Buying a business as a route to entrepreneurship?

This article from Oregon Business got me thinking… on the one hand the number of baby boomers potentially looking to sell businesses could be seen as a problem (hence the very useful suggestions in the article aimed at those boomers looking to sell).

But with every problem comes opportunity for anyone else looking to buy a business!

Buying an existing business is a great (and frequently under promoted) way to being an entrepreneur and working for yourself and it can short cut some of the challenges in building a start-up business from scratch.

Clearly buying a business does still present some challenges most notably in working out how to finance the deal, agree a price both parties are happy with, and be able to meet debt repayments and operate the business successfully post purchase. But with a bit of creative thinking, negotiation and advice from the right people; bankers, attorneys and so on it’s a very tangible way to business ownership for many would be entrepreneurs.

I’ve gone down this route myself after a start-up experience that ended up not working out, and while it’s still hard, it’s not as hard as starting from scratch. There are some things to think about when doing this and I think its particularly suited to the following types of entrepreneur:

• You have some expertise in the industry you are looking to purchase a business in that you can leverage to make you successful.
• You work for the business in question already (or for that matter a competitor, supplier, customer).
• You have your personal finances in order inc good credit that will set you up well for an SBA loan or similar to buy a business.
• You are able to work 100% in the business and have relevant skills that the business needs to grow and succeed.
• You’ve identified a business that has some unrealized potential that you think you have the skills to realize (creation of new products, entering new markets, technology improvements, cost savings etc).

Let us know your thoughts, are you looking to buy or sell a business and need help? We can connect you to resources that can help you out including local SBA lenders, business brokers and others.