Do You Really NEED To Buy A Business?

I’ll bet that of the first one hundred people that answer “no”, ninety-eight of them will never buy a business. Similarly, I will give odds that the other two, will definitely buy one, and be successful.

I cannot think of a better scenario than the process of buying a business to distinguish between wants and needs. This is an imperfect process made even more challenging by the fact that there’s no such thing as a perfect business.

You can always find a reason not to buy a particular business, or any at all. Just like you can always find a reason to not change jobs, get married, start a family, or even leave the house for that matter.

In prior posts and articles I have gone over the math and clearly,

there is no better financial investment or vehicle to invest in yourself than to buy a solid existing business that you can grow; that’s a given.

Why then do so many people fail to ever complete a deal? There are three key reasons and I’ll save the biggie for last. First, a lack of information is a major reason. There are a ton of new situations you’ll encounter and without the right information at your fingertips, you’ll get overwhelmed and give up. Second, it is much easier to look for a business than it is to buy one. There are tons of businesses listed for sale online and elsewhere. It’s so easy to just keep clicking through the listings trying to find a better one. Guess what? You have to start somewhere. You CAN’T buy a business from a listing alone so send in inquiries to sellers and brokers and get the dialogue going (remember, before you get any meaningful information, you need to sign the necessary documents) so don’t ask for tax returns in your first email. Third, and the most important one: if you don’t need to buy one, you’re in trouble so you may need to adjust your thinking.

This need can take many different forms. You may need it for financial reasons, or because you’re confident you can succeed on your own and need to prove it or, you’ve always wanted to be in your own business, and now’s the right time. I believe it’s always the right time to do what you NEED to do! Above all, your need has to be that you are simply no longer willing to do what it is that you’ve been doing work-wise to this point. Once you make the decision that “enough is enough” and it’s your turn now, you’ll be successful in this project.

Through my courses, seminars, consulting and brokerage work, I’m in regular contact with thousands of prospective business buyers Even after all these years, it still drives me crazy when I meet people that have been looking for a year or two – I just feel terrible for them because they’ve wasted so much time. Then again, when I help them and they achieve their goals; there’s nothing better. I have seen the transformation countless times in these situations. They come in discouraged and feeling they’ll never find the right business, or with endless war stories about deals gone bad, uncooperative sellers/brokers, and on and on. However;

once they identify that they’ve been attacking the process incorrectly and they move into the space of determining they need to start the buying process and abort the looking process, and moreover adjust their thinking to having to satisfy a real true need to buy, it’s an epiphany.

So here’s what you need to do:

– You need to stop looking and start thinking about buying.

– You need to follow up listings and meet with business owners.

– You need to educate yourself.

– You need to get your financial house in order and determine how much you can invest.

– You need to understand that no business is perfect – but there are plenty of solid ones that can grow from your strengths.

– You need to know that the buying process itself is not cast in stone and each business and broker may bring different circumstances.

– You need to be realistic about what size businesses you can afford.

– You need to get to set a timeline to get this done (six months maximum).

Above all, you NEED to succeed.