind. And that is, again, the best mentoring that I do.