http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2016/3/2/11150116/kam-chancellor-gym-police-boot-camp

Seattle Seahawk Kam Chancellor wanted to buy a gym, so he happened by a local gym on his own to have a look – and the day ended with the police being called.

If you are in the market to buy a business, you can’t treat the process the same way you would if you were going to buy a car or a house.

Operating businesses can’t let anyone know they are for sale. A “for sale” sign tells employees, customers and the competition that they are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy and are moments away from closing the doors for good. Why would anyone sell a perfectly good business, right?

There are a lot of reasons. Retirement, a sudden family illness or even a strategic sale by a business investor. In almost all cases a business for sale can be a good investment for the right buyer – not the disaster the perception of a “for sale” sign gives. That incorrect and negative assumption can devastate the reputation of a business if the word gets out, so the process of selling businesses was designed to keep a for-sale status under wraps.

What does this mean for a prospective business buyer? It means that you can’t just go see a business. Really. You just can’t. And to be honest, randomly “seeing” businesses is a colossal waste of your time.

Why is it a waste of my time? Shouldn’t I see businesses I’m thinking about buying? Absolutely, you should, but what new buyers don’t understand about buying a business is you aren’t really buying a location – you are buying cash flow. Looking at the numbers, discussions with the sellers and considering your options for immediate growth are far more important than what color the walls are.

Instead of randomly calling and asking for addresses (which you likely won’t get anyway without signing the appropriate non-disclosure agreements and providing proof of funds), the smarter move is to have a serious discussion with an experienced and qualified business broker about what your goals for business ownership are and the funds you have available to invest. With that information a good broker will be able to find you multiple listings to consider. You can research those listings, have conference calls with the sellers and go over the numbers in order to weed out businesses that aren’t going to meet your needs.

Once you have narrowed your search to just a few businesses – then and only then is it a useful exercise to go and see the physical location. These visits have many, many moving parts and always take some time to put together. The schedules of you, your broker, the seller, the seller’s broker and the business itself (you can’t go in during operating hours when employees and customers are present) will have to jive in order to make a walk-thru happen. This is why a last-minute call to go see a business will be impossible.

Don’t get Kam Chancellor’d. Use the business buying process to your advantage so you don’t waste any time finding the right business for you.

Do you have questions about the process to buy a business? Would you like to know what type of business would be right for you? Please leave any questions or comments here, and we would be happy to help!

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@infinitybusinessbrokers.com
12995 South Cleveland Avenue, Suite 249
Fort Myers, FL 33907

https://infinitybusinessbrokers.com