There are many things to consider when purchasing or starting your own business. My wife and I bought an existing business over a year and a half ago and have had quite a few different experiences along the way that I would like to share few of them today that we did not think about prior to buying the business.
First would be how much do you value your independence?
It can be looked at two ways. Our business is pretty flexible so we have the ability to take care of things at any time of the day that need to be dealt with like dentist appointments, doctor visits, vehicle problems, and many more like that. But it also means we are the last resort for all emergencies that may arise with staff, clients, and the like. If you feel the benefits of the first outweigh the downfalls of the second, then I would say proceed to the next steps of attaining your business. If the responsibility and inflexibility of the second overcomes the first, then it may cause a lot of stress. I have always tried to live by the saying, ”We work to live, not live to work.” This is an important thing to keep in mind because there are a lot of days that it seems our lives revolve around work. For us, the flexibility of our business has so far been able to make those days seem like a distant memory.
Second would be to figure out if it is the right fit for you and your family?
You have to enjoy what you are doing and this is especially true when it is your own business. If you work for someone, if you don’t enjoy it you can always move on. It is a lot more difficult when you start a business because of the cost of starting up, inventory, staff, etc. You must truly enjoy what you do because you most definitely will have up and downs and if you truly enjoy what you do, it will help you pull through the lows.
Last would be the pros and cons of buying an established business.
You must do your homework to find out what kind of name they have in the community before going through with the purchase. We were fortunate to buy a business that had an outstanding name with a very solid market presence. But it is a lot of work to make sure it stays that way under your ownership. If it did not have a good name or presence, you must figure out why and what it will take to turn that around. Then decide whether it is worth it to purchase that business or start a new one that is similar without the baggage.
That’s it for this week, tune in next week and I will post about some of the hair-raising experiences we have had throughout our first year and a half of ownership.
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