Tomorrow’s Fortune

Welcome to the action-packed newsletter designed to help you navigate the world of business and investing. If you missed last week’s post, check it out here. 😎 

Today’s Digest: 

• Business Affordability Rule: Let’s break down what kind of cash flowing business you can afford to buy based on your income

• What’s Happening in the Markets? Shi**y jobs report, Meta Crushes Earnings, Marvel’s Fantastic Four’s Fantastic Box Office and Figma’s new swag

• Wanna Buy a Business? We found a cash flowing Tiny Home Community + Storage Unit in Texas ($290K of Cash Flow). Click HERE for the listing

TOP STORY

What Kind of Business Can You Actually Afford?

Let’s say you’re earning $200K a year. Solid W-2 income, maybe a nice bonus here and there, and you’re starting to wonder if it’s time to become an entrepreneur

Well, you can either start a business or buy one…

Here’s the good news: you don’t need millions in the bank to buy a profitable, cash-flowing business. You just need one number burned into your brain:

The 20% Rule

This is the framework private equity folks quietly use when they’re buying with someone else’s money. Here's how to do it for yourself:

1. Save 20% of your income
   → That’s $40,000 in cash. Ideally in a high-yield savings account or a brokerage.

2. Put 20% down on a business
   → SBA loans cover the other 80%. This is your leverage—government-backed.

3. You can afford 5x your down payment
   → With $40K down, you can afford to buy a $200,000 business.

But What Does That Actually Buy?

Here’s where theory meets the real world.

💡 Live Deal Example:

• A pressure washing and soft wash company in the Southeast

• Asking Price: $195,000

• Cash Flow (SDE): ~$90,000

• Includes: Truck, trailer, gear, and 300+ five-star Google reviews

• SBA Eligible: ✅

This isn’t a side hustle. This is a full-time, cash-flowing small business with 50%+ margins. Run a crew, manage the marketing, and take home $90K while building an asset that appreciates.

Let’s Run the Numbers

• $40K down

• SBA loan for $155K

• ~$90K/year in earnings

• Monthly SBA loan payments around ~$1,800

• Net profit after debt service? Around $65K/year

That’s your down payment working harder than any index fund. And you’re the boss now.

Why It Works… aka why is this a cheat code

✅ Low CapEx, High Margin
→ You’re not building software. You’re power washing driveways. Customers pay fast. Ops are simple.

✅ Recession-Resilient
→ People don’t want dirty houses. And commercial accounts want reliable vendors.

✅ Tax Benefits
→ You now control a legal entity. Responsibly and legally, write off your truck, phone, equipment, even a home office (if they’re used for business purposes).

✅ Equity Upside
→ Grow it, hire a crew, and eventually step back—or flip it in 3–5 years for 2x.

Bottom Line

If you’re making $200K a year and have the discipline to save $40K, you don’t need a boss—you need a business.

This isn’t a fantasy. This is what smart people are doing with their savings in 2025.

And if you're still thinking about "starting something from scratch"...

Just remember… someone already built it. You can buy it.

I dive into three examples of my friends making $50k, $500k and $5M to show what kind of business they can afford in our latest YouTube video!

Find other cool videos on my channel HERE (👈 Click)

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE MARKETS?

• U.S. Jobs Report Misses Again – Just 73K Jobs Added in July

  Nonfarm payrolls grew by just 73,000 in July, falling well short of already-muted expectations. To make matters worse, prior months were revised downward by a combined 258,000 jobs, intensifying concern about a weakening labor market.

  Nearly all of July’s gains came from health care and social assistance, which accounted for 94% of new jobs—suggesting broader sectors are stagnating or in contraction. The miss and revisions add weight to growing consensus that the Fed will cut rates in September, especially with disinflation continuing and consumer demand softening.

  Investor Take:
  This is the third consecutive month of labor market disappointment. While equities may cheer a dovish Fed pivot, the structural weakness outside of health care implies corporate earnings—and forward hiring intentions—may remain under pressure into Q4. Stay underweight cyclical labor-sensitive sectors.

• Meta Surges 10% on Blowout Revenue and Upward Guidance

  Meta delivered a second-quarter earnings beat and raised Q3 revenue guidance to a range of $47.5B–$50.5B, well above consensus at $46.1B. Shares jumped 10% on the news, pushing the stock to new 2025 highs.

  What’s fueling the optimism? Meta’s ad business continues to reaccelerate, with Reels monetization closing the gap on Stories, and the company is doubling down on AI investment with capital expenditures now projected between $66B and $72B for the year—up from previous lows of $64B.

  Investor Take:
  Meta is executing the rare feat of accelerating topline growth while expanding capex—a signal of conviction in its LLM and ad targeting capabilities. For long-only tech allocators, Meta is firmly back in leadership position alongside Nvidia and Microsoft in the AI arms race. That said, the capex lift is steep—watch for compression in free cash flow margins in Q4.

• Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps Opens to $118M Domestically

  Marvel’s latest installment opened to $118M domestic, with a global haul of $218M in its debut weekend—marking the strongest MCU opening since 2023. Powered by positive fan reception (88% on Rotten Tomatoes), Fantastic Four: First Steps gives Disney’s studio arm a much-needed win amid a stretch of franchise fatigue and box office misses.

  The international number—$100M—was especially encouraging, suggesting the brand retains strong overseas pull despite criticism that Marvel fatigue had set in post-Endgame.

  Investor Take:
  With ESPN+ and theme parks stabilizing, Disney needs consistent wins from its content engine. This result is promising—but the next two quarters will show whether Marvel’s flywheel is truly spinning again or this was a one-off fueled by nostalgia and first-mover curiosity. Watch Disney’s Q3 content amortization disclosures.

• Figma Pops 5% on Day Two After IPO Triples on Debut

  Design software company Figma is now the latest breakout from the IPO desert. After tripling in its first day, the stock rose another 5% on day two, continuing its momentum under the ticker FIG on the NYSE.

  Figma’s successful offering marks a rare bright spot in the battered public tech market, with strong institutional demand despite the still-nascent recovery in enterprise SaaS multiples. Its collaboration-native positioning and FCF-positive profile helped drive IPO enthusiasm.

  Investor Take:
  The IPO market may be thawing. If Figma’s valuation holds over the next 30 days, expect pent-up unicorns (Databricks, Stripe, Rippling) to accelerate their timelines. For crossover and growth equity investors, this is a signal: liquidity optionality is back on the table. Watch closely how FIG trades through lock-up expiration.

SO YOU WANT TO BUY A BUSINESS… 🏦

Deal of the Week: Tiny Home & Storage Facility (9.2% Cap Rate) – Asking $2,300,000

Opportunity Overview

Just off Highway 380 in unincorporated Wise County sits 380 Eagle’s Nest—a 3.74-acre, cash-flowing real estate asset blending alternative housing with passive storage income. With 16 custom-built tiny homes, 50 storage units, and coin laundry generating a combined $290K in gross revenue, the property nets $211K/year at a 9.18% cap rate.

Unlike many hospitality assets, this one operates with minimal staffing, low annual expenses (~$80K), and no municipal zoning restrictions, making it a rare find in the Texas housing corridor.

This isn’t glamping—it’s workforce housing with durable demand and an embedded self-storage business for yield insulation.

Cash Flow and Profitability

At $2.3M, the asset trades on a 9.18% cap rate—strong even before considering value-add levers. The reported $290,640 in revenue is almost entirely converted into net income, thanks to:

• Minimal OpEx: Utilities, taxes, maintenance, and insurance total just $79.5K annually.

• Pre-furnished utilities: Homes are plumbed and powered, but unfurnished, creating opportunity to reposition for STR or premium rent.

• Storage rents ranging from $50 to $900/month with vehicle parking upsell.

• Laundry income from coin-operated Speed Queen units on site.

The homes offer 392 sq ft of full-kitchen living space—ideal for blue-collar tenants, traveling nurses, or digital nomads.

What We Like

1. High Cap Rate + Clean Cost Structure
A 9.18% cap rate in a region with DFW spillover is rare. With low OpEx and no staffing costs, this is a true yield vehicle. The SDE margin is ~73%, putting it in the same echelon as top-tier self-storage or RV parks.

2. Strategic Zoning Arbitrage
The site sits in unincorporated Wise County, giving new ownership zoning flexibility to expand, reconfigure, or add mixed-use units without jumping through city approvals.

3. Built-In Upside via Repositioning
Homes are currently long-term unfurnished rentals. Converting some to furnished STRs or workforce housing partnerships (e.g., hospitals, industrial parks) could lift rents meaningfully. Storage pricing also looks under-optimized.

4. Location Tailwinds
Highway 380 is a critical east-west artery into DFW. As the metroplex sprawls westward, areas like Decatur are becoming commuter zones, driving housing and storage demand upward.

5. Low Touch Ownership
With no staff, no retail tenants, and mostly automated revenue, the asset functions as a hybrid between residential and self-storage—two of the highest-margin asset classes in real estate.

What We Don’t Like

1. No Established Operating History
The listing doesn’t specify the age of the operation. Without multiple years of trailing financials, it's difficult to assess seasonality, occupancy volatility, or market sensitivity.

2. Limited Scale
At just 16 units, vacancy swings (or turnover issues) can materially impact cash flow. It’s a solid base—but not yet a scalable platform.

3. Furnishing + STR Transition Cost
If a buyer plans to shift units into STR or mid-term rental use, there will be upfront costs for furnishing, design, and marketing infrastructure.

4. Capex Uncertainty
No mention of HVAC, roofing, or site infrastructure maintenance history. Tiny homes can have unique wear-and-tear issues over time (e.g., plumbing, HVAC in compact spaces).

5. Asset Concentration
Storage income is supplemental (~20%), but the bulk of NOI still comes from the homes. This makes it a single-asset yield play, not a diversified storage portfolio.

Key Questions for Diligence

What is the average occupancy and turnover rate for the tiny homes?
High occupancy is great—but if tenants churn frequently or fail to renew, that affects stability and net margins.

What is the current rent roll breakdown?
Understanding revenue by unit type (homes vs storage vs laundry) is essential to model operational leverage and downside risk.

What are the local comps for furnished STRs or workforce housing?
If repositioning is part of the thesis, you’ll need data on ADRs and occupancy for similar units nearby.

What permitting or zoning restrictions exist (if any)?
Even in unincorporated areas, health or fire codes may impact storage expansion or unit count increases.

What is the average monthly OpEx per tiny home?
To assess sustainability, break down utilities, maintenance, and taxes on a per-unit basis.

Are there deferred maintenance or infrastructure issues?
Electrical, septic, and HVAC systems should be closely evaluated—especially with multiple dwellings drawing on shared resources.

Bottom Line

Tiny homes + storage + laundry = high-margin yield trifecta—especially in a no-zoning jurisdiction just outside a major metro area. For investors looking to hedge inflation, diversify away from tenant-heavy rentals, or build a yield-focused real estate portfolio, 380 Eagle’s Nest offers both income and optionality.

Think of it like a REIT asset—just one you can own 100% of.

This newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. The content is based on publicly available information, and the author makes no representations about its accuracy or completeness. Readers should conduct their own research before making any investment decisions.