The old adage you have to spend money to make money is absolutely true. Business owners have to invest in things like marketing and improvements in order to keep a business thriving and growing.

There is a far more important adage, however, that a new business owner needs to abide by.

That adage? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

What do we mean by that?

When you envisioned your life as a business owner, you likely saw your business as something uniquely your own. Your own designs, ideas, concepts.

If you’ve decided to take the entrepreneurial plunge by buying an existing business, you have made a very smart choice because you don’t have to start from the ground up – you get a fully operational business with a proven location on day one. This removes the issues a start-up business would bring – like finding a location, build-outs, buying equipment and furnishings, getting permits, hiring a staff, creating operating procedures, painting, designing a sign – the list is enormous.

Getting your hands on an existing business means that while all of that initial work is finished, all of those initial decisions have been made by someone else – the previous owner. This can cause a business buyer to have issues with the aesthetic and/or operational aspects of their new business because it doesn’t exactly match the business they envisioned.

As a new business owner, you need to consider this part of buying a business. There will be some things that you don’t like about your new business and some things that you personally would have done differently.

Maybe you hate the paint colors. Maybe you think the ordering system is wildly archaic. Maybe you think the layout needs to be completely changed.

If you are having these thoughts about your new business – STOP. You bought an existing, operating business that generates cash flow. Every business is inherently complicated, so it would be very difficult – if not impossible – to ascertain what parts of the business work and what parts you can change on day one.

You might hate the paint colors, but maybe the rustic charm of the decor is what keeps the regulars coming back. You might not like the ordering system, but it is based on the vendors your business needs to survive. You might hate the layout, but it is the layout that creates the efficiency that keeps the business alive.

New business owners who are hung up on their own vision of what their business should be walk in on day one and immediately embark on a very expensive major renovation, rewrite the operating procedures and change all of the vendors and staff without taking the time to figure out why the business is successful. This always, always ends in complete disaster.

We aren’t saying you can’t change things. What we are saying is patience is the name of the game. Give yourself a few months to decide what works and what doesn’t, why the previous owner did things the way they did. Once you really understand the business as a whole, you can make small changes to slowly guide the business toward your vision.

Don’t fix what isn’t broken!

Are you thinking about buying a business, but haven’t seen anything that matches the vision you have for business ownership? Would you like to know more about how buying a business can be a better choice than starting from scratch? Please leave us any comments or questions and we would be happy to help.

Michael Monnot

Can your dream business actually make you happy?

Daydreams are fun, but daydreams about business ownership can turn into a nightmare when first-time business buyers try to force an unrealistic dream into reality.

What’s the most common daydream turned nightmare? Food service. Sure, you may have always thought it would be fun to run your own cafe or sit at the end of your own bar – but if you’ve ever watched the plethora of reality TV shows about restaurants or bars on the brink of failure – you may have noticed a common theme. The food service businesses in the most trouble were bought by people who had no idea what they were doing because they had never worked a day in the industry.

This is where it is important to confront your daydream with reality. Would you know what you were doing if you took over a bar tomorrow? What are you hoping to get from owning a cafe?

More financial freedom? A break from the 9 to 5 work schedule? The ability to love what you do for work? Probably, but here’s what you may not have considered.

Financial freedom is only going to come from a good deal of success in any industry, and that good deal of success is going to more than likely mean (at least initially) long hours for you as the owner. You will probably have to be at your bar or restaurant every day, and the hours will be long and likely run late into the night. These long hours and inconsistent (if any) days off can make even the most dedicated new owner burn out, meaning you will once again hate what you do for work.

How can you avoid having your dream turn into a nightmare? Be realistic and focus on your goals instead.

If you’ve never worked a single day in the industry you’re considering, then it’s probably a bad idea to buy into that industry. Business ownership has a sharp learning curve on it’s own, you don’t want to turn that learning curve into a cliff by trying an industry where you have no practical experience to fall back on.

You should choose a business based on the goals you have for owning a business. Do you need nights and weekends off because spending time with your kids is important? What would your ideal work schedule be? How much money will you need to make in order to sustain your lifestyle? What is a realistic amount of money you could invest in a business right now? Are you looking at owning a business for the long-haul or are you thinking more along the lines of serial entrepreneurship? These types of questions are going to very quickly narrow your focus to just those businesses that will fit with the life you’d like to have.

We aren’t saying no one should by a food service business. Perhaps the life you’d like to have totally matches with the life of a bar owner – what we are saying it’s incredibly important to figure that out long before you write a big check and someone hands you the keys.

Need help figuring out what businesses would fit with your entrepreneurial goals? Ask an experienced and qualified business broker. A discussion about what you’d like to get out of owning your own business is an all-important first step.

Have you always wanted to buy your own bar or restaurant, but now aren’t sure if that’s the right business for you? Would you like to know what types of businesses would fit your goals? Please ask us! Leave any questions or comments, we would be happy to help.

Michael Monnot