Eric called me in late spring and asked whether I would review a business proposal he had prepared. His voice was unusually serious, and when I agreed to meet him, he said he wanted an honest opinion rather than encouragement.
We met at a café in Sheridan during one of my visits to Grandma. He arrived with a thick folder, a laptop, and several pages of printed financial projections. He ordered coffee, spread the documents across the table, and began explaining his plan before I had taken off my coat.
He wanted to purchase a small equipment supply company in the region, expand its online sales, and use its existing customer relationships to build a larger operation. The proposal included estimated revenue, staffing costs, inventory requirements, and a plan for gradually expanding the business.
For the first time, Eric had moved beyond talking about ideas.
I read the proposal carefully.
“It's more developed than I expected,” I said.
He looked pleased. “I've been working on it for weeks.”
“What happens if sales are lower than you expect?”
“I've accounted for a slower first year.”
“What if they stay low for three years?”
He frowned. “That's less likely.”
“It's still possible.”
He opened his laptop and showed me another spreadsheet. He had included several scenarios, but each assumed that the business would eventually recover and generate enough profit to cover its expenses.
“Have you asked an accountant to review these numbers?” I said.
“Not yet.”
“Have you spoken with the current owner about why they're selling?”
“He says he's ready to retire.”
“Have you verified the company's debts, contracts, inventory, and customer retention?”
“I'm planning to.”
I looked at him.
“Eric, those aren't details you can leave until after you've decided to buy the company. They're part of deciding whether you should buy it at all.”
He leaned back and rubbed his forehead.
“I knew you'd say something like that.”
“You asked for an honest opinion.”
“I did.”
I turned another page. The proposal was promising, but several assumptions needed independent verification. The purchase price was substantial, and the projected profits depended on maintaining customer relationships that might not survive a change in ownership.
“I'm not saying you shouldn't do it,” I told him. “I'm saying you need professional due diligence before making a decision. You should also decide how much of your own money you're willing to risk and how much you need to keep secure regardless of what happens.”
He stared at the spreadsheet.
“Grandma's money would give me a chance to do something I couldn't otherwise afford.”
“That's true. But having the money doesn't make a risky investment a good one.”
He closed the laptop.
“I suppose I was hoping you'd tell me I was ready.”
“I think you're ready to investigate the opportunity seriously. That's different from being ready to commit millions of dollars.”
For a moment, he looked disappointed. Then he laughed.
“You really are a teacher.”
“Unfortunately for you, I can't give you a passing grade just because you've completed the assignment.”
He laughed again, and the tension eased.
We spent another hour reviewing the proposal. I helped him identify questions he should ask the seller and suggested that he speak with a qualified accountant and business lawyer before proceeding. Eric took notes, and by the time we left the café, he seemed less excited by the prospect of buying the company immediately but more confident about how to evaluate it.
That afternoon, he asked Grandma whether he could show her the proposal.
She agreed, provided he understood that she would not make a financial decision on the basis of enthusiasm alone.
We met at the cabin the following morning. Eric spread the documents across the dining table while Grandma listened. He explained the company, the purchase price, the projected revenue, and the opportunities he believed would arise from expanding its online business.
Grandma asked several questions.
“Have you spoken with the employees?”
“Not yet. I don't want to interfere before the seller agrees to move forward.”
“Do you know whether the customers would remain if the owner retired?”
“I'm trying to find that out.”
“Have you considered what happens if the business needs more money than you expect?”
“I've included a reserve.”
“How much?”
Eric gave her the figure.
She looked at him carefully.
“And if that reserve isn't enough?”
He hesitated.
“I'd have to decide whether to put in more money or sell the business.”
“Would you have enough left to support yourself if you did?”
Eric glanced at his papers.
“I haven't calculated that yet.”
Grandma nodded.
“Then I suggest you do so before making any commitments.”
He looked disappointed, but he didn't argue.
“I thought you'd be pleased that I was trying to build something,” he said.
“I am pleased that you're thinking seriously about your future. But I would be doing you a disservice if I encouraged you to risk money without understanding the consequences.”
She folded her hands on the table.
“Your grandfather built his business over many years. He made mistakes, and some cost him more than he expected. What helped him survive wasn't the size of his ambition. It was his willingness to examine the numbers, listen to people who understood the work, and change course when necessary.”
Eric looked at the photograph of Grandpa's first building hanging near the fireplace.
“Did he ever want to give up?”
“Many times,” Grandma said. “There were years when the business barely covered its expenses. But he didn't keep going simply because he had already spent money. He kept going when the evidence suggested there was still a sensible path forward. When there wasn't, he changed his plans.”
Eric was quiet for a long time.
Finally, he asked, “Do you think I should buy the company?”
Grandma smiled gently.
“I think you should find out whether buying it makes sense. I cannot answer that question for you, and I wouldn't want to.”
He gathered his papers.
“All right. I'll arrange for an accountant to review everything.”
“Good.”
Then he did something that surprised me.
He closed the folder and said, “And I want to thank you for the gift, even though my check was destroyed and I haven't received a replacement yet.”
Grandma looked at him.
“You don't have to wait until you have the money in your account to express gratitude.”
“I know. I should have done it at Christmas.”
She nodded, accepting his words without turning the moment into a lecture.
After Eric left the room to take a telephone call, Grandma and I remained at the table.
“He's making progress,” I said.
“Yes. He's learning to slow down long enough to think.”
“Do you think he'll buy the company?”
“I have no idea.”
She smiled.
“That's what makes it his decision.”
Over the following month, Eric worked with an accountant and a lawyer. He discovered that the company had several contracts that required careful review and that some of its largest customers were considering alternative suppliers. The opportunity was still possible, but the purchase price and projected revenue needed to be reconsidered.
He told me about the findings over the phone.
“I thought the owner was selling because he wanted to retire,” he said. “He does, but the business has been struggling with rising costs. I might still be able to make it work, but not on the terms I originally expected.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Renegotiate the price and see whether the numbers make sense. If they don't, I'll walk away.”
I smiled.
“That sounds like a sensible plan.”
“I never thought I'd hear myself say that.”
He laughed, then grew serious.
“Grandma was right about one thing. I wanted the money to mean I could finally do something big. I wasn't thinking enough about whether the thing itself was worth doing.”
I thought about my own plans for the reading program and how much I had learned by talking to teachers before making a commitment.
“Big isn't always the same as worthwhile,” I said.
“No. I think I'm beginning to understand that.”
When we hung up, I felt proud of my brother. He had not yet made his final decision, and he might still choose to pursue the purchase. But he was no longer treating the money as permission to ignore uncertainty.
He was beginning to understand that opportunity and responsibility arrived together.
That evening, I told Grandma about his call.
She listened with a small smile.
“Your grandfather would have liked that,” she said.
“Because Eric might buy the company?”
“No. Because he is learning to ask the right questions before committing himself.”
She looked toward the photograph above the fireplace.
“Money can help someone build a future, Daniel. But good judgment is what helps them live with the future they build.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 16: A Doctor’s Appointment Forced Us to Confront the Future Grandma Had Been Trying to Prepare Us For
My Father Tore Up Six Million Dollars Before Grandma Could Explain Why She Had Given It to Us
Part 15 of 20
