 |
NO. 6 · 6‑MINUTE READ Tuesday, June 23, 2026 |
New cadence: Operator Notes is now twice a month, the 2nd and 4th Tuesday. Shorter, more often, always value-add.
Hey fellow Hoosiers,
Welcome to the first 4th-Tuesday issue. Below: a July refund deadline most owners are about to miss, the SBA quietly doubling how big a deal it will back, cheaper equipment, and a free succession workshop the state asked us to put in front of you.
You can reply to this email anytime, or reach me directly at [email protected].
Small rooms. Real operators. Practical conversations.
ON THE OWN CALENDAR
Two evenings to hold
July 16: From Corporate Misfit to King-Maker, an Evening with Paul Lushin (Indianapolis). Paul became a business owner at 17, founded Lushin and Associates in 1997, built it into one of the country’s leading Sandler Training franchises, and completed an ESOP transition in 2023. He is hosting us at Lushin HQ to walk through 46 years of building, and what he would warn the next 17-year-old founder about. 4:00 to 7:00 PM, $15, free for members.
September 17: Build It or Buy It, a Conversation with Matt Truty (Fort Wayne). Matt built one company and bought another. A candid look at the real trade-offs of starting a business versus buying one, and what he learned doing both. Ruoff Mortgage Stadium, Fort Wayne. 4:00 to 7:00 PM, $15.
RECAP
An Evening with Nathan Scherer (June 18)
Last week we took OWN on the road for the first time, two and a half hours north to Syracuse. This was never meant to be an Indianapolis thing, and the room proved it: people drove in from Fort Wayne, Elkhart, and the small towns around Lake Wawasee.
Co-founder Carlos Garcia sat down with Nathan Scherer, who built SEI Manufacturing from nothing and is now developing South Shore Village on the lake, for a candid conversation about what it actually takes to build something in Indiana, the quiet succession wave coming for Main Street, and why selling a business should feel as normal as selling a house.
“It doesn’t mean it’s failing. It just means it’s time to move on.”
Nathan Scherer
Real operators, a real room, a real conversation. And the momentum is already compounding: after we posted about Syracuse, Nick Ladig reached out from Fort Wayne, and a week later September 17 was on the calendar.
ONE BIG ASK
Host an OWN Night: October through December
Each month, OWN is hosted at a different Indiana business. September is set (Fort Wayne). We need help filling August, October, November, and December. Three formats that work well:
Facility tour: walk us through what you have built. Founder story: 30 minutes on what it took. Teach something: a system or framework you use to run better.
Want to host? Reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn and we will find a fit.
OWN MEMBERSHIP
Coming soon
We are rolling out a low-cost annual membership in the coming weeks. Members get free access to every OWN event we put on, and more. Details and pricing will land in your inbox soon.
IN THIS ISSUE
01 The July 6 R&D refund deadline most owners will miss
02 Keep IN: a free succession workshop, June 25
03 The SBA just doubled its combined loan cap
04 Cheaper equipment & the overtime rule reversal
05 Ecosystem vendor spotlight: BT Pro Solutions
FLAG THIS
The July 6 R&D refund deadline most owners will miss
If you capitalized product, software, or process-development costs in 2022 to 2024 and your gross receipts are at or under $31M, you can amend those returns to immediately expense the R&D (Rev. Proc. 2025-28) and pull cash back. The deadline is the earlier of July 6, 2026 or when the statute closes. For many filers, July 6 hits first. It is not just for tech companies.
What to do: ask your CPA this week whether amending 2022 to 2024 makes sense for you.
16%
Stat of the issue. Just 16% of small businesses plan capital spending in the next six months, the lowest reading since March 2009.
Source: NFIB, June 2026
KEEP IN
A FREE hour that could save your exit (June 25)
The Indiana Chamber and OEI are running a free virtual workshop, “Getting Started: A Practical Guide to Succession Readiness Planning,” on Wednesday, June 25 from noon to 1pm EDT. Brian facilitates, with Ed Mysogland (Indiana Business Advisors) and Scott Snider (Exit Planning Institute). Attendance is anonymous to other attendees.
If you are anywhere inside a 3 to 7 year transition window, it is the cheapest hour of readiness work you will do all year. It is also the first in a series.
AROUND THE STATEHOUSE
Indiana moves worth watching
Boone County paused new data centers. A one-year moratorium on new data-center development (the $10B Meta LEAP campus is exempt). Local zoning is now the real gate on the data-center boom, so the construction and trade work tied to these projects is increasingly a county-by-county question. Read more →
JD Finish Line is moving its HQ to Fishers. A $169M Fishers District expansion brings 600+ corporate jobs and a multi-year buildout starting 2027, a long subcontracting runway for commercial trades in Hamilton County. Read more →
FROM WASHINGTON
Four federal shifts that change your math
The SBA just doubled how big a deal it will back. Starting July 4 you can combine a 7(a) loan (up to $5M) with a 504 loan (up to $5M) for $10M in SBA-backed financing. If a deal stalled at the old $5M ceiling, re-run it with your lender. Read more →
Cheaper money is not coming this year. The Fed held on June 17 and now leans toward a hike, not a cut. SBA 504 fixed sits near 6.11% (25-yr). Model variable debt flat-to-higher, and price 504 fixed against 7(a) variable before you sign. Read more →
Equipment imports got cheaper. As of June 8, tariffs on forklifts, earthmoving, and ag machinery dropped from 25% to 15% on trade-partner imports (10% with high U.S. steel content). Ask your dealer for origin and steel documentation before buying. Read more →
The 2024 overtime rule is dead. DOL rolled the exempt salary threshold back to $35,568. If you were planning raises just to keep junior managers overtime-exempt, you can stop. Read more →
CAPITAL + DEALS
Where value is hiding
The gap between a good business and a great one keeps widening. In home services, businesses under $1M of EBITDA generally trade around 3 to 5x. Operators above $2M with recurring revenue reach much higher: pest control and premium platforms hit 7 to 10x, HVAC and plumbing closer to 5 to 8x. If you are at $1.2 to $1.8M EBITDA, professionalizing past $2M can lift you a full valuation tier. Read more →
UNDER $1M EBITDA
3–5x
$2M+ RECURRING
7–10x
Employee ownership keeps getting more practical as an exit. A new NCEO report details how ESOPs win on retention; a companion paper finds selling to an ESOP costs about 2 to 4% of deal value versus 4 to 9% to an outside buyer. Worth a rough feasibility look alongside your other options. Read more →
TOOLS + SECURITY
Two things to act on
If you run a Fortinet firewall or VPN, read this today. On June 18 CISA warned that leaked credentials tied to about 74,000 Fortinet devices are being actively used by attackers. Ask your IT or MSP this week to reset every VPN and admin password, enforce multi-factor authentication, and pull the management interface off the public internet. Read more →
One habit worth starting: AI meeting notes. Drop an AI notetaker into your next leadership or sales meeting and let it produce the summary and action items. It is the fastest back-office win most owners are not using yet. Start with one recurring meeting this month and see if the notes hold up.
WORTH A LISTEN
Two episodes for the drive
Defenders of Business Value, Ep. 150 (Indiana). Carmel’s Ed Mysogland talks with VentureVets founder Courtney Zaugg about moving from a military playbook into buying and running a business. Local host, real deal mechanics. Listen →
Acquiring Minds: “How to De-Risk the Personal Guarantee.” A practical look at personal-guarantee insurance for buyers signing an SBA loan. It is the fear that stops the most acquisitions cold. Listen →
ECOSYSTEM VENDOR SPOTLIGHT
BT Pro Solutions (Fort Wayne)
If software, data, or a stalled tech project is slowing your business down, BT Pro Solutions is worth knowing. They are a tech consulting and product-development shop that works like an extension of your team, with straightforward pricing and no charge for endless meetings that go nowhere.
We got to know them through Nick Ladig, who helped pull our September event together. Good people, and a real resource for Northern Indiana operators who need technical help without the agency bloat.
DEADLINE RADAR
Dates to put on the calendar
| Jul 1 | FAIRNESS Act (SEA 76) takes effect. Every employer, no size minimum. Enroll in E-Verify and audit your I-9s. Details → |
| Jul 6 | R&D refund window closes. See Flag This above. Details → |
| Jul 15 | Indiana Tax Amnesty opens. Penalties and interest waived on pre-2024 liabilities. Check eligibility at taxamnesty.in.gov. Details → |
| Sep 28 | Opportunity Zone tract nominations due. The program is permanent and the map is being redrawn. Details → |
| Ongoing | ICE I-9 crackdown. Common paperwork errors are now substantive violations (up to $2,861 per form). Audit active I-9s. Details → |
EVENTS WORTH YOUR TIME
Where to be
June 23: iGlobal Independent Sponsors & Capital Providers, Chicago. Capped at 75 senior dealmakers. Independent sponsors and private-credit lenders deploying now. Details →
June 25: Keep IN succession webinar (free, virtual). Details above. Register →
July 27: ACG Indiana Golf Outing, Zionsville. Where Indiana lenders, M&A advisors, and PE meet operators in a relaxed setting. Register →
Sept 9 to 10: Great Lakes Capital Connection, downtown Indy. The biggest Midwest M&A dealmaking room of the year, in your backyard. Register →
Thanks for reading. Reply anytime, or reach me directly at [email protected].
Jared Luegers
Founder, OWN Indiana