Business Buyer? Why You Need A Business Broker

Posted in Business Broker Why & How, Buyers Articles

Published March 1, 2021

 

If you are considering the entrepreneurial leap, you will likely find many people in your life who are ready to give you lots of helpful (and probably more frequently unhelpful) advice. Friends, colleagues, attorneys, real estate agents and the like will probably be full of unsolicited information. 

 

When you buy a business, you need real help. By far the best person you can have by your side during the business buying process is an experienced and qualified business broker.

 

Business brokers help people buy and sell businesses, and as a buyer one of your first steps to business ownership should be finding a broker to help you. Your initial conversation with a broker should include a discussion of your goals for business ownership, the amount of capital you have to invest, the areas and industries where you have practical experience, your timeline for buying a business and the like. Having your own broker – someone who knows what you’re looking for and what you want out of the deal – will be instrumental in helping you find the right business. 

 

When I called about a business, there was already a broker involved – so why do I need my own?

 

Business brokers don’t represent the buyer or the seller in a transaction, they represent the transaction itself. That being said, the broker who you speak to when inquiring about a listing is someone who knows and has a relationship with the seller – and it is their job to get the business sold. Would you be willing to take the advice of an adviser who only knows about the seller and the business and nothing about you? Probably not. Your own broker is going to go through the discovery process with you – and then use that information to help you narrow down the choices of businesses currently for sale. The point here is you should have a broker who knows something about you too.

 

What if my broker matches me with one of their own listings? Is it a bad idea to have them represent both sides of the deal?

 

If your broker knows you and your goals, and has the perfect business to meet those goals, then no – it wouldn’t be a bad idea for your broker to represent both sides. Again, brokers represent the transaction, so as long as you and the seller are both comfortable working with the broker it shouldn’t be a problem. In many cases having only one broker in the mix can actually make the transaction simpler.

 

What did you mean by “experienced and qualified business broker”?

 

Our industry is a tough one, and while many budding business brokers come onto the market – most never make it to a closing table. We also have lots of moonlighters – people with professional expertise in a completely different field, but they sell businesses “on the side”. For the most part these moonlighters are real estate agents and attorneys, but we’ve even seen neurologists and dentists give business sales a go. If you are trying to buy a business, you want someone who knows what they are doing by your side. If you needed a cavity filled, you wouldn’t call a realtor – so make sure any broker you work with is actually a business broker. Then ask them about their experience. Are they brand-new to the industry? If they are, they will likely have an impossibly hard time getting seasoned brokers to cooperate with them, they will be unaware of the common pitfalls that can derail a business sale and they won’t be able to guide you properly through the process.

 

When you are ready to buy a business, do yourself and your goals a favor by employing the services of the best adviser possible – a qualified and experienced business broker. 

 

Have you shopped around for a business but haven’t found what you were looking for? Is the “broker” helping you really a moonlighter? Do you want to know what kind of business could help you meet your goals? Ask us! Leave us a comment or question and we would be happy to help you on your journey to business ownership.

 

 

 

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@InfinityBusinessBrokers.com
5111 Ocean Boulevard, Suite E
Siesta Key, FL 34242

www.InfinityBusinessBrokers.com

 

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The Pre-Closing Panic: How Business Buyers And Sellers Can Avoid Disaster

Posted in Buyers Articles, Sellers Articles

Published February 22, 2021

A business changing hands is a big deal. One side is selling their blood, sweat and tears. The other is writing a very big check and stepping into the unknown. It can be scary. Really scary.

 

What happens more often than not is one or both sides start to panic as the closing date approaches – and when that happens tempers can flare and perfectly good deals can fall apart.

 

 

How do you avoid a pre-closing disaster? Know that it’s coming and mentally prepare.

 

 

Sellers:

If you are selling your business, it can be difficult to remain objective and unoffended when a buyer gets antsy and starts questioning everything about your business. We get that. Repeat questions, constant requests for renegotiation, attempts to lower the offer, demands for new issues that have already been dealt with and the like would make anyone angry – even angry enough to pull out of the deal.

 

What you should know going in is these things are probably going to happen. There are very few buyers who don’t get cold feet as the contract winds towards closing, and those cold feet can cause a buyer to do some pretty weird things. They are going to try to find a way to back out of the deal – not because they really want to, but because their nerves got the better of them.

 

Whatever your buyer is doing or demanding at the end, take a step back and think about where the panic behavior is coming from. Are they just freaking out? Have they really found an insurmountable issue with your business, or are they trying to give themselves a reason to back out because they’re scared? You don’t have to bend to their every demand, but you do need to have some patience and be ready for this inevitable last-minute buyer anxiety. 

 

Buyers:

If you are a buyer, know going in that you are probably going to be really nervous – increasingly so as the date for writing that big check approaches.

 

You are absolutely entitled to all of the information you need before you sign on the dotted line and buy a business – that’s what the due diligence period is for. You need to utilize that time for due diligence to go through all of the information you request, ask good questions, discuss any issues you uncover with your business broker, your spouse, your transaction attorney, etc. and make an educated decision based on all of that information. Once you’ve made that decision – don’t second guess yourself.

 

Feeling anxious about a big decision is totally normal – letting that anxiety override an educated decision is far from productive. If you are days away from closing and are feeling like you’re making a mistake – go back and talk to the people you talked to during the due diligence process, like your business broker, your spouse and your transaction attorney. Go over your worries and work through why you are suddenly feeling like you don’t want to go through with the deal. It is nerves, or is it really an insurmountable problem? If you’ve made it all the way through due diligence without finding a deal-killing problem, it’s probably just nerves. Don’t talk yourself out of a great new opportunity.

 

The message? It’s the last minute panic that causes the issues. Big decisions might feel like they require a big leap of faith – but the reality is the decisions you’ve made during your business transaction have been made based on facts, no leap of faith was required. Trust your gut, be patient with the other side and remember that nerves can only cause issues if you let them. 

 

Do you have questions about how to deal with a panicking buyer? Would you like to know more about how due diligence works? Ask us! Leave any questions or comments and we would be happy to help.

 

 

 

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@InfinityBusinessBrokers.com
5111 Ocean Boulevard, Suite E
Siesta Key, FL 34242

www.InfinityBusinessBrokers.com

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Don’t Lock The Doors – Sell Your Distressed Business Instead

Posted in Sellers Articles

Published February 18, 2021

We see this way more often than we should.

 

A business owner, for any one of a myriad of reasons, decides that the time has come to step away from their role as the owner of their business. Perhaps they’ve decided it’s time to retire, maybe they were hoping to pass the business on to children who have decided to follow another path or perhaps they are in the midst of a personal/family emergency that will require too much of their time and energy to keep the business afloat. In today’s market it might be because the pandemic has caused a massive hit to their bottom line and they don’t see a path forward.

 

 

Here’s the problem – the only solution they see is to sell some physical assets, lock the doors and walk away.

 

This isn’t the only choice. Existing businesses are worth far more than just the value of the tangible assets because an existing business has (or has recently had) cash flow.

 

Cash flow has it’s own value and is a highly sought-after commodity, especially if your business is in a soon to be healthy market and has the potential for growth.

 

Ok, so cash flow has value – but who would want to buy my business?

 

Lots of people would. Budding entrepreneurs who want a safer bet than starting from scratch, veteran business owners who want a change of pace and are looking for businesses with room to grow, foreign investors who are looking to move to the United States by buying a business – just to name a few.

 

Think of it this way – someone who wants to own their own business has two options. They can make a very risky and very large monetary investment in an unproven location, with an unproven business model and unproven products and services – or they can buy a business who has already overcome those initial hurdles. A buyer knows your location, business model, products and services worked because your doors are open and your books show growth (or have shown growth in the time period before the pandemic hit). They get an operating business from day one instead of a risk-filled empty space, and you get a financial return on all you have invested in your business.

 

If you don’t really have a plan for your exit as the owner of your business, it might be a good idea to talk to a business broker about what options you may have, what kind of timetable you are considering and what businesses like yours have recently sold for. Asking questions now will give you the information you need to make the smart choice – the choice to sell your business when the time is right. Don’t walk away and leave so much on the table, contact us today!

 

Do you have more questions about selling your distressed business? Would you like to know what the market currently looks like for businesses like yours? Ask us! Feel free to leave any questions or comments, we would be happy to help.

 

 

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@InfinityBusinessBrokers.com
5111 Ocean Boulevard, Suite E
Siesta Key, FL 34242

www.InfinityBusinessBrokers.com

 

 

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Problems? How Business Buyers Can Spot Issues

Posted in Become a Business Owner, Buyers Articles

Published February 15, 2021

 

If you are looking at businesses to buy, then the first things you will encounter that will tell you about the business are the financial records – likely a P&L and/or tax returns.

 

While financial records can tell you a great deal about the stability and health of a business – there are some other less obvious ways to determine how a business is really doing.

 

 

Watch The Owner

Some owners mentally check out the moment they list their business, some mentally checked out long ago. Owners who are consistently late to meetings, consistently sluggish on answering questions or constantly procrastinating with requested information are probably that way in the day to day operations of their business. A business with an owner who habitually doesn’t stay on top of things probably isn’t in the best shape.

 

How does the owner treat you when you visit? If they are condescending or rude to a potential buyer – someone who may write them an enormous check in the near future, then they are probably even worse to their employees, vendors and customers.

 

 

Read Reviews

You might need to take these with a grain of salt, especially if it is a business with only a handful of reviews. The internet creates a veil of anonymity that some use to blast businesses for almost no slight at all. Some people just love to complain.

 

What reviews should you take seriously? If a business has 300 reviews and 80% are horrible, then there is definitely an issue. If there are only a few reviews that seem to be written by chronic complainers – but they all follow the same vein, like terrible customer service from wait staff, then that can give you a pretty good idea of what you’ll need to change the moment you get the keys.

 

 

Watch For A Mess

When you tour a business, you can find out very quickly if the current owner is someone who excels at attention to detail. A business that is filthy or has equipment in various stages of disrepair is probably lacking ownership attention in other non-physical areas of the business as well.

 

When you are in the market to buy a business, don’t just rely on the financial numbers when deciding whether to purchase or how much to offer. You can use other indicators, like owner behavior or the state of equipment, to determine if the business is right for the price and for the goals you are hoping to achieve.

 

If you are looking for a business that is more of a fixer-upper – then bad reviews, poor cleanliness and a disconnected owner might be good signs that you will be able to negotiate for a price that leaves you the capital you’ll need to turn it around. If you are looking for more of a turn-key business, then you’ll want to find the non-financial aspects of the business in good shape.

 

 

 

Do you have questions about other non-financial clues you should be watching for when considering businesses to buy? Do you have one that we didn’t mention that you’d like to share? Please leave your questions and comments – we would be happy to help!

 

 

 

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@InfinityBusinessBrokers.com
5111 Ocean Boulevard, Suite E
Siesta Key, FL 34242

www.InfinityBusinessBrokers.com

 

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Why You Absolutely CAN Own Your Own Buisness

Posted in Become a Business Owner, Buyers Articles

Published February 8, 2021

When we chat with people and they find out what we do, the conversation usually goes something like this,

 

“I would love to own my own business, but…(insert excuse here)”

 

Sure, there are a myriad of reasons why going it alone and owning your own business may seem like a foolhardy venture, but the truth is entrepreneurship can be the key to happiness.

 

Why? When you own your own business, you are the boss of your day to day life. The amount of money you make, what you do for work – these things are now up to you. Talk to any entrepreneur and they will tell you that this kind of control over your own destiny is absolutely worth it.

 

Let’s look at some of the big excuses we hear about why buying a business is impossible and show you that all it really takes to be your own boss is a little planning and a lot of drive.

 

“I don’t have the money.”

 

Sure, there are a lot of businesses out there that only a multi-millionaire could afford, but the truth is the small business market is full of businesses that many people could absolutely afford to buy. Smaller ventures can be bought outright for cash from your savings, while some medium sized businesses can be purchased with a decent down payment and a bit of seller financing. Think of the money you would need to buy a business this way – you aren’t just spending the money – you are investing it in a business that will give you a return on that investment with some hard work on your part. You already go to a job and work hard for someone else, why not do that for yourself?

 

“It’s too risky.”

 

Yes, all business ventures come with their fair share of risk, but so does the job you have now. You could walk into work tomorrow and get fired. If you own your own business, any mistakes you make, any risks you take that don’t pan out will make you a better and smarter entrepreneur in the long run. Think ahead to your retirement. Are you going to look back at your working life, where you gave your blood, sweat and tears to someone else’s business, and wish you had taken the chance to work for yourself?

 

“I don’t know how to run a business.”

 

You’re right, none of us did at the beginning – but you learn fast. Think back about every boss you’ve ever had. How many times have you said to yourself “My boss is an idiot, if I were in charge I would…”. See, you do know some of what it takes to own your own business! The rest you can learn along the way. Talk to other business owners, read books, take a class – the know-how is out there if you are willing to find it. It is also a good idea to buy a business in an industry where you’ve already worked. That practical experience will serve you well.

 

The message here is if you’ve always wanted to own your own business, there is no such thing as an obstacle (or excuse) that you can’t overcome with some hard work and perseverance. Take the entrepreneurial leap, and you can soon be well on your way to business ownership.

 

Are you thinking about buying a business, but you’re not sure you have enough funds? Are you curious about what would be available? Ask us! Please feel free to leave us a comment or question here, and we would be happy to help you on your journey to entrepreneurship.

 

 

 

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@InfinityBusinessBrokers.com
5111 Ocean Boulevard, Suite E
Siesta Key, FL 34242

www.InfinityBusinessBrokers.com

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Insights from the Insight Report: Why 2021 Is The Year For Buyers And Sellers

Posted in Buyers Articles, Sellers Articles

Published February 1, 2021

 

2020 is over and the BizBuySell 2020 Insight Report is out – so what does a look back at an unprecedented year mean for business buyers and sellers in 2021?

 

Pandemic-proof businesses ruled the year.

 

2020 was a rough year in the small business marketplace, with a drop of 22% in businesses sold. However, this was not as large of a drop as the market saw during the recession (28% in 2009). Also, businesses sold last year were selling for higher prices than many of the businesses that sold in 2019 (the median sale price for 2020 was up 12% over 2019) as pandemic resistant businesses dominated the market.

 

 

“These businesses that continued to perform well despite the pandemic created a golden opportunity for sellers. According to surveyed brokers, 54% of businesses that sold in 2020 were immune to the pandemic, with almost half (24%) thriving.”

 

The uncertainty created by the pandemic and the shut downs saw many owners pulling their businesses from the market, and those with pandemic-proof business models (think takeout food, delivery service, manufacturing, etc.) enjoying the boom to their bottom line. If you’ve got one of these businesses and were considering selling at some point down the line – now is the time. As vaccine rollouts bring “normal” back, sellers who were on the fence will likely start listing again – in big numbers. Buyers today have far less inventory and inventory with high valuations. Get in while it’s still a seller’s market.

 

What if your business isn’t in that pandemic-proof category? If your business has suffered, but you’ve managed to persevere – the smart move might be to get your business to a place where you can show growth again before you list. This won’t be the case for every scenario – so talk to with a broker about what the best move will be for you and your business.

 

What if you’re a buyer? Keep your eye on the prize. Sure, the essential businesses are expensive and hard to come by at the moment – but those businesses are potentially a great buy for the uncertain times ahead. There are also lots of opportunities for buying distressed businesses at a great price. Talk to an experienced broker about what the right path would be for you. A distressed business that can be reinvigorated by adding a delivery option or by the creation of a social media marketing plan could be a good investment if you don’t have the available capital for a pandemic resistant business at the moment.  

 

The message here is although 2020 was a rough year, there is not only a light at the end of the tunnel – the tunnel itself wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Smart business owners have adapted and persevered – and now have the opportunity to get a great return in 2021. If the last year has you reconsidering your life – and you’ve always wanted to own your own business – 2021 could be your year as well. Talk to a qualified business broker about your business ownership goals today!

 

Do you have more questions about what last year’s numbers mean for you and your business ownership goals? Would you like to know what pandemic resistant businesses are currently for sale? Ask us! Leave any questions or comments and we would be happy to help.

 

 

 

 

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@InfinityBusinessBrokers.com
5111 Ocean Boulevard, Suite E
Siesta Key, FL 34242

www.InfinityBusinessBrokers.com

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The Long Wait – When Sellers Drag Their Feet

Posted in Become a Business Owner, Buyers Articles

Published January 25, 2021

As business brokers this has to be one of the most frustrating aspects of the job.

 

You have a motivated buyer who is very interested in a particular business and a decent offer is on the table. You request that the seller send over the information required for due diligence, like financial records, tax returns, etc.

 

Then you wait. And you wait.

 

 

Then the seller sends over partial records, which you forward to your buyers, but the rest of the information your buyers requested has yet to be produced. So you wait.

 

You get constant calls and emails from your buyers, and all you can tell them is you haven’t received the information from the seller so your hands are tied. The inevitable conclusion of this situation is the deal will fall apart and the buyer will move on.

 

Why does this happen?

 

Some sellers go on the market with the initial intention of selling, but once they are in the process, they realize

  1. that it can require a lot of work on their part to produce information and be available for questions/meetings, and
  2. they are shortly going to be out of a job

 

This can cause some sellers to develop a decent case of cold feet. It can also cause a seller to be defensive, as constant requests for more financial information can give the impression that the buyer is trying to dig up dirt on the business.

 

This, of course, is not the case. Buying a business is a huge decision, and most buyers are going to want a thorough look at any business before they pull the trigger.

 

What if the problem isn’t the seller? Could the problem be the broker?

 

If your broker is really good about answering your questions, is prompt with returning phone calls and emails and has been forthcoming about the issues they may be having with the other side – then their hands are probably are tied. If it takes your broker ten days to return your phone calls, then yes, the problem is likely the broker.

 

As with everything in a business transaction, a good dose of patience will go a long way. This does not mean, however, that you have to sit around and wait for a seller to deliver information they have no intention of ever giving you. Talk to your broker if you have concerns about time frame issues, and understand that sometimes there really isn’t anything a broker can do to speed up the process.

 

Are you a buyer who is having a hard time getting information out of sellers? Do you have questions about whether the issue may be with your current broker and not with the seller? Please feel free to leave us a comment or question here, and we will be happy to assist you.

 

 

 

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@InfinityBusinessBrokers.com
5111 Ocean Boulevard, Suite E
Siesta Key, FL 34242

www.InfinityBusinessBrokers.com

 

No Comments »



How Close Is Close Enough? Thoughts For Business Sellers

Posted in Sellers Articles

Published January 21, 2021

When you first list your business one of the major points of discussion will be the delicate balance of where to set your listing price. Set the number too high and good buyers will pass your business by in favor of those more reasonably priced. Price it too low and you won’t be getting the best return on your investment.

 

You probably have a dream number in your head – an amount you’d love to get. Here’s the thing. That dream number may or may not be realistic – and isn’t something you should stick to come hell or high water. Instead, consider a threshold where you would still be comfortable making a deal – then add a bit to reach your full listing price. Businesses rarely sell for this full listing price, so the buffer between your threshold and the listing price is the sweet spot where negotiation can happen.

 

 

Ok, I’ve got a buyer and we’ve been negotiating for weeks. So far their offer is still below my threshold. Do I take the offer or walk away?

 

You can always walk away, but ask yourself these questions first:

 

One, is what they are offering unfair – or is it just not ideal? If you haven’t been able to reach a middle ground with your buyer, ask yourself “why aren’t they coming up?”  Is there something about your business that will be expensive to fix or overhaul the day they walk in the door? Are they worried about a customer who makes up a large percent of your bottom line leaving once the business changes hands? Are you asking for your inventory or equipment to be valued as new even though it’s a few years old? If you were the buyer – would what they’re offering make sense? If so, maybe you need to come down a bit instead of trying to force them to come up.

 

Second, is there a way to meet in the middle by making a creative deal? Could you offer seller financing? Is there a way to structure a deal that will hold back money in escrow based on certain markers over a period of time? Every small business deal is different, and it’s this individual nature that allows for creative purchase contracts to come together. If you and your buyer are really deadlocked on price, maybe there’s a creative way to reach a deal anyway.

 

Finally, are you willing to walk away and start over with a new buyer? Selling a business takes time. A lot of time. It also takes a huge amount of effort. If you’ve been negotiating with a buyer for weeks or months and there’s a gap between what you would want in an ideal world and what they are willing to offer – is it going to be worth it to you to start over? Unless the gap is huge – probably not. It can be difficult to end a negotiation by letting the other side “win”, but how many weeks or months will it take you to find another buyer? Will that new buyer be willing to offer you substantially more, or are they likely to come to a similar conclusion and offer something like your current buyer is? You should also think about your deal in terms of the difference in price. For example – is the difference $5,000 or $10,000 in a deal worth hundreds of thousands of dollars? Does it make sense to kill a deal for a relatively small difference in price? In most cases, the answer will probably be no.

 

Here’s where we’re going with this. How close is close enough? You might not be getting that ideal number in your head, or the offer might be under a threshold where you would love to be – but does it make sense to walk away for the difference? In a lot of cases you can bridge the gap with your buyer by using  a creative deal, or by looking at the offer objectively from a buyer’s point of view. 

 

Are you considering selling your business and have questions about what a fair listing price might be? Would you like to know more about creative deals we’ve put together in the past? Ask us! Leave any questions or comments and we would be happy to help.

 

 

 

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@InfinityBusinessBrokers.com
5111 Ocean Boulevard, Suite E
Siesta Key, FL 34242

www.InfinityBusinessBrokers.com

 

 

 

 

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Why There’s No Such Thing As The Perfect Time To Buy A Business

Posted in Become a Business Owner, Buyers Articles

Published January 18, 2021

 

2020 was a strange year. A pandemic, a contentious election, protests and the like. If you were contemplating the leap to business ownership, are recent events causing you reconsider your jump?

 

Should you wait until things settle down to buy a business?

 

Nope. Here’s why.

 

There is no such thing as the perfect time to buy a business.

 

Sure, small business ownership can be impacted by changes in the overall economy and many small businesses struggled or didn’t survive the shut downs brought about by the pandemic. Here’s what’s also true. Some businesses have been weathering the storm well. Some have thrived. Why?

 

You can’t let what’s happening in the news dictate your entrepreneurial success.

 

The news has always been scary, but this last year it was on a whole new level. If you watch any news at all it might look like the whole world is on fire and every small business tanked. It isn’t, and they didn’t either.

 

In reality there are always going to be issues when you own a small business. Things that are completely out of your control. The wider economy. Global health crisis. Weather events. Political strife. Here’s what separates successful entrepreneurs from the pack. They don’t let the outside world determine their destiny.

 

They are willing to rethink every aspect of their business when things change. They aren’t afraid to do things differently when necessary. They pivot quickly and creatively when the needs of their customer base change. When something they’ve tried doesn’t work, they dust themselves off and move on. They focus on growth, always.

 

What successful entrepreneurs don’t do is wallow in news-driven fear. They take the information they gain from what’s happening around them and use that information to move their business in the right direction.

 

The message here is if you’re waiting for the perfect time to buy a business – don’t.  It will absolutely keep you from your entrepreneurial dreams forever.

 

A few examples?

 

If you’re waiting for the economy to return to full strength, remember that in a booming economy businesses are far more expensive than they are when it’s not. If you wait, you might price yourself out of the game. If you’re waiting for the pandemic to be over, remember that it might take a really long time for life to return to some semblance of normal – and many things are likely permanently changed. The business owners who will do well in our post-pandemic world will be the ones who were creative enough to survive today. Waiting means you will be missing out on that boots-on-the-ground practical knowledge that will help you be successful down the line. Be a part of that tough bunch now instead of having to compete with them later. If you are waiting for political changes, remember that people have been building successful businesses throughout history – and it never really mattered who was in charge. You are responsible for what happens in your business, not a politician on the other side of the country.

 

Don’t wait. Fulfill your dreams of business ownership now.

 

Were you considering buying a business but aren’t so sure anymore? Do you have questions about what types of businesses are doing well right now? Would you like to know more about what types of businesses would meet your business ownership goals? Ask us! Please leave any questions or comments and we would be happy to help.

 

 

 

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@InfinityBusinessBrokers.com
5111 Ocean Boulevard, Suite E
Siesta Key, FL 34242

www.InfinityBusinessBrokers.com

No Comments »



Don’t Be Disengaged: Why This Buyer Spells Disaster

Posted in Buyers Articles

Published January 11, 2021

Buying a business is a big deal. You are embarking on a whole new life, have a ton to learn and an exciting new road ahead – a road that takes a lot of planning, preparation and hard work.

 

What can sometimes confound business brokers, business sellers and even some buyers is a relatively rare but alarmingly destructive force – the disengaged buyer.

 

 

What’s a disengaged buyer?

 

Someone who waltzes into the business buying process with nonchalance – they don’t take anything seriously.

 

They miss conference calls. They’re chronically late for appointments. They let license applications sit on their desk unfinished. They don’t show up for training with the seller, or they show up and act like they could care less. Sounds frustrating, doesn’t it?

 

Frustration isn’t the only issue. This level of apathy can be destructive as well.

 

It alienates the seller. It angers the commercial landlord. It hampers the ability to run the business because licensing requirements have not been met.

 

Sure, some of the business buying process is tedious. Some of your training will seem unnecessary. Red tape and paperwork are boring. We get it. Guess what? Nonchalance on your part can (and probably will) cause irreparable harm to your business ownership goals.

 

Why?

 

All those conference calls and meetings are crucial to your success. You can’t know if a business is going to be right for you if you haven’t asked the right questions.

 

Licensing requirements are an absolute necessity – and they can take time. Time that is out of your control because the wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly. You need to get going on applications as soon as is feasible and you need to stay on top of all the bureaucratic red tape before it has a chance to strangle your new business venture.

 

Your training period is critical to your success. You need to take every single moment of training seriously and try to gain every bit of knowledge you can from your seller. They’ve already worked through the pitfalls that you will face, and their knowledge will help you avoid them.

 

The relationships you have with your seller and your commercial landlord can make or break your transition to business ownership. If you alienate the seller, they are much less likely to take training you seriously – and you’d better believe they’ll stop taking your calls as soon as the training period is over. An angry landlord can refuse to transfer the lease, raise the rent, etc. Preserving those relationships by being respectful of everyone’s time and effort will go a long way on ensuring your success.

 

Do yourself and your future business a favor – BE ENGAGED.

 

Are you thinking about buying a business and want to know more about how to maintain important relationships throughout the purchase process? Would you like to know more about licensing requirements? Do you have questions about how the training period works? Ask us! Leave any questions or comments and we would be happy to help.

 

 

 

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@InfinityBusinessBrokers.com
5111 Ocean Boulevard, Suite E
Siesta Key, FL 34242

www.InfinityBusinessBrokers.com

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Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@InfinityBusinessBrokers.com

9040 Town Center Parkway
Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202



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