Tips on Buying a Business- Do I Need a Partner?

To partner or not to partner: That is ALWAYS a big question when buying or even starting a business. Let me give you a little insight on this subject- After you start or buy a business with partners, you will have your personal answer to that question if you ever think about doing it again.

Partners are necessary for two things. Either they will supply you with capital you don't have or they will provide you with skills you may not have. The latter is a better reason for a partner and a combination may work as long as you are going in with an even money 50-50 deal or better yet, you own a majority.

Whenever a partner is your "money person" (read as they supplied all or most of the needed funding), it doesn't matter what they say or who owns a majority, they hold the cards and will put their 2 cents into the operation more than you would care for.

That's why I don’t recommend picking a partner based on their bank account. You will most likely have major problems within 12-18 months. Trust me, I’ve been there.

Regardless, if a partner is needed, you have to get a partner agreement made up before buying the business. If not, when the partnership sours, you will have no way out or no way to get rid of your partner. Now you are dealing with dead weight dragging you and the business down.

Have a backup team in place! This group or individual should be available to help you out if the business does not come with the right employees to cover your weak points. This individual or team is best to be a business advisor or a small group of small business savvy people to be your brain trust while you are getting your bearings. Backup people will save you the embarrassment of taking a great business purchase and tanking it very quickly.

To sum up my personal opinion from experience of having partners more than once in my last 6+ ventures: Partners Stink... unless you have a way to easily get rif of them as soon as you don't need them anymore.

My past has told me that one way or another, what could possibly blow up in your face will. And even if it doesn't get that bad, I promise you will always encounter at least a bothersome amount of annoyance that you will need to gt off of your chest on a regular basis. Even if your partner is your spouse, sibling, best friend or a parent.

Usually these types of people just mentioned are also very bad choices for partners as your special trust in them will cloud your judgment on your business relationship with them. But this subject is an entirely different blog post.

Bottom line- don't pick up a partner unless you need to (profit sharing with an employee or "consultant" is better), always keep controlling interest in the deal (with legal paperwork), always spell out responsibilities (with legal paperwork knwn as a partner or member agreement), and don't assume partners will ever hold your best interest before theirs.

If you're ready to make a move on buying a business this year, do yourself a favor and have all the tools and knowledge you need such as the information about. Grab the e-book/toolkit you don't want to be without for this important, life-changing purchase you wish to make with this link.


To Your Business Buying Success
The Business Buying Guru

Tips on Buying a Business- What Kind of Business Should I Buy?

When you're ready to go out and buy a business for yourself, you need to decide what kind of business you want to be in. At least whittle it down to two types as part of your strategy on buying a business.

If you don’t, a few things will happen.

First, you will be looking for a long time in a very wide circle. It's hard to get a grasp on a good business opportunity when you have no idea where you want to be. If you are all over the place, you are not ready to buy a business. In turn, nobody will want to deal with you including lawyers, accountants, advisors, brokers and even sellers.

So here's a quick tip. Focus on what you do well.

If making food is your strength, then you want to find a business that allows you to do that.

If you know retail, then stick to that.

If you know business operations like sales, marketing, finances, etc, then you can pretty much pick any industry as long as you already have employees and partners lined up that know a particular industry. Some of the best business people in the world constantly buy, operate then sell businesses they have never been in because they are excellent "business operations" people and can surround themselves with industry insiders.

The bottom line is, especially if you've never owned a business, that you can't know everything and you can't do everything well. If you get too involved in things you do not do well or just too many things in general, the business will suffer and in turn, so will you.

So that means pick an industry or two that you have the personal experience in to operate, that you will enjoy being a part of, and that you have the resources to fill in the gaps.

Following this tip, by the way, will also help out with any kind of funding to purchase the business. Whether that's a bank, private lender, or even the seller. They all want to know you have a passion for this business and the experience (from you and other resources) to keep it pumping.


To Your Business Buying Success-

The Business Buying Guru

Start a Business or Buy One?

The make or buy business decision is very important to a budding entrepreneur. Do you go from ground zero or buy a business that already has a track record? Even if that means buying a business with a track record that isn’t all that good.

You need to ask yourself if you want to go through the hassles of starting with absolutely nothing and working your way up or taking over where someone else left off.

Some businesses may be better off starting from scratch if the costs of entry into the market are low as it is with businesses like consulting. As another example, very often it’s better to buy a retail-based business where a build-out of a location would be very expensive and time consuming.

Any potential business buyer needs to know and understand the typical odds they are facing once they have decided to be their own boss. Although this information seems discouraging, there of course is hope.

Believe it or not, there is more on the pro side than the con side in buying a business instead of starting from nothing.

To see more on the subject of buying a business versus starting one, click here.

If you're ready to learn all there you need to know when buying a small business, get the knowledge and tools by clicking here.


To Your Business Buying Success

The Business Buying Guru