We’ll start this one by saying as a caveat that if you end up with a dreadful broker who never returns your phone calls, doesn’t show up to scheduled meetings on a regular basis and is all around just bad – by all means, find a new broker.

Caveat aside, many business buyers come to the business-for-sale marketplace and try to play the field, and this never ends up working in their favor.

What do we mean by playing the field? If you’ve emailed 30 brokers in a small local area to request information on potential businesses, then you are doing yourself and your prospects for business ownership a big disservice.

Why?

Your business search needs to be focused in order to be successful, and in order to have a focused business search you need to have a relationship with a good broker.

This relationship should start with a conversation about several very important things – things that won’t come across if all you are doing is shooting email requests to everyone in the area.

Your initial conversation with a broker might start out as an inquiry into one specific business, but it shouldn’t stay that way for long. A good broker is going to ask you questions that will let them know what direction you want business ownership to take and then help narrow your focus to just those businesses that would fit with your goals.

What should a broker be asking you?

They should ask about what your goals for business ownership are. If what you are hoping to achieve is a very flexible schedule so you can spend more time with your kids, then some businesses are definitely out of the question. If schedule isn’t a priority, but making as much money as possible is – then a very different business would be for you.

They should be asking what your passions are. Entrepreneurship is no picnic. It can be an enormous amount of work, so you need to be doing something that you can be driven and passionate about or you will end up miserable.

They should ask about your experience. If you’ve never worked so much as a single shift in the restaurant industry, then it would be a terrible idea to buy a bar or restaurant. Business ownership is tough, especially if you are brand new to entrepreneurship. You don’t want to add learning an entirely new industry on top of it – you will be setting yourself up for failure.

They should be asking about your finances. You might think you have enough money to buy a particular business, but the reality of buying is that you need far more money than just enough to cover the listing price. You need enough to write the closing check, enough for the deposits for your utilities and lease, enough to buy new inventory, enough for licensing fees, enough for the first few rounds of payroll – the list goes on. A good broker doesn’t want to set you up for failure, so knowing your financial situation will allow them to find you businesses you can actually afford.

The point here is only by having a relationship with a single broker (who knows these very key things about you and about your business ownership goals) can you have any hope of finding the right business.

Approach you search for businesses by searching for a good broker first – then you can count on that relationship to bring you the businesses you should see.

Have you sent a ton of email requests but haven’t actually had a conversation with a broker yet? Do you want to know more about why a relationship with a good broker is so important for your success in purchasing a business? Ask us! Please feel free to 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