Eleven Steps in Buying a Business

 Purchasing an established business can be a daunting and complicated process for many individuals. Understanding the steps involved in the acquisition and doing the necessary planning and preparation will enable the buyer to increase their chances for a successful transaction. Following an established and proven process will not only reduce the stress that often comes with chartering new territory but also eliminate many of the risks and unknowns that often derail a business acquisition.

PERSONAL ASSESSMENT

The first step in buying a business starts with introspection. This process should be a thoughtful and honest examination of the candidates' strengths and weaknesses, skill set, as well as their likes and dislikes. This analysis will assist in narrowing the selection for the logical and best choice of business enterprise to pursue.

What talents, skills, and experience do you bring to the table and what are the types of businesses that can excel with these attributes behind the helm. Here are a number of questions that the introspection phase should involve:

What type of business do you want to operate? Is it one where you are the owner/manager or do you prefer to have a management team in place?

What hours are you available to dedicate to the business? Obviously, owning a small business will never be a 9 to 5 endeavor. Having said that, it will be important to determine the time available to manage the business. Do you prefer a B2B business that operates M-F 8-6pm or are you more flexible and would consider a consumer oriented business that is open late or often over the weekends?

Are you successful at sales, meeting with clients, and being the face of the business or are you better suited to a managerial role and running the business from behind the scenes with an established sales force in place?

Are you able to travel and be away from home for several days or do you require a business that keeps you close to the family each day of the week?

Do you have a background and expertise in the manufacturing of products or is it the service industry or distribution model that is more your forte?

Do you have any licenses or certifications that qualify you for a certain business? If not, are you prepared to obtain the necessary credentials required for successful ownership if the targeted business requires such certifications?

What are the things that you really enjoy doing? What are the things that you prefer not to do? The best advice is to start considering businesses in industries that the buyer is passionate about.

These are a few of the questions that will help an individual assess the types of businesses that they are best suited for and assist in narrowing the range of enterprises where the buyers skill set, experience, capabilities and passions can be leveraged.

DEVELOP INVESTMENT CRITERIA

Now that you have established the type of business that is a 'good fit' the next step is to put pen to paper and concisely define your investment criteria. If you will be seeking bank financing it will be important that the investment criteria match your resume or the transferrable skills that you are bringing to the table. The investment criteria will state the following:

What is the price range of the business that you can afford to buy?

What is the geographic location for the business you seek to buy?

What type of business are you looking for?

Manufacturing

Wholesale/Distribution

Service

Retail

Web-based

What industry should the business be in?

Management structure (owner managed or management team in place)?

Size of business. In terms of:

Revenues

Profits/Earnings

Number of employees

Number of locations

Recurring revenue model vs. project based

LENDER PREQUALIFICATION

If you plan to use bank financing to acquire a business it is important that you obtain a prequalification before your search process. Not only will this the 'prequal' provide you with the data as to how large of a business you qualify to purchase but it will also demonstrate to the business broker and seller that you are a serious buyer. If you are serious about buying a business and will need to obtain financing, receiving a bank prequalification is a required step at some point in time. Therefore, what would be the reason for procrastinating and not having this in place at the outset? There is zero downside and only considerable benefits. Contact your business broker as they will be able to recommend a financial institution that does business acquisition lending for the type of business you are interested in purchasing. This is an area where having the right lender is critical.

BUSINESS SEARCH (Individual or Retained)

What is the process that you are following to locate and qualify businesses for purchase? Will you be conducting the search on your own or will you utilize the services of a professional business intermediary or broker. There are literally thousands of business for sale at any given moment. A process needs to be established for conducting the search and qualifying businesses. Few of these businesses are of the quality, caliber, and profit level that distinguish them as being best in breed. What have you done to ensure that you will stand out and be given the proper consideration when engaging a broker regarding a business for sale? The business-for-sale marketplace is plagued by unprepared and non-serious buyers inquiring about any enterprise listed for sale. It takes the right preparation, message, and professional team to establish contact and quickly get to the point where the business can be qualified as a legitimate candidate or one that should be dismissed. Too many prospective buyers fall prey to the late business internet search process and clicking on any business that catches their interest. Unfortunately, serious buyers get lost in the field. This is where the prior steps come in handy - having a personal bio, an established investment criteria, as well as a lender preapproval.