Inc. recently posted "10 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Business." These 10 questions are very good and I recommend that a prospective buyer should try to get answers to all of them. Below are a few more comments based on my many years of experience both as a business broker and business owner.
Listen to the Wife
If a wife doesn’t want her husband to buy a business (or the husband doesn’t want the wife to buy), it won’t happen (or the Husband doesn’t want the wife to buy). People get used to a regular paycheck. The idea that there is no certain paycheck is the one thing that many wives cannot live with. The pay one receives owning one’s own business is what’s left at the end of the week, and sometimes this is nothing! If the wife is not supportive, then the husband better keep looking for a regular "job". If she is supportive, success in the business is very likely.
if your wife (or husband) is concerned about the business purchase, ask them to come to the next site visit or broker meeting. If she won’t come, she is likely scared to death and there will be no sale. On the plus side, who knows the man better than his spouse? If she has doubts, she’s probably right and you might best be served by a more traditional job.
The Hungry Buyer
If you have lost your job for whatever reason - downsizing, being forced to move to someplace no one would want to live, your company has been acquired, new management, you are tired of the “rat race” – you are far more likely to be serious about buying. If you are in this position you are not making a choice between your current employment or owning your own business. You have no current employment and know it is time to take control of your life. However, while you may be more serious than other buyers, you still face the same one big stumbling block all buyers have to face prior to buying a business.
The One Big Stumbling Block
The one big stumbling block that kills more business purchases than anything else and hides behind the 10 questions covered in Inc's article. It can show up after you have done all of your research on the business and have documented the answers to all of the 10 questions. Everything is fine except for one important ingredient – you just can’t make that leap of faith so necessary for a successful transaction. The final decision to move forward has to come from the gut feel of the buyer, and many just can’t do it. It’s only natural to be a bit scared to make the leap, but it has to be done. No one can force you to make the leap. if you work with Inbar Group, we’ll likely bring this up early, so that you can deal with the one big stumbling block ahead of time!
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