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Selling Your Business? Don’t Get Screwed (Financially or Existentially)

The Liquid Lunch Project

Release Date: 10/01/2025

Debt, Tariffs, and the Truth About Today’s Global Economy show art Debt, Tariffs, and the Truth About Today’s Global Economy

The Liquid Lunch Project

What happens when a grown-up economist says the quiet part out loud: the U.S. is acting like it can break the rules forever? Andrés Velasco joins Matt and Luigi for a sharp, no-spin talk on debt, tariffs, copper, central banks, globalization, and why countries that treat boom times like a Vegas weekend usually end up crying in the shower. From Chile’s “save it, don’t blow it” playbook to America’s very expensive habit of pretending deficits don’t matter, this episode puts real-world economics back in plain English. 🍸 Episode Highlights: Latin America is doing better than the...

info_outline How Story-Driven Growth Helps Small Businesses Scale show art How Story-Driven Growth Helps Small Businesses Scale

The Liquid Lunch Project

What if the thing you’ve been calling “branding” is actually the backbone of your business? Dan Grech joins Matt and Luigi to make the case that a founder’s story is not decoration, not nice-to-have, and not something you slap on a homepage after the real work is done. It’s the thing that holds the whole machine together. From getting fired out of journalism to building BizHack Academy, Dan breaks down how story drives revenue, hiring, trust, and the ability to keep going when business gets ugly. 🍸 Key Highlights: Getting fired pushed Dan into business. Most founders are...

info_outline IRS Audits: What Business Owners Get Wrong show art IRS Audits: What Business Owners Get Wrong

The Liquid Lunch Project

You think the IRS is scary? Cool. Now imagine TikTok is your tax attorney. Pietro E. Canestrelli (JD, LL.M.) jumps in to kill the “one weird trick” tax myths and explain how people actually get wrecked: audits, missing returns, bad CPA advice, and the quiet fact that you’re the one holding the bag. 🍸 What you'll hear in this episode: TikTok “tax hacks” are basically a DIY fraud starter kit. “Register it in Nevada” is not clever. It’s a trap. “Everyone should be an S-Corp” is lazy advice. Period. If the IRS says they don’t have your return… it’s not filed. ...

info_outline What Actually Wins When Business Gets Hard: March Madness Edition show art What Actually Wins When Business Gets Hard: March Madness Edition

The Liquid Lunch Project

It’s March. Everyone’s arguing about brackets. So we built one for business. But instead of basketball teams, we’re matching up what founders lean on when things get real: Discipline vs. motivation. Vision vs. execution Speed vs. strategy. Branding vs. operations. Because when revenue dips and momentum stalls, you don’t get to rely on everything. You lean somewhere. This episode is a pressure test.  What actually survives when your business hits a slump? 🏀 This one covers: Why motivation fades in long seasons Why discipline carries weight when things get quiet The...

info_outline Why Some Brains Don’t Fit School show art Why Some Brains Don’t Fit School

The Liquid Lunch Project

Some people are not bad at learning. They were just trained inside the wrong system. Russell Van Brocklen joins Matt and Luigi for a conversation that starts with dyslexia but quickly turns into something much bigger: how highly capable people get mislabeled, misunderstood, and boxed into models that do not match how their brains actually work. If you run a business, manage people, or have ever felt like you think differently than the world expects, this episode will feel strangely familiar. Inside this episode: Why dyslexics often function as specialists, not generalists How traditional...

info_outline Why Trades Businesses Are Losing Jobs Online show art Why Trades Businesses Are Losing Jobs Online

The Liquid Lunch Project

Your Website Is Dead. You Just Haven’t Checked the Pulse. Contractors love tools. But hate marketing. And that’s exactly why they’re losing jobs in 2026. If you’re an HVAC company, plumber, electrician, or builder still treating your website like a digital brochure… you’re invisible. Wes Towers, founder of Uplift 360, joins us to talk contractor marketing, local SEO, and why most trades businesses wait until work dries up before they panic. This one isn’t about “branding.” It’s about survival. 🍸 What we hit on: Why contractors avoid marketing when business is good ...

info_outline The Overlooked Real Estate Asset That Investors Misjudge show art The Overlooked Real Estate Asset That Investors Misjudge

The Liquid Lunch Project

What if the investment you’ve been ignoring is ignoring recessions, too? Stocks are floating at all-time highs. Everyone’s calm. That’s usually when things get weird. Matt opens this episode with a blunt take: when the market turns, investors don’t get creative. They panic into real estate. The problem? Most people only know one version of it. So we brought on Matthias Gruenwald, a former German corporate exec who quietly built a real estate business around mobile home parks, the asset class most investors joke about and then completely misunderstand. This isn’t a hype episode....

info_outline Trump Wants to Cap Rates, Florida Wants $50K to Let You In show art Trump Wants to Cap Rates, Florida Wants $50K to Let You In

The Liquid Lunch Project

What happens when politics, credit cards, housing markets, and Florida border tolls all walk into one podcast? 🍸 In this episode, Matthew and Luigi attempt to make sense of: Trump’s credit card rate cap Inflation versus liquidity Housing incentives and “portable mortgages” A bizarre Florida “toll tax” Small business tax realities Tell us: Should the government cap interest or shut the hell up? DM us or scream into the comments. 🔔 Enjoyed the episode? Subscribe so you don’t miss future conversations on business growth, funding, strategy, and the stuff most people...

info_outline Masterminds, Time Traps, & What Entrepreneurs Get Wrong About Growth show art Masterminds, Time Traps, & What Entrepreneurs Get Wrong About Growth

The Liquid Lunch Project

If your business falls apart when you leave for vacation, congrats. You built a trap, not a company. This episode isn't another cheerleading session for overworked founders. Jake Isaacs joins Matt and Luigi to rip into why most entrepreneurs are exhausted, isolated, and low-key addicted to chaos.  From building real communities to training kids for capitalism early, Jake lays out how Gathering the Kings is more than a buzzword mastermind; it’s a system for staying sane.   🍸 What you'll hear in this episode: Why most entrepreneurs are the misunderstood “weirdos” of their...

info_outline How 40,000 Entrepreneurs Took Back Control of Their Time show art How 40,000 Entrepreneurs Took Back Control of Their Time

The Liquid Lunch Project

Question: What do you want to do with your life? If your planner doesn't have an answer, you're doing it wrong. This week on The Liquid Lunch Project, Matt & Luigi sit down with Jason VanDevere, founder of Goal Crazy Planners and author of Dream Driven, to talk about time, discipline, and why the old-school paper planner might be the ultimate productivity hack for entrepreneurs. Jason went from turning down the family empire (think: 5 car dealerships) to building his own path around purpose, passion, and parenting, all without losing his damn mind. 🍸 What you'll hear in this episode: ...

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More Episodes

What if "retirement" is a trap, and what you really want is to graduate into something bigger?

In this episode, Matt and Lou sit down with Eric Brotman, CEO of BFG Financial Advisors, to blow up old ideas about retirement, wealth, and what business owners should actually be doing today so they’re ready for the future (whatever that looks like). Eric shares his start‑up origin story, explains how to grow a financial advisory firm that actually serves clients well, and gives a roadmap to exit planning that doesn’t leave you miserable.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

  • How Eric built BFG from one full‑time + one part‑time employee into a firm managing nearly $1B across 37 states, without selling out. (Startup → scale)

  • Why “retirement” is obsolete: Eric argues business owners should think about graduating instead.

  • Generational money attitudes: how Millennials are wired for the side hustle; Gen Z hates being sold to, they want advice.

  • The importance of accountability, behavior, and psychology (not just numbers) in financial planning.

  • Exit planning is not just about selling high. It’s about knowing your number, building your team, and preparing your life after the deal.

  • How tying nearly all your wealth to your business is risky. Diversification isn’t just for Wall Street folks.

  • The internal structure: salaried advisors, two advisors per client, young talent & apprenticeships. A firm built for sustainability, not churning.

 

Favorite Quote:
“The business is… sometimes their only asset. And you are immediately under-diversified if 70 or 80 or 90% of your net worth is tied up in your business.”

 

Who is Eric?
Eric D. Brotman is the founder & CEO of BFG Financial Advisors. He bootstrapped the firm over 20 years ago and now leads a wealth‑management & financial planning business with clients in dozens of states. He’s the author of Don’t Retire… Graduate!, and builds financial advice around people, not just numbers.

 

Why you should listen:

Don’t wait until you have to plan your exit. Hit play now to get strategies that move you from “just working” to building wealth you can use,  and a legacy you’ll be proud of. If you own a business, this episode might save you years of regret (and dollars).

 

Connect with Eric:

 

📞 Want help prepping your business for growth or sale?
Hit us up at https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/call-with-credit-banc-pod


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Connect with us on Instagram:
➡️ @matthew.r.meehan
➡️ @luigi_rosabianca,
➡️ https://www.instagram.com/theliquidlunchproject/