Sean Smith

Last month, I bought Wild Moon Organics, an organic bone broth manufacturing company in BC, 🇨🇦. I've never owned a business before, and have 0 experience in the CPG industry. Here's a window into why I bought the company, and where I will take it from here:

@kenseals Congrats Ken!! I look forward to reading it.

Excited to announce my newsletter: Everyday Empires 🏰 Each week, I’m chatting with everyday folks building their own ventures, and sharing what I learn with you. Launching next week. Subscribe now to get a special launch surprise.

@emmett_ Wow, looks amazing and congrats Emmett!

Wedding day is today! Didn’t get a wink of sleep. Too excited to marry my best friend. Vamos!

@chuckvtt This is great to know. Thank you Chuck! Much appreciated.

Not exactly on topic but addressing the demand and infrastructure for frozen pet products. We've been feeding our cats (well one cat now😭) frozen raw food for years to their benefit. We buy Halshan raw food from a Santa Monica pet store, Halshan takes up 2 of their 7 freezers in the store. That tells me there's a market for frozen pet products. We've been to other stores who do the same with a bunch of freezers, but My Pet Naturally in Santa Monica has a nice balance of price and service.

Inquiry for people with dogs or knowledgeable about pet food: After our bone broth simmers for 42 hours and we package the broth, the byproduct is bones (either beef or chicken), bits of meat, fat, carrots, celery and various herbs and spices. We could run this through a food processor and turn it into organic dog treats, though I'm trying to get a sense of how hard I would have to work to sell these. They would likely be frozen. Is this a product that you would theoretically buy? I see tonnes of natural dog treats online, but very few frozen ones likely because of logistics, so I'm wondering if there are local markets for these. If you were me, would you just connect with a local pet food brand? Full disclosure, I have very little knowledge about this market.

@meetnichole This is helpful. Thank you Nichole!!

I'd buy broth dog treats ONLY if they were frozen. Personally, I make my dogs food and treats because I believe it should be perishable like REAL food. Most in-store foods are shelved or have weird ingredients. It's the only reason I don't buy them. Plus, my dog loves broth. I put it on her food when she rebels her food. A treat would save me some time.

@avitalforce @meetnichole You two are hired to run the marketing!

@meetnichole @SeanSmithBC For sure, right :) Would be incredibly handy to be able to pull one or two out at a time from the freezer. Adding a little warm water on a chilly day would make a lovely stew-like dinner for doggo.

@avitalforce The toppers bit is an interesting idea. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts!

@SeanSmithBC You’re very welcome ☺️ I’ve seen a lot of frozen dog food treats here in Ireland & UK in the pet stores, so it’s definitely something that works. You could also market them as ‘toppers’ to defrost and add to kibble or main feeds.

@EyeforRetail_ A good suggestion! I really should get a commercial dehydrator, even if it's just for product testing.

@SeanSmithBC I haven't had experience in dog treats, but I expect you could combine the ingredients and create a dehydrated product sold in a stand up pouch.

@avitalforce Great feedback, thank you!!

@SeanSmithBC As a person obsessed with dogs and their food I’m going to say yes. But with a caveat: Regarding the bones-these would have to be ground to dust. Raw bones are perfectly fine to feed to dogs. Cooked bones not so because they splinter easily and could cause internal damage.

@GaucherAndrew @BizBuySell Hahaha, I've penciled down your name Andrew. DM incoming, would love to connect to learn about what you are doing in RE as well!

@SeanSmithBC @BizBuySell Super cool. I’ve had this years ago from Natures Fare. I would be first to subscribe!

Last month, I bought Wild Moon Organics, an organic bone broth manufacturing company in BC, 🇨🇦. I've never owned a business before, and have 0 experience in the CPG industry. Here's a window into why I bought the company, and where I will take it from here:

@SeanSmithBC You and me baby. I'm planning on renting a brush hog this fall to do some clearing work. Can't wait!

A simple mistake that most working professionals make: Not outsourcing enough of their household chores. Most if not all of us were raised to take care of our own spaces and belongings. This is good. This served us well, to a point. That point being after establishing yourself as a professional, usually with a family. You're earning well, you're providing, and yet, you're doing work inside of your own home that you'd never do outside for the prevailing market wage. Why? Usually because we've attached some type of value judgement to the completion of these tasks. Letting go of that thinking and investing in these services will improve your quality of life so significantly, you'll be shocked. Start small. Housekeeping, landscaping, etc. Hire a chef to meal prep (@girdley put me on to this one). Eventually graduate to daily household help. The benefits for me and my family have been awesome: - no more keeping score on who's done what and when - no more low energy bed time with the kids - way more free time for my wife and I to hang out, alone on a daily basis - actual time to rest, relax and recharge before getting back to the grind of what we do to earn a living If you're a high performer making good money, pull the trigger and start buying your time back! Part 2 will be on all the mistakes I've made and what I've learned along the way.

Generally, it's when we feel the GPs are overly optimistic about their cap rate and interest rate assumptions in order to show a reasonable return. In Canada multi-family, we feel pretty good about rent growth, so we are funding deals that pencil with conservative #'s, with the upside coming from rent growth potential.

@SeanSmithBC What are the most common reasons your team is rejecting deals these days?

One big takeaway from an event with our LPs last night. Investors love to know how many deals are being rejected and why. It's much easier to raise money for the deal on the table when people know you've passed on the 32 previous opportunities and why this one is different.

@khzny Hahaha, I'm with you my friend! I renew next month.

In Canada, traditionally, nearly every mortgage is a 5 year mortgage. I purchased a home in mid-2018 and just renewed my mortgage today (3 year fixed @ 5.34%) Impeccable timing.

@adamislucky Haha, fair point! The toe is a different colour and material, so it doesn't shine up quite the same way.

@SeanSmithBC My only critique is that if you're going to floss, floss hard. Those puppies are bit too worn in the toe cap.

Off to an event with our LP clients. Is my shoe game on point, or am I trying too hard? I'll take the heat, so lay it on me.

@kryzk1 I don't know exactly where that spot is, but I have a great wife who reminds me when I'm too far off-balance.

It’s incredible how hard entrepreneurs are on themselves. But you can’t argue with the results. Despite being a year behind, I’m still slightly in front of the market. Perhaps at the cost of a lot of personal satisfaction. Where do you find the balance between celebration and drive? Acceptance and frustration?

@royceard Hahah, never done it, but that sounds fun!!

@SeanSmithBC Just roll them down the middle. Nothing like the business/bowling meeting