BrighterDaze with Sara

Ep. 8: Bryant “The Broker, Builder & Family Man” Sells | Entrepreneurship, Gratitude & Knowing When to Pivot

• Sara Dorris • Season 1 • Episode 8

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What does it really look like to build a life — not just a business? In this episode of BrighterDaze with Sara, Sara sits down with Bryant Sells, a business broker, entrepreneur, husband, and father, for a raw and refreshing conversation about ambition, balance, and what it means to succeed on your own terms.

Bryant gets honest about the season he's in — one defined by intentional building across every area of his life. From the loneliness that can come with entrepreneurship to the emotional weight of a struggling business, he doesn't shy away from the hard stuff. Together, Sara and Bryant explore why having an exit strategy isn't giving up, why closing one chapter can be the boldest move a business owner makes, and how gratitude can be a game-changer when the pressure is high.

If you've ever felt stuck, stretched thin, or like you're constantly chasing a version of success that keeps moving — this one's for you. Bryant's perspective is a reminder that resilience isn't about grinding harder. It's about knowing what matters, and refusing to lose yourself in the pursuit of it.



 Follow BrighterDaze with Sara on Facebook, Instagram & TikTok @brighterdazepodcast, or email ask4brighterdaze@gmail.com to share your own brighter days. 

Sara D.:

Welcome to BrighterDaze with Sara. This is a space where we get lost in gratitude instead of drowning in despair. I'm your host, Sara Dorris, and here we talk to people. We celebrate the victories, and we talk about resilience, gratitude, and daily life motivators. And today, y'all, I am very excited. We have someone who I worked with back in the day at the movie theater when I was, like, 18, 16, 17, 18, one of them years, something like that. But yeah, we worked together, and I wanted to bring him on because he was always someone who just seemed like he did his own thing, and he was always very, I don't wanna say inspirational, but he was always very together, and he was always someone who I felt like was gonna be somebody. Like, very driven to do whatever interests him, and just smart and kind, and just an all-around great guy. And this week's guest is Bryant Sells. So welcome, Bryant. I'm really glad to have you here, and I can't wait to have this conversation.

Bryant Sells:

Thank you, Sara. Uh, it's a pleasure to be here, and I appreciate those kind words on the intro.

Sara D.:

Yeah, yeah. I mean it. So how are you doing today? What's your, what's your Sunday? Yeah, what's your Sunday like?

Bryant Sells:

Uh, you know, we went out to a park with, uh, my son. My wife and I did. We were supposed to go to a pool party with a friend. That got kinda canceled, but, uh, still turned out to be a good day. So spent a little time outside.

Sara D.:

That's good. That's good. Yeah, today me and my wife, we went to see, uh, I love boosters, but I was up late last night working on stuff, so I was exhausted, so like I would go to sleep and then wake up and then go to sleep and then wake up.

Bryant Sells:

Mm.

Sara D.:

I know, which is crazy 'cause who's sleeping in a movie theater? But apparently I've reached that age. Ugh.

Bryant Sells:

I, I do that all the time. We saw that Michael Jackson movie. My wife had to elbow me several times. That's why we don't go to the movies.

Sara D.:

I mean, with all these streaming services, it's not necessary anymore.

Bryant Sells:

Yeah, I get… I mean, not to get too much up on a tangent, but it's like, now it's like, oh, you gotta have Peacock, you gotta have Netflix, you gotta have HBO Max, you gotta have, you know, this and that and Hulu, and I'm like, "Dude, I'm not paying a monthly thing." Like, and now it's like the content, you never own it anyway, you know? So it's like I gotta keep paying you, and then you can just take it away from me at any time. Like, I never get a physical copy of anything. Like, you know, I don't know. But that's another, another, uh, conversation about my gripes with the, uh, media companies.

Sara D.:

Yeah. I'm not gonna lead this on, go longer 'cause I can go on about how we don't own things. But, um- Mm-hmm … okay, so let's get back to Brighter Daze. Um- Mm-hmm … when someone asks you who you are, what do you hope they see?

Bryant Sells:

Uh That's a tough question. I would say if somebody, when somebody asks me who I am, I would hope they see a, uh, I mean, these days, a family man. I, I would hope they would see a hard worker, somebody who is honest, somebody who, uh trustworthy. Um, these are ideals that I certainly strive for, that I don't always achieve, I feel like. Uh, I do feel like I, like a lot of people, am hard on myself, you know, with certain things. But, um, that's, I guess, what I would summarize what I would hope they would see. Family man, hard worker, honest person, you know, just somebody they can trust and build a relationship with.

Sara D.:

Check, check, check, check, check, check, check. Mm-hmm. Um, that's exactly how I would describe you. Um, okay. So how about life right now? What current chapter of life are you in? I know you recently, not too long ago, had your son, and I don't know, you got a lot going on, so what would you feel like, what chapter of life would you say you're in?

Bryant Sells:

Uh, I would say I'm in a, uh, a building chapter, building a family, trying to build a career. Um, building, continuing to build, which is something that's forever building. You know, marriage, relationship. But if I had to summarize it, I would say a, a chapter of building and, and cementing the roots that are gonna support me through the, the second and third periods of my life

Sara D.:

Okay, so you say you're in the building phase. What does building look like on a day-to-day for you?

Bryant Sells:

Um, building, I mean, for the family it's, it's a lot of work just taking care of my son and we're hoping, hopeful to have a couple more, maybe one or two more kids. So I mean, that's one portion of it. The career side building looks like a lot of networking, a lot of, well, just say what I do. I'm a business broker now, so I resell businesses for people and, um, it's, you know, so I'm trying to just build credibility there. It's a industry dominated by, honestly, people 65 and up, and I'm trying to build a name for myself there. I do feel like I am building that relationship with my wife as well, 'cause like I mentioned, it's a lifelong thing and, you know, that looks like, as a man, listening to your wife, you know, making sure you continue to just strive to, to make her happy and continue to try to date her effectively or make her feel special and not just, you know, take a relationship for granted.

Sara D.:

That is very I mean, I was gonna say it's very noble, but that's what you sign up to do when you get married, to love this person and to make them feel seen and to fully integrate them in your life and live together.

Bryant Sells:

Right. Done correctly, I feel like that's how it's supposed to look. You know, we all try. We'll see how close we can get to that, but I mean, that's what I feel like it's supposed to look like.

Sara D.:

Yeah. Yeah, we all try.

Bryant Sells:

Right. I know. Um,

Sara D.:

yeah, well I guess everybody doesn't try, but we are trying.

Bryant Sells:

Certainly, yes.

Sara D.:

Yeah. Okay, so speaking of trying in life, and this podcast is about gratitude, what role do you feel gratitude plays in your life?

Bryant Sells:

Hmm. What role do I feel gratitude plays in my life? You know, uh, just something that, um, grounding effect because I do feel like there are many, many moments where I sit down and reflect on things that I could have done, should have done, you know, haven't done well, could have done better. Certain moments in life that I may think about on a regular basis like, "Man, I should have done this," or, "Should have done that." But the gratitude plays a grounding effect of like, "Hey, dude, calm down." Like, yes, you could have done this, that, and the third, but you have to be grateful for the things that you do have, the things that you have achieved, the places that you have made it to. And be grateful for the life that I've been blessed with, and just not beat myself up too much about things that could have been

Sara D.:

Mm-hmm. Do you feel like gratitude comes easily to you, or is this something that you've had to practice?

Bryant Sells:

Uh, I don't think it comes easy necessarily. I think I do have to practice being grateful in my own life. I don't think it's hard for me to show gratitude to others for whatever it may be. That seems a lot easier than just being grateful for things in my, my own life or things that I've personally done

Sara D.:

So you're saying that showing gratitude to others feels easier than having gratitude for your life? I don't wanna misquote you or misunderstand what you're saying.

Bryant Sells:

Yeah, I think so. I mean, I, I, it, it, uh, it's easier to express, I think, 'cause it's like, you know, I don't know what the bar for gratitude, a simple thank you I guess qualifies as showing gratitude, right? Like, you know, it's easy to be, you know, if you see people going out of their way to help you or whatever, I feel like that's easy to say, "Hey, thank you," or show gratitude to others in most scenarios. But, um, I do feel like it's sometimes, uh, you just get lost in the, in the fray and not feeling grateful for your own life sometimes, but that's why you have to take a moment to just slow down and just be grateful for the little things in your life that are, uh, you know, that are a blessing.

Sara D.:

Yeah. Yeah, that is real, 'cause sometimes things happen and when you lose sight of that it can feel like you're drowning and, like, nothing is working out right.

Bryant Sells:

Mm-hmm.

Sara D.:

What is something that life taught you that you didn't learn the easy way?

Bryant Sells:

Something life has taught me is when to be chill, when to be firm, when to be angry, when to stand up for yourself kind of thing. And just how my personality is, how my parents are, how I got raised, I feel like put me into a space where I don't anger easily, right? Which is a blessing or a curse, depending on the situation. You know, obviously being too quick to anger is a negative, but I have found that being too slow to anger is equally a negative, and I feel like life has taught me how to find that balance and not stray too far towards the slow to anger side. Um, and you know, just, just moments we could discuss if you'd like, but where I've looked back and thought like, "Wow, I should have done this, should have done that, should have stood up for myself, should have been tougher on this employee or whatever," you know, that I have since reflected upon and believe that if, if placed in a similar scenario, I would behave differently. But it did take me time to evolve into that mentality

Sara D.:

Yeah. Learning discernment and wisdom about when or how to approach topics and people for the optimal outcome can be… I mean, it's a learning period. It's, it's life. I mean, I, I often look back on situations and been, and think, "Oh, I should have acted this way," or, "I should have said that," or, "Next time I'll do this." And then of course, next time never really comes because that's life. But you, um, you learn how to, how to, how to pause when you need to pause and speak up when you need to speak up the older you get and the more, uh, life experiences you have. So It sounds like you're kinda hard on yourself. Would that be a fair assessment?

Bryant Sells:

You know, I don't, I don't think I am that hard on myself, 'cause there's levels to the game. You know, like, there are, you know, there's just levels. I've seen people and how they behave and other… But I, you know, I don't know how to quantify that, you know, like a 7 out of 10 or something. I don't know. But, uh, but yeah, I do think that it is healthy to hold yourself to a high standard because, I mean, you can… One way you could say that is, "Hey, you're being hard on yourself." Another way to say that is, "Hey, I'm holding myself to a particular standard." You know, because if you play sports or do something competitive and you see anything happening at a competitive level, like, it's… You gotta be hard on yourself on a certain level, or else you're never gonna get to the top of anything. And, um, you know, that's kind of the, my mentality or how I view it now is, like, looking back, like, oh, I… You should be a little hard on yourself, uh, just because I don't know how else you could hold yourself to a high standard if you're not honest with yourself first. And, um, we all make mistakes, we all screw up, and normally nobody's gonna tell you, you know, unless you working closely with a coach or something. But, uh, the only way to self-correct, I think, is to be hard on yourself or hold yourself to a higher s- high standard, would be another way to say that.

Sara D.:

How'd you learn to activate those tools to be able to have that introspection? 'Cause I know at one point, I don't know, I would just go around in life and I would do things and I'd be like, "You know what I mean? If I'm doing something wrong, someone will tell me something's off. I don't know." But I guess in speaking about how you hold yourself accountable for it to your high standards, how do you manage that?

Bryant Sells:

It's still learning, honestly, and still trying to grow and improve in that, that respect. Um, but, uh, you know, introspective thought, I guess, is, is one way. Probably talking to, mentors, professionals who, uh, you know, uh, life coaches type per- which is something I haven't done, that's something I probably will do, you know, potentially down the line. But, um, but I guess now just introspective thought and also just hanging around successful people and just seeing what they do and how they carry themselves, conduct themselves, how they work, and, uh, trying to keep up with the, with the other people

Sara D.:

Yeah. Where are you meeting these successful people??? Yeah, but I don't know. I think that I can… Mm, I'm having a lot of thoughts. So what you said reminded me of something I saw from a clip of Trevor Noah earlier this week, and it was a clip of him talking to his mom and how she was telling him, "Oh, I'm so proud that you're, you're hanging out on the college campus and you're in college and all this stuff all the time." And he was like, "Mom, I'm not doing anything. I'm just going and hanging around the campus." And she's like, "Yeah, but, like, you can't hang around greatness like that and it not rub off on you and make you wanna do more or be better."

Bryant Sells:

And I was like- Right… Sara D.: yes. Similar logic. You know, if you hang around people not doing anything, you're likely to start doing nothing. You know? But if you hang around very active, you know, motivating people, then it's certainly gonna have somewhat of an impact.

Sara D.:

Mm. Yeah, yeah. That's real. That's real Okay, so introspection with you comes from learning from those around you and then looking within yourself. What is the, I wanna say, like, what's, like, a huge lesson that your introspection taught you maybe recently, or just maybe a big lesson that you kinda thought through and you realized, "Oh, I should be different," or, "I, I should act differently with this"?

Bryant Sells:

Yeah, uh, another, uh, challenging question which, uh, um… So I gue- uh, just to repeat it out loud, uh, just something that, uh, my own introspective thought has, um, taught me to improve on or change in my life, right, you're saying?

Sara D.:

Yeah, so I wanna talk about resilience and growth in a way. So I'm trying to figure out what is something that maybe you've learned through your introspection or just life experiences that would be helpful to someone else in a similar situation

Bryant Sells:

Right. I guess I could speak to entrepreneurs or people struggling to get businesses going, people who, you know, work on commission or that crowd, 'cause that's just where I've been hanging out at. I would tell that person that, It's about balance as well as hard work, especially if you are trying to build a family or you have kids and, and other people around you, and just not, uh, spending too much time on work and missing the day-to-day of life going by. Uh, 'cause, you know, there's multiple camps there, and some people, uh, especially men I talk to, and s- women too, honestly, you know, they will, uh, be so hyper-focused on their career or whatever, and it's kind of a flex for some people, like, "Oh, I work 70 hours a week, 80 hours," whatever. And, you know, and then y- you speak to their significant other or their kids, and they might be miserable, and they hate the fact that their parent or friend or spouse never sees them or talks to them. And, just learning that my life has to be different now that I have a son and a wife, and I can't just go work seven days a week if I wanted to or whatever. You have to stop and keep certain priorities in focus so that, we don't get too caught up chasing professional success. Uh, generally, on your deathbed, nobody brings up, a deal you closed when you were 35 or, "Oh, I got this business done," and a lot of that stuff kind of falls into proper perspective, which is minuscule in comparison to lifelong relationships, having not called your uncle, brother, sister, whoever. That's usually what people are thinking about, when they got a c- you know, not to be morbid, but like, "Oh, I got a couple of days to live." Nobody's thinking about, oh, their career, generally. It's relationships, and it's family. It's spiritual connections. It's things like that. So I say that to say that, uh, I guess my introspective realization was that yes, I wanna be successful, but success may look differently when you zoom out and look at it. 'Cause in America, we are a very capitalist-driven society, and you got the internet and the 'Gram and all this crap, and people flexing and junk. And most of this stuff is long-term useless, but, just trying to stay focused on what's truly important, family, friends, and, trying to maintain those. 'Cause I don't do the best job, honestly, and so that's something I've definitely worked on.

Sara D.:

I think I was joking with somebody about this on here. I was like, "Oh, when you die, you're not gonna be like, 'Oh, I wish I would've got that '88 Cadillac,' or whatever." Um, it is all about these relationships that we have, and it's so crazy how the day-to-day of life gets in the way of what is important if you're not careful.

Bryant Sells:

It will, and it's easy to do. I mean, life is short. Life is a grind for most people. You gotta do certain things, but you gotta do the best you can to balance it out.

Sara D.:

Yeah, you do. You really do. So I know we're talking about life and business and balancing the relationships that you have within family, while also striving towards success on a professional level. But when things aren't going right in your life, when everything is just all wrong, what helps you get through those hard days?

Bryant Sells:

Yeah, I think prayer, meditation is something I try to do early in the morning, just to start the day off. Really hard days sometimes working out can be an outlet there. Just trying to do something that is calming or more just to distract from whatever impending doom may feel like is closing upon you in your day-to-day life. My wife and I go outside a lot. I do a lot of fishing. I feel like fishing is very relaxing and it's hard to be too stressed doing certain activities. That's how I answer that is try to slow down, meditate, pray, and then do an activity that may just take you out of that space, if possible. Sometimes you can't. Sometimes you're just, "Hey, I gotta do this, I gotta do that, I gotta work, I gotta whatever," and sometimes you gotta just push through and deal with it or… if possible, step away.

Sara D.:

Yeah, sometimes you do need that moment to release, to breathe, and to do something that is light and that can take your, your mind off the situation. I know you said, like, distract, which is what I strive to do. Sometimes, like you said, it's really hard to disengage. Um, I think it's funny you said you're fishing. It's like, are you a fisher fisher or are you a casual fisher?

Bryant Sells:

I fish a lot to say I guess I am a fisher fisher, you know? Enough, you know, to, to say no, I'm not a casual. So, but it's something to have, a hobby I picked up later, honestly, when I met my wife. But it's a good one though, 'cause it gets you outside and it's cheap and it's relaxing.

Sara D.:

Yeah. Maybe one day we'll have to go fishing, because my wife just bought me some fishing poles 'cause I've been asking for them. We went fishing- Okay … once and we didn't catch anything, and you know, you go to the Facebook groups and you're like, "Oh, I wanna, I wanna fish. I wanna do this, I wanna do that," and like no one says anything and it's just kinda like, "Hmm. Okay. Well, I guess I'll just, you know, go at it on my own," but I wanna learn all the tricks and trades. But yeah.

Bryant Sells:

Were you guys freshwater fishing or saltwater fishing?

Sara D.:

We went freshwater fishing. But so I'm used, uh, this is a whole thing, this is a whole tangent, but like I'm used to different kind of rods. She got me like some kind of rod and the spool is open and I don't know, it kept getting tangled, but then I realized I was holding it the wrong way. And I don't know, it's just a whole thing, but I wanna fish more, so I'm definitely gonna reach out to you about that.

Bryant Sells:

Yeah, I saltwater fish exclusively, honestly. I never really fre- and I, whatever, I s- I have in the past, like, but I do just 'cause I'm in Florida and it just happens to be a great saltwater fishery. But yeah, that open spool reel is definitely, you just have to know how to use the thing, but once you know, somebody shows you, it's easy. But you know, you just gotta be shown so you don't tangle it up, but it's not too bad.

Sara D.:

Yeah. Okay. So, back from the tangent. Um, I remember earlier you said that you hold yourself to high standards. So how do you treat yourself when you fall short of your high standards? 'Cause I know you said like you try not to be hard, but I don't know, I just, I want more.

Bryant Sells:

It's something that I've been working on improving, 'cause I don't feel like I've held myself to a higher standard earlier on, just with running my business. That in particular was a big chunk of my life, honestly, just having that cell phone repair shop and dealing with that and the outcomes were okay, but not to the level that I felt like I was capable of. And it does kind of rub me the wrong way that like, "Hey dude, you could've done a lot better. That's one catalyst that's really driven me to just be better entrepreneur in, you know, specifically. To answer your question specifically, though, like what do I do if I do fall short of the standard? You can only pout around but so long and, I'm the kinda guy where I do feel like, uh, well, I'm also young enough where I can be like, "Well, hey, I'm gonna get another shot. I'm gonna just get it right the next time." And also any mistake I make, I do try to see it as a learning or coaching moment for myself. 'Cause it's fine if you screw something up once, but if you're making the same problem over and over again, then it's like, okay, that's really something that's gotta be addressed. I'm not beating myself up too hard, but at the same time, I do… very honest with myself about what I can do better. And I really try hard not to blame my results on other people, 'cause it's kinda useless. And as an entrepreneur, I learned everything is my fault. No matter what. Your employee does something wrong, like, dude, you're the owner, it's your fault. Why'd you hire him? Why'd you train him wrong? Whatever. So it's just, I did take that mentality eventually that everything is my fault that happens in my business or career. So not in a negative way, but, like, in a way to not push blame off of myself because if you run a business, the buck always has to stop with you, and you gotta accept that responsibility and, and own it

Sara D.:

Hmm That is so true about having a business, 'cause everything is your fault.

Bryant Sells:

It is. Even if it's not, it still is. You know? Like, it's always your fault.

Sara D.:

There's no one else to blame. Um-

Bryant Sells:

Mm-mm.

Sara D.:

What would you say to an entrepreneur that may be struggling with their business and, you know, they're just looking for some encouragement? What are, like, your maybe top three little tidbits?

Bryant Sells:

I would say, an entrepreneur that's struggling, persistence is certainly key for entrepreneurship. It is, and, persistence and self-reflection are important. 'Cause if you're truly an entrepreneur, an entrepreneur is not defined by any one venture they have. Most entrepreneurs will have a dozen plus or more, you know? So be persistent but continue to be analytical, and if you need to change course, do it fast, 'cause it's better to change than to commit a bunch of time into something that's not gonna ever work. So just be persistent, work hard, push as hard as you can, but don't be afraid to change course. 'Cause sometimes that's the right choice, don't throw good money at bad money. If something's failing, just let it go 'cause I've watched people dig themselves into holes and go bankrupt and stuff, and it's like, oh, you don't wanna do that and, I guess another thing I would say is take care of yourself mentally and physically. Entrepreneurship is an extremely lonely journey. Even if you have a spouse or somebody, parent that's loves you, usually they, they still can't relate on a deep level. It's hard to come home and vent about your problems to anybody, 'cause nobody truly is… You don't have a coworker, you can't talk to your employees if you have employees or whatever. So it, it comes to a very lonely endeavor. And so you do have to just make sure you take care of yourself physically and mentally. I forgot the exact stats, but, like, the majority of entrepreneurs are bipolar and have all sorts of other mental shortcomings, because it's a type of journey that inevitably pushes you towards certain negative pitfalls that you really gotta watch out for. I would say that, maybe joining other entrepreneur groups, talking to other solopreneurs, networking, sharing some of your horror stories with some other people who might be in a similar spot can be a great pick-me-up. But usually your spouse or family and friends aren't the ones. They're not… They'll try. They love you, but they can't truly walk a day in your shoes. You gotta hang out with some other entrepreneurs that are struggling honestly to get that out properly. I guess that's two. And then, um, three is shoot for the stars obviously push. But make sure you are creating realistic goals for yourself. You know, we all wanna be number one podcaster, number one business broker, number one whatever, but the statistical likelihood of you actually getting that is low so just like what's the chance of me making the NBA or something, like zero. Obviously at 36 is zero. No,

Sara D.:

I don't know you're kinda tall.

Bryant Sells:

Yeah. Yeah, I ain't that tall. But basically zero at the end of the day. Just set realistic goals for yourself, I guess is the way to summarize that so you're not constantly failing. But having success, even if it's like, "All right, I'm gonna close three deals this year," or whatever, and just but don't… Just set yourself with realistic expectations and goals. Strong, but realistic so you don't end up just constantly failing to beat your goals you set out for yourself.

Sara D.:

Mm-hmm. Yeah. All of those things are very key points that even I've never thought about. My mom's had, like, 50 million businesses while I was growing up, like this and that and this and that. I feel like there are so many things to talk about what you just said, but, um, trying to zone in, lock in. So I, um- You know, I didn't realize how lonely it could be as an entrepreneur because you're right, you're talking about things that you're doing and someone won't really necessarily get it exactly the way you're talking about it unless they've done something similar so I can definitely see how that external community of support around you of other entrepreneurs could be really beneficial.

Bryant Sells:

Right. Yeah, I didn't know your mom was an entrepreneur, but ask her how lonely it is being a solopreneur. You know? Or I don't know if she ever had employees, things like that. But having the employees is another level of loneliness, 'cause now you're hanging around these people and I don't know. It's just, you just can't confide… It's hard to confide in people as an entrepreneur.

Sara D.:

Yeah, for sure. And then I, like, so this is a legitimate study that you said where you said that they said that a lot of entrepreneurs have a lot of mental health issues.

Bryant Sells:

Yeah, definitely.

Sara D.:

Wow. Wow. Who knew? I mean, I guess it is a stressful thing, so it can take you- Right … through a lot of highs and lows, and if you have the tools.

Bryant Sells:

And most of them are failing, which is the other bad part, is like everybody knows the stats, like, oh, it's 80% of businesses fail in the first three years. But actually experiencing that is a very, very depressing endeavor. Like, now I sell businesses for people, right? So I, I, I talk to entrepreneurs every day and I, I, you know, I'm like a doctor for them, so they have to s- show me their bank accounts, their tax returns, their books. I see everything. I see if they're losing money, making money, whatever. I have to talk to their spouse, I have to talk to everybody. And a lot of these people are embarrassed, they're depressed, they are struggling, they are having health issues and need to get out. They are stressed because their employees are, you know, they, you know, turnover, they're whatever problems. And you can see it in their eyes. There's like a thousand-yard stare where it's like I just look and they're like, "Hmm, yeah, it's time for you to go." Like you know? It's sell this thing and just let it go. Which is why I actually really love selling businesses, because I… A lot of people get into entrepreneurship with no vision of the exit. You know, it's all, "Hey, I'm doing this, I'm doing that, it's gonna go here, gonna go there." Well, what's your exit strategy? And if you ask the average entrepreneur that, they don't have one. But now at my, you know, stage in life, any business I start, I start it with the intention of having a plan to sell that thing. Because I realize now that like that's literally the point. To build an asset and to sell it at its peak. A lot of people sort of miss that and end up having other issues or think they're gonna give it to their kid and they don't want it or whatever. And the thing you always wanna avoid is going out of bankruptcy, right? Like that's the… You know, at least in business anyway. It's like Monopoly. It's like, okay, why do you lose Monopoly? You go bankrupt. Same thing in a business. I just feel like you just have to focus on the money. And it, it's… You can certainly help people with business and I'm not just only focused on money. But at the end of the day, without the money, your business is cooked. It's over

Sara D.:

I never, I never thought of that either. Like, when you are creating a business, you do need a, a exit plan. I know I've heard about people like, "Oh, I sold my business," or, you know, whatever, whatever. But you don't think like, oh, that is the end goal. You just think, oh, they just pivoted to something different.

Bryant Sells:

Right. 'Cause at the end of Monopoly, you don't… The guy who wins, or girl, they don't get to sell their assets and, like, exit, 'cause they kind of miss that part. But in real life, that's what would happen, you know, is they would sell it. Roll it up, sell it to private equity, whatever. But that's what I do now, and that's what I focus on, and I love that space just because I like helping people retire ideally. Because I work with a lot of old people, honestly, who've been running businesses a while or whatever, and, uh, ideally help them get that big chunk of money and actually relax. 'Cause setting that business down, whether you sell it or just close it down or whatever, that day that it is sold or even if you shut it down and you lost money, whatever, it's still a, uh, indescribable level of, uh, relief and release. It's like, I don't know, like laying down in a bed having not slept for five years or something. Like, the sensation of wow, I can breathe. Oh, I can get up tomorrow and not have to call so and so, or I don't have to be on edge 'cause every time I see my phone ring I know some problem is happening at my store or something. And it'll put you into a perpetual state of stress and non-relaxation, which is why I tell people, I try to talk people out of doing seven-day-a-week retail businesses constantly. And people love them 'cause they don't recognize that unless you are a fantastic operator and judger of people and maintaining of talent and re- recruiting talent and things like that, then you're kinda always a slave to your business once it's open

Sara D.:

You're bringing up really good points that I've never thought about. I guess I've never really spoken to anybody about entrepreneurship, and this is really, this is really insightful. It sounds like a nightmare, so It,

Bryant Sells:

it very well can be. I talk to people every week who are living in a nightmare. I promise, like they are. And it, you know, you don't know, 'cause it's a silent, it's a silent epidemic. 'Cause, you know, you see a restaurant vanish and, "Oh, wow, what happened to this and that?" And you just keep driving, but that was somebody's life getting crushed over there, you know? Like that person, I don't know what they… And I feel bad for them, 'cause I've been there, done, done some, enough business to realize the pain that comes along with failure in entrepreneurship. And it is generally a, a slow downfall of just attrition over time, till eventually you just… It's like the, it's like starving to death or something. Like probably the worst way to die. It's like you just slowly eat yourself until you can't go on anymore, you know? Like that's sounds morbid, but like that's the closest sensation I would say to slowly going out of business, is like starving to death over years.

Sara D.:

Okay. Well, let's try to end this on a positive note. Yeah, all right. So for someone, let's say, let's say someone is struggling with their business and like, you know, they feel like the, they're really stressed and all that stuff. What would you say to an entrepreneur who feels like they're drowning in despair over their business decisions?

Bryant Sells:

Probably sell it, get rid of it, do something else. You know, it doesn't, it doesn't… It sounds easy, it's not easy. But if you put your mind to it you could get out of just about anything. And, you know,. there's, the wild card is debt. Like, a lot of entrepreneurs get a lot of debt. And if you do not leverage your debt effectively, you could really end up behind the eight ball. But even then, it's still, there's always options. Like, the, the fantastic thing about business debt is you can have it resolved in bankruptcy court. You know? It's like nobody wants to deal with Chapter 11 or whatever, but all these things are here for a reason. A lot of times, the quote I always give people is, "Don't throw good money at bad money." If you are in a business that is losing money, if you cannot turn that thing around quick, lock the fricking door and walk away. Go call a lawyer, forget about it. Like, don't forget about it, but lock the door, go call a lawyer, go do something else, you know? Because you, it'll drag you down in further and further mentally, physically, financially. But you gotta stop the bleeding. You gotta, you know, cauterize the wound, whatever. There's always another chapter. That's the beauty of business, is like, you have most entrepreneurs that are successful, they, you have to ask them, they failed how many times? Whatever. But the reason that they're where they are now is that they knew they were failing, and they shut it down and kept going. Because once you shut something, you can always go do something else, and if you're truly talented you can come up with a new idea, the new plan, and just start something new. And then your energy is back up, your fervor is back in it, your heart's back in it. You're not being dragged down. But if you're in a negative business, any type of business, the, my best advice is to shut that junk down and, and keep it pushing. Call a lawyer and just go move on.

Sara D.:

Find new dreams.

Bryant Sells:

Yeah, kinda. You know, i- i- yeah, basically. Uh, well even if it's, like, the same thing. Like, maybe your dream is to start a restaurant, right? I'm not even saying you can't go make another restaurant, but if that first one is failing, go shut it down and go make another one. You know, so you could still go get your dream, you know, it's just you may fail the first time or second time or third time, and the fourth time is the one where you find your success. But if you spend 20 years on that first one and you should've shut it down after two, then now you've lost 18 years of chasing the correct, you know, business. 'Cause hardly anybody gets it right out of the gate.

Sara D.:

Yeah. It's like I hear you being very direct, very blunt, very straightforward, but I also hear tones of, like, if it's not working, pivot. Try something different. Put a different spin on it and try it in a different way, or think of something new. So it's like all hope is not lost, and it's okay to fail because these lessons that you're learning will help you develop in the future.

Bryant Sells:

Right. Uh, business is a… I always say capitalism is a game for savages, 'cause it kinda is, but at the end of the day, it's also forgiving, and it's always ripe for a comeback story. It's, it always is, 'cause it just, there's always a new year, a new season, new trends, whatever. So all is not lost if you close or sell your business. It's seen as a failure many times, but I don't see it that way. I see it as a, especially selling as a success. Sometime, somehow people conflate selling your business with quitting or something, which I get it, but it's totally the wrong idea. And even closing the doors, in my eyes, is not a failure. It is simply making a non-emotional correct decision based on w- whatever's going on, you know? 'Cause sometimes that is simply the right choice, to just close it down

Sara D.:

Yeah, you have to make the hard decisions so you can have better outcomes in the future

Bryant Sells:

Uh, right. You just don't, go down with the ship. Like, we're not Captain Ahab or something, like, no. That, that business, I see it as like a car or a vehicle. Some people get emotionally attached to it. They're like, "Oh my God, this is my business and I couldn't sell it," or, "I gotta hand it down to my kid." Like, no, no, no, no. Like, the, the bus- the car, nobody buys a car to have the car. They get the car to get from A, point A to point B. So they'll lose sight of the point of the business is to get to point B, but they think the point of the business is to own the business or something. But it's never the point. The business is just a tool, like a shovel or a car or whatever. You know, nobody falls in love with a shovel. But they'll fall in love with their business. But the shovel's the same as the business, you just cannot get distracted from this is a tool. If it is broken, throw it away and go get another one so that you can get to point B. Otherwise, you'll be trying to get to your real goal and never make it 'cause you're using a broken tool or, or whatever and not realizing that I need to chuck this thing away and go get another one.

Sara D.:

Yeah. I, I have learned so much in this conversation, and it's only been this short time period. Um,

Bryant Sells:

but- Y- you're asking me to hang out where I hang out all day though, which is talking to entrepreneurs about business. I know. These are the main stump points I always say to people, so don't- Yeah … be impressed. Don't

Sara D.:

Well, you know what? I think it's very timely because the last interview I had was with someone who has a business, and he's a little older, and it's not necessarily doing, picking up the way he wanted it to. So I was hoping that there'd be, like, some information in there to help him because, I don't know, it's just all about helping each other.

Bryant Sells:

Well, I'll just talk to that, whoever that is, 'cause that's what I do, obviously, is talk with entrepreneurs and just not getting, even if I'm not getting paid, just to encourage other entrepreneurs just whatever. Like, I had to close down one of my repair shops and just shut it down. You know, I got robbed before. Like, I've had to deal with some other issues. So if somebody's feeling down, I definitely like to talk to entrepreneurs just to tell them my two cents. Like I mentioned before about how lonely it is, you gotta talk to somebody who's had to deal with a similar experience as you. Otherwise, it's tough to- Yeah … truly resonate with non-entrepreneurs just 'cause they haven't walked a day in your shoes.

Sara D.:

Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I'll definitely text him after this call and, um, just let him know and see if he's interested. You know, don't wanna overstep. Um, but I think this has been a very productive conversation. It's very different from the other conversations I've been having, I've had because it's more business-focused, which is very much so appreciated because there are all different kinds of people in the world, and they all need encouragement of different kinds. So it's just good to let people know that you're not stuck, and you can move around. It just may take a little grit and work to, to make your dreams come true.

Bryant Sells:

It certainly will take some grit and some work to get your dreams come true, for sure. Yeah. We're both still chasing ours, trying to get there though.

Sara D.:

I know that's the truth. I'll

Bryant Sells:

let you know when I make it. Yeah, I'll be- When I get my big fat boat, I'll let you know.

Sara D.:

I'll be up there fishing next to you.

Bryant Sells:

Right. Yeah, definitely. I, that's one of my goals, definitely, but I'll let you know when that happens.

Sara D.:

Yeah. All righty. Well, everybody, this has been a great conversation, and I do wanna ask, Bryant, is there anything that you wanna promote?

Bryant Sells:

Well, two things specifically. A is I'm a business broker, so if somebody has a business who's listening to this give me a call. I mean, it's free to talk to me, and I don't push selling your business on anybody. I just give advice, and sometimes the correct choice is getting a business valuation and, and selling it. So if that's the case or if you're anywhere near that thought process, certainly reach out to me, give me a call. And, uh, number two I did write a book, too, called, Franchising A Practical Guide to Investing in Franchises. And, uh, uh, whole nother conversation around that, honestly, that we don't have time for. But hey, you wanna learn about investing in a franchise or what not to invest in, uh, s- pick up that book. It's on Amazon. Check it out.

Sara D.:

All right, everybody. The link in the description to, um, Brian's book will be… The link to the description. The link to his book will be in the description, and I also have a link to his broker business as well, um, or his contact information, something like that. You'll be able to find him. Um, and for me, if you wanna find me, I'm easily found. I have a Instagram and a TikTok, brighterdazepodcast, and I also have a Facebook page, BrighterDaze with Sara, and I also have a email ask4brighterdaze@gmail.com. And the days is D-A-Z-E. Um, and yeah, so I just thank you so much for coming on and talking to me today, and it has been a wonderful day, and you know. Oh. Oh, yeah, everybody, please, um, like me, let me know what you think about the podcast. Rate the podcast on, what is it, Apple, Spotify. I don't know. Do me right. Do me right. Um, but reach out to me. Write me, let me know if you have any suggestions or if you have anything you wanna share about maybe your entrepreneurial, uh, journey or just life, how you're pushing through. Um, what does gratitude show up for you in your life? Uh, talk to me. I'm here to talk, here to listen. Um, and yeah, so I'll be around, and I hope you will be, too. I'll talk to you guys later.