You have been working for someone for your entire life and all of a sudden your employer is in financial difficulty and you receive a severance package. There are lots of people competing with you to look for a job but you cannot find one, what do you do? What about starting your business. You can start from scratch or you can buy a business.
It is difficult to get used to the idea that you will not receive a pay check every week but if you try hard and are successful, you will never want to work for anyone again.
You need to decide what are your strengths and what you are good at. If you are good at sales, stick with a business which will utilize your skills. Determine how much is your buget then start to look at all your business contacts and determine if you can sell them a service or a product. Getting a person who already knows you is much easier then getting a new customer from scratch.
Determine if you are going to start a business, find someone else to work with you or buy a business.
There is no central listing of businesses for sale. As a result, investors must be proactive. The owners of many companies contemplate about selling their business for a long period of time. Many are the founders and are emotionally attached to their business therefore it is difficult for them to sell the business if there is no succession plan.
You should contact all the business brokers in your area. If the business broker gets a new listing, he will mention it to the last person he spoke to. If you registered with a broker 6 months ago, how does he/she know you are still looking for a business? If the business broker spoke to an investor yesterday, he/she knows that they are active in the market looking for a business. The business broker wants to sell his listing as soon as possible to a qualified investor. If he qualified you yesterday, he does not have to go through his Rolodex to see who is in the market looking for a business and determine if their investment criteria has changed etc. Brokers will often mention the most recent listings to the most recent buyers they spoke to. As a result, you need to continue to follow up with the business brokers on a regular basis.
You cannot rely on only one method to find a business for sale since there is no central listing for businesses for sale. You may miss out on lots of opportunities and will never know that. Continue to monitor new businesses for sale . If you do not know exactly what you want, describe general items but be specific on the size of the business, the purchase price etc of the company and be very specific on the types of businesses that you do not want. The more information that you provide, the greater the chance that a seller of a business will know what you are looking for and will contact you. Many people do not know what they want to buy however you can describe what you do not want to include and this will be helpful. You also have to decide do you want to buy a franchise or non franchise business.
Once you find the business then you need to know what questions you need to ask.. Make sure you ask all your questions prior to buying the business. Once you own the business, there is no one to task anymore so take your time and make sure that you have made the right decision that you will not regret.
By: Gary Landa
About the Author:
It is difficult to get used to the idea that you will not receive a pay check every week but if you try hard and are successful, you will never want to work for anyone again.
You need to decide what are your strengths and what you are good at. If you are good at sales, stick with a business which will utilize your skills. Determine how much is your buget then start to look at all your business contacts and determine if you can sell them a service or a product. Getting a person who already knows you is much easier then getting a new customer from scratch.
Determine if you are going to start a business, find someone else to work with you or buy a business.
There is no central listing of businesses for sale. As a result, investors must be proactive. The owners of many companies contemplate about selling their business for a long period of time. Many are the founders and are emotionally attached to their business therefore it is difficult for them to sell the business if there is no succession plan.
You should contact all the business brokers in your area. If the business broker gets a new listing, he will mention it to the last person he spoke to. If you registered with a broker 6 months ago, how does he/she know you are still looking for a business? If the business broker spoke to an investor yesterday, he/she knows that they are active in the market looking for a business. The business broker wants to sell his listing as soon as possible to a qualified investor. If he qualified you yesterday, he does not have to go through his Rolodex to see who is in the market looking for a business and determine if their investment criteria has changed etc. Brokers will often mention the most recent listings to the most recent buyers they spoke to. As a result, you need to continue to follow up with the business brokers on a regular basis.
You cannot rely on only one method to find a business for sale since there is no central listing for businesses for sale. You may miss out on lots of opportunities and will never know that. Continue to monitor new businesses for sale . If you do not know exactly what you want, describe general items but be specific on the size of the business, the purchase price etc of the company and be very specific on the types of businesses that you do not want. The more information that you provide, the greater the chance that a seller of a business will know what you are looking for and will contact you. Many people do not know what they want to buy however you can describe what you do not want to include and this will be helpful. You also have to decide do you want to buy a franchise or non franchise business.
Once you find the business then you need to know what questions you need to ask.. Make sure you ask all your questions prior to buying the business. Once you own the business, there is no one to task anymore so take your time and make sure that you have made the right decision that you will not regret.
By: Gary Landa
About the Author:
President The Business Place