How I Accidentally Found a Puzzle Store (And Why I'm Buying It Anyway)

Why I Started Looking (The Truth Nobody Wants to Hear)

I've been looking at businesses for over a year. Not casually browsing, actually looking. BizBuySell listings at 11 PM. Broker calls during lunch breaks. Financial analysis on weekends.

Here's why: I'm stuck.

Not stuck like "my job is boring." Stuck like there's literally no growth path where I am. No promotions coming. No salary jumps ahead. Just the same work, same meetings, same ceiling for the next 20 years.

Meanwhile, I'm watching my mom past retirement with no real plan. My son growing up in a world where a single income stream feels like Russian roulette. And me? Remote worker with decent savings, spending my days thinking how can I grow my income to secure a better future for my kids.

I needed an asset. Something I could control. Something that could work without me eventually. Something boring and predictable that actually made money.

So I started hunting: landscaping companies, pack-and-ship stores, pest control, storage units. The unsexy stuff Codie Sanchez talks about. The businesses nobody dreams of owning but that print cash every month.

Then I found a puzzle store.

The Day I Walked into the Wrong Business

Let me be clear: A puzzle store broke every rule in my buy box.

My criteria:

• Recurring revenue model

• B2B preferred

• Low inventory hassle

• Recession-proof

• Could run without me

A puzzle store:

• One-time purchases

• 100% retail

• Literally ALL inventory

• Luxury/discretionary spending

• Needs daily attention

But here's what happened.

I saw the listing, "Puzzle Store": and ignored it. Then weeks later, I went online to buy a puzzle for myself (yes, I like puzzles). That made me curious. I looked up puzzle stores near me. Found one in a town that reminded me of where I used to live in New York.

I drove there. The town hit me first. That small-town charm I'd been missing since leaving New York. Tree-lined streets. Local coffee shops. Actual community.

Then I walked into the store.

The Accidental Discovery

The store was beautiful. Walls of colorful puzzle boxes. Cozy atmosphere. Customers actually shopping at 2 PM on a Tuesday.

I played dumb. "Hey, I saw a puzzle store for sale online somewhere around here. Know anything about that?"

The woman behind the counter: "That's this store. I'm the owner."

My fake surprise: "Oh wow, what a coincidence!"

We talked for an hour. Here's what I learned:

The basics:

• Asking price: $90,000

• She claimed it was the only puzzle store in the region

• She wanted to retire and move to North Carolina

• Listed with a broker who'd done nothing for months

• She wouldn't share financials (broker agreement)

But here's what I really learned by observing:

• Multiple customers during our conversation

• Part-time employees handling sales

• Owner working but not frantically

• Simple operation (puzzles in, puzzles out)

• No e-commerce presence (opportunity)

• Regular sold-out "Puzzle Night" events

I left thinking: This doesn't fit my criteria, but maybe that doesn't matter.

Why I Came Back in October

Three months passed. I kept looking at "better" businesses. But something pulled me back to that puzzle store.

The realization: As a remote worker, I could run this differently than a normal retail owner.

Traditional retail owner: Standing behind the counter 60 hours a week.

Me: Working my remote job from my office while part-time employees handle customers.

This wasn't about replacing my income immediately. This was about:

1. Learning how to run a business with training wheels on

2. Creating a potential retirement job for my mom

3. Building a cash-flowing asset while keeping my salary

4. Having a playground to test e-commerce, events, and growth strategies

So I called the owner in October. The broker agreement had expired. We could talk directly.

The Numbers That Changed Everything

She opened the books. Here's what I found:

The Raw Numbers:

• Annual Revenue: ~$120,000

• Owner Profit: ~$45,000 (she claimed)

• Rent: $1,500/month

• Part-time employee costs: ~$40,000/year

• Inventory on hand: ~$40,000

• Years in business: 12

The Reality Check: Running everything through ChatGPT and Excel, the actual profit was lower. Maybe $35,000 after adjusting for the operator’s salary, the necessary investments the store needs to launch the online store and hiring another employee to manage the ecommerce side of things and customer service.

At a 2.5x multiple, this business was worth $120,000, not the $90,000 she wanted.

So I saw the opportunity hiding in the inefficiency.

What I Saw

No online presence. Zero. In 2024, a retail store a website and made a grand total of 3 online sales. Every puzzle sold required someone physically walking into the store.

No customer list. Eight years in business, hundreds of regular customers, but only a fraction were captured. The loyalty program relies on using a punch card.

One-and-done pricing. The puzzle night event she runs? She charges $10, pays the coffee shop $7, keeps $3, plus provides puzzles. She prioritizes community building over profit—which explains the loyal customer base.

Manual everything. Inventory tracked manually, sales recorded on paper. It works. The store's been profitable for nearly a decade. But there's room for systems that could free up time and add speed.

No established systems. Everything lives in her head. She knows every customer, every puzzle brand, every detail. The challenge will be capturing that knowledge before she retires.

This was a successful lifestyle business ready for its next chapter.

I’m ready to slow down the burnout I have been feeling for the last couple of years.

And that's exactly what made it interesting.

The Letter of Intent Moment

November. After three visits, countless hours of analysis, and one revelation during a puzzle night event (two competitive guys literally racing to complete puzzles, there's a market for competitive puzzling!), I made my decision.

My offer: $80,000 seller-financed with a 3-month trial period after closing. And the seller stays as a part-time employee for 12 months.

Here's the structure:

• $80,000 for the business (excluding inventory)

• Seller financing over 5 years

• 3-month option to back out if the business was misrepresented

• Inventory purchased separately based on what actually moves

She accepted.

Was I scared? Absolutely.

Did it make perfect financial sense? Not really.

But here's what pushed me over the edge: I finally found a business simple enough that I couldn't fuck it up, but complex enough to teach me everything I needed to know.

What Happens Next

As I write this, I'm four weeks from closing. Thursday morning, 7 AM, I'm meeting the owner to upload inventory into Shopify. I contacted three attorneys to hire the one that will review the purchase agreement. Bank statements are coming this week.

The fear is real. What if I lose my job? What if the inventory doesn't sell? What if I'm just a corporate gal who can't hack it as an owner?

But here's the thing: I've been stuck for years. Safe but stuck. Comfortable but capped.

This puzzle store isn't my dream business. It's my learning business. The one that teaches me inventory, employees, customers, systems, and cash flow. The one that proves I can do this.

And if I can make a puzzle store work? I can make anything work.

This Week's Numbers

(Starting in four weeks when we have real operational data)

• Store visits: 7

• Hours invested: 12

• Spreadsheets built: 7

• Times I thought "WTF am I doing": 47

• Times I decided to do it anyway: 48

System Building: The Inventory Chaos

The biggest operational disaster? Inventory.

Boxes everywhere. No organization system. Puzzles from 2016 sitting next to new arrivals. No way to know what sells, what doesn't, or what we even have.

This week's project: Building a simple inventory system that actually works.

Next issue: I'll share the exact Shopify setup, SKU system, and inventory process I'm implementing. Plus my first week's reality check inside the store.

Want my actual LOI template? Reply to this email. I'll send you the exact letter I used. Just the actual document.

Remember: Every business has problems. The question is whether you can see the opportunity hiding in the chaos.

Until next week,

Mara

P.S. - If you're wondering why I'm sharing all this publicly: I want to reduce the anxiety for others to buy a business. I figured transparency in daily operations will do it. And accountability. It’s harder to let yourself drop the ball when everyone is watching. Plus, if I fail spectacularly, at least you'll learn what not to do.