The Easy Road to Buying a Business

THERE IS NONE, FRIENDS!!!

We are sorry, but you should not, cannot go into the purchase of businesses like you stop at your local convenience store and buy a quick bottle of soda.  Not if you want to succeed, or at least avoid losing your shirt, in making a faulty investment.

Buying a business could be the biggest purchase you have ever made in your life.  It could be the answer to your long-term financial security and the key to your retirement.

But if you choose poorly, if you select erroneously, if you do not research and plan carefully, it could doom you to years of financial ruin and tremendous work to try to recover from a mistake you might have been able to avoid, if you had only take your time and worked yourself through that initial phase of making intelligent decisions.

We are Business Brokers; we only make our own money, if you buy a business!  So, we WANT you to buy a business.  But we do not want you to do that foolishly; we do not want to earn our money by watching you lose yours!

You will always hear about one guy who says, “I bought a company for $1.25, and ended up with a $10 million business!”  Great!  Super!  More power to you!

And it can happen.  But we also just read about a guy that won the Lottery for $320 million.  His odds were about 70 million to 1, but he won.  Of course, it only costs $1 to buy a Lottery ticket.  How much will it cost you to set up a new business, or buy one?  And what are your odds of succeeding, in that business?

A large majority of startup businesses fail in 18 months to 3 years.  The chances of succeeding by purchasing a mature business are far greater – if you choose the correct business.  (In 14 years of brokering businesses, only one (1) business we sold failed.  And that business failed because the Buyer decided he would rather buy jet skis, new cars and a new house, rather than making loan payments and payments to the IRS for his Employees’ Tax Withholdings…  He had the money; he just used it for selfish, foolish reasons, rather than first taking care of his business obligations.)

Asking us to choose the best business for your is not rational.  (See our blog: https://combrokerbusiness.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/what-kind-of-business-should-i-buy-or-start/)  We would need to know about your background, both your education and work experience; we would need to know your interests and things you want to avoid; we would need to understand your marital status, how your spouse feels about what you want to do, how much support you might get from the family, what your family culture is like…lots of personal information.  And how much money you have to invest, is always important.

Then, we need to know all about your local geography.  We need to know what the competition is like; what the traffic patterns are; what are the demographics; what is going on legally, in your area and in your industry?  What is happening to the commercial trends, in the area?

Some people think that Gas Stations are easy to buy and run, and in some areas that is true.  But these are businesses that are changing, very quickly in some areas!  (See our blog concerning Gas Stations: https://combrokerbusiness.wordpress.com/2012/08/08/should-i-buy-a-gas-station/)  There are areas of the Country where Gas Dealers have been financially ruined by the current nature of competition.  In some areas, the same is happening to Liquor Store Owners.

Buying or starting a business is not without tremendous risks, in most areas of endeavor.  It is not like turning on a light switch.  Take your time!  Do your homework.  Ask questions.  Be critical, at all times.

When you find a good opportunity, be ready to act aggressively – but that does not mean short cutting the decision making process, or acting without doing the research to make certain it is all it seems to be.  It means working hard to ensure your investment is as safe as you can possibly make it.  Because only you are in position to safeguard your own interests.

(Receive in-depth, personal consulting online, with The BAF Group’s principal at https://clarity.fm/donaldbarrick .

The BAF Group LLC is a full service Business Brokerage, with a history of more than a decade of service. Its Principal Broker possesses 25+ years of Business Sales and Divestiture. Although most of our work is involved in the Mid-Atlantic States, we have represented Sellers and Buyers throughout the Continental USA, and a number of overseas Buyers, as well. Some of our listings and additional information about us can be viewed at www.bafgroup.com. Thank you for your interest.)