Enlign

What should you look for when considering a business to purchase?

Unfortunately, too many prospective buyers want to know the asking price first and then ask how much money they can make.

These are the wrong questions to ask initially. You need to know how much cash the seller requires as a down payment. No matter how good the numbers are, there is no point in looking at a business if the seller wants three times as much cash as you are willing to invest.

Remember, the actual amount of money a business earns is usually much more than just the bottom line. A smart approach is to get more information on the business, and even make a visit, before ruling it out or getting too involved in the numbers. It’s all part of the learning process.

One of the most common questions asked by those who have never purchased a business (which is incidentally about 90 percent of those looking to buy a business) is how do you actually buy a business. There is no right or wrong way to buy a business.

However, it is important that you get answers to all of your questions and that you have all the information necessary to make an informed decision.

Here are the steps to buying a business that over the years have become the most efficient and practical: