Hey Scott--I hope I didn't come across as to diss or disrespect. That wasn't it at all. On paper, and from a traditional business perspective, it seems like a very interesting deal. Someone like Robert Kiyosaki might give it the big thumbs up. And when you see his portfolio, it's difficult to argue with his level of success.

The only thing I was trying to express is that it isn't how I roll; I just don't do well with the concept of debt on a personal level. At all. I just don't like risk. I rarely take chances unless I am confident of the outcome (in my favor), and this is only magnified relative to finances and my ability to support my family. It screws with my head, which ultimately affects my happiness and the quality of life for my family. If I could play the last 4 years of my life over again--I would have rented a place down here until I got tenure and had the ability to buy a house in cash. (Or--I would have bought a smaller place out in the county in cash outright.) Looking back, had I chosen this path--I expect that our quality of life would have been better. Instead, I'm chained to a house that I really don't like all that much. For the next 27 to 26 years of my life. And my wife, who wants nothing more than to be the best SAHM she can be, has to (at least in the short term) find supplemental sources of income. (We're over-funding the house payment to try and cut the loan's time in half.) In short, what resonates with me emotionally is that debt robs choice. The borrower is slave to the lender. So that's the cornerstone of my world view.

And a good example is straight out of my own life. The way I designed our move from the north to the south was textbook and relatively conservative pop-culture-finance. We had a cash offer on our house that resulted in a massive profit. And plans were made accordingly. Until it began to fall apart. My plans were based on theory, and nothing more. So after having a massive fear instilled in me, along with true (Dave Ramsey) fiscal conservatism... that's where I got where I got.

Another issue is the whole Dave Ramsey perspective. I first heard the guy when we moved down here--and at first, I thought he was nutty. His perspective didn't make sense. No credit cards; no credit (period); screw FICO; no debt; pay off debts from smallest to largest (rather than by interest); etc... Stuff that's just counter-culture in even conservative pop-economic theory. But I liked the topic, so I kept listening. And over the past year or two, I think I've drunk his purple flavor aid. What he says makes emotional sense to me now. And (I think) he has some pretty strong arguments relative to Biblical support. Now I take a look at pop-culture-finance, and I shake my head at it. It just doesn't make sense to me anymore. That's not to say that it doesn't work--it may or may not. It just doesn't make sense to me on an emotional level.

Perhaps that's the biggest thing that I think I've learned over the past 2 years. Finances isn't math. Finances are emotions. Math is just the symptom or consequence. (Sorry, Matt.)

But I digress. My pathologies only apply to me. Not to you, your family, or your bi'niss.

If you can get this deal done w/o a loan, I'd say that's a pretty neat trick . The things that might concern me are (a) going into partnerships (b) with family (c) in a depressed market. Dave makes a pretty strong argument against the use of partnerships--simply because they rarely seem to work out well. And as far as receiving familial support--his argument would likely be that Thanksgiving Dinner just doesn't taste the same under such circumstances. Money deals gone bad wrecks relationships. (My wife being a perfect example.) Further, dealing with family seems to have other potential side effects, of which I've seen that on a personal level. Court and I are largely independent from our families, as a function of who we are and (more importantly) the distance. My other brothers continue to get support from both of their families (parents & in-laws)...and I've seen them secretly resent it. They take the stuff (fiscal support, including cars, et al.), but on a certain level, they both resent and are exhausted with the situation. (Although--I readily admit that I am likely more sensitive to family and money issues than most--second to my in-laws. Money nearly wrecked that relationship, so I've got a learned taste aversion on the whole concept.) Finally--the concept of going into a sole proprietorship in the face of a lean economic period seems like an uphill battle.

It seems like this particular situation is more emotional than financial for the owners, and this puts you in a great position, I would think. Any chance they could be swoon by a powerful presentation to let you run the shop (and assume the expenses)? See if it's really what you want? (Learn the trade w/o the risk.) They would get a cut of the profits, which went towards the purchase price? Almost like leasing the business with an option to buy. (This kind of deal goes down all the time in real estate. I wonder if they'd bite for a brick and mortar.)

My final concern being the quality of life for a sole proprietor. Few things in life are more stressful. If there is food on the table, it is because you went out, killed something, and drug it home. And if health was an original concern with the prior job, I wonder if running a small business is an improvement upon the last gig?

In any event--I love seeing all you guys succeed and surpass my meager levels of earthly success. And anyone that's got the brass to put themselves out there and take these types of risks--I just respect the crap out of them. My views are admittedly hyper-conservative and warped, and thus may offer limited validity. Robert Kiyosaki wrote a column a while back that essentially said that fear is perhaps the single biggest predicting variable between those who are and are not fiscally successful. (Based on his operational definition of success.) And he makes a great point--I'm never going to reach that level of success, because I'll never take those kinds of risks.