Hey there, Reader,

On Thursday, I told you how I ended up buying Velocity Generator.​

​Yesterday, we talked about the money.​

Today, we're talking about what happens after you sign the agreement.

You know, the part where you actually have to make the business work.

Because apparently buying an established business doesn't mean someone hands you a neatly labeled box containing all the systems, subscriptions, processes, and passwords.

Wouldn't that be nice?

The agreement was signed. My to-do list got longer.

Gwen and I signed our agreement on September 1, with ownership transferring to me on October 1.

That gave me 30 days to prepare.

Except I was still doing my job as Gwen's CMO/COO while figuring out how to take over the business.

Accounts to establish. Software decisions to make. Subscriptions to transfer. Member communications to plan.

And a whole collection of details that don't seem particularly important until you realize nobody else is going to handle them.

Gwen had moved into a demanding executive role, which was why the opportunity to buy Velocity Generator existed in the first place.

She didn't have months available to walk me through every operational decision.

A lot of the figuring out fell to me.

I didn't just inherit systems. I inherited decisions.

Some of Gwen's decisions were excellent. Others made sense for her business but weren't necessarily right for mine.

Take software.

I already had tools I used in my own business. I didn't want to add subscriptions simply because they'd been part of Velocity Generator.

But I also didn't want to disrupt members just to make my life easier.

So I looked at project management, scheduling, meeting software, client management, and member resources with a few questions in mind:

What does this need to do? Who uses it? What would changing it affect?

Some choices meant spending money. Some meant migrating information. And some meant deciding not to carry something forward at all.

Before we get to that, a word from today's sponsor...

Now back to the story...

Then I discovered I was buying a podcast, too.

I'd co-hosted The Business You Really Want with Gwen for two years. I was deeply embedded in concept development and the production schedule.

Gwen had invested something like $40,000 in the podcast by the time we recorded our final episode together.

Now I needed to decide what to do with it.

What stays? What moves? What needs to be paid for? What can wait?

And how does the podcast fit into the business I'm building now?

Gwen and I finished our run as co-hosts on October 6.

I'll be recording new episodes, but I'm not there yet.

For now, the existing conversations are still valuable, and I'm giving myself room to figure out the next chapter.

I'm not interested in making a decision just to say I've made one. But I don't see a reason to overthink things, either.

The members needed a home that felt like theirs.

One reader asked how you bring an existing community into your business without making its members feel like they've simply been absorbed into something else.

It's a really good question.

Velocity Generator members already had relationships, routines, and expectations. I wanted to honor those.

At the same time, I have my own business, community, and way of working.

I have no interest in being Gwen wearing a Tonya suit.

Or Tonya wearing a Gwen suit, for that matter.

The goal isn't to pretend nothing has changed. It's to preserve what's valuable while making room for what I bring to the experience.

That's why I gave Velocity Generator its own space inside MemberVault.

​I already use MemberVault in my business, and it gives members a dedicated place for resources and conversations without the distractions of Facebook.

​My free Facebook community still exists, and VG members are part of my broader business community, too.

But their membership has its own home.

Because established business owners deserve a space that respects their limited time, energy, and attention.

The best parts of the transition aren't software.

If you've been part of my ecosystem since before 2023, you probably remember Sheena McKay. She was my first fully functioning virtual assistant and has since become a rockstar at client care and online business management.

She was leading client care for Gwen when I bought Velocity Generator. Bringing her back into my business has made all the difference for clients, Gwen, and me.

​Heidi Kaisand also brings her retail and product-business expertise to Velocity Generator.

I don't want every good idea, answer, or member experience to depend entirely on me. Members deserve the right support, and the business needs to be sustainable.

I've also benefited from what I've learned from Adrienne Farrow (everyone's Google BFF), particularly about making better use of the Google tools I already have.

Not every operational challenge requires buying another piece of software.

Sometimes you just need to understand what you already own.

Changing things without changing what matters.

Our first Quarterly Tune-Up under my ownership happened October 6-7.

Two days of helping members step away from the day-to-day and look at where their businesses are going.

And there I was, doing the same thing in my own business.

Making decisions. Looking at what was working. Figuring out what needed to change.

There's something wonderfully inconvenient about having to practice what you teach.

But it's also why I wanted Velocity Generator.

I believe in creating room for business owners to think, evaluate what's actually happening, and decide what deserves their attention.

That's what I want to protect.

Two weeks in, here's what I know.

Buying Velocity Generator has been exciting. It's also taken more time and money than I planned, and I still have plenty to figure out.

But I don't regret the decision.

What encourages me most are the people who chose to stay.

The people who showed up for our first Quarterly Tune-Up.

The people who are getting to know me not just as someone who worked alongside Gwen, but as the person who now owns and leads Velocity Generator.

I didn't buy this business because I thought I could recreate what Gwen built.

I bought it because I believed there was something worth continuing.

And because I could see how my experience, perspective, and existing business could help it grow into its next chapter.

Not overnight.

Not without a few surprises.

But intentionally.

Thanks for following along with this acquisition debrief.

On Monday, we'll be back to our regular newsletter. I've got something coming up that will give you a behind-the-scenes look at how I examine the work happening in my own business.

More on that then.

In your corner,

Tonya

P.S. This wraps up the three-part series, but I'm still taking questions. Curious about buying a business, taking over a membership, or something I haven't covered? Hit reply and ask. I read every response.

This email was written by Tonya Kubo (not AI). If you're receiving it, it means you have signed up for one of my offers in the vast expanse of the internet. Some links here are affiliate links, meaning I might make money if you use them to make a purchase.