OT: buying a business

[Larry Gamble]

Anyone got experience buying a business?

 

[peter barone03]

Larry,



That's a rather broad requst. What type of business are you thinking of?

I have owned several businesses over the years.



So to answer your question, Yes I have bought a business.

What information are you looking for?



Pete03

 

[Nelson Atwell]

I once owned a railroad, and a hotel on Park Place. :lol:

 

[Johnny O]

I started two from the ground up but didn't buy an existing business.

Make sure the numbers are accurate. Some people under-report income as far as the IRS is concerned, some people over-report so the business looks like it's worth more than it is.

Main thing you want to look for IMHO is cash flow and the income stream, i.e. how much income is there and how steady is it? You need to make enough to pay back on whatever loan you took to buy it and have some left over for yourself (unless you have another source of income to live on).

Look hard at the balance sheet, A/R, and A/P.

Do the employees look happy or are all the cars backed into the parking spaces? :lol:

As the new owner of a business, you may make some changes that the old employees are not happy with and some may leave. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. Unless a place is really screwed up, I'd advise making changes gradually.

 

[Nelson Atwell]

Seriously, I haven't bought an existing business, but my brother has. He currently owns nine KFC restaurants. He bought stores that were in good locations but had been neglected by their owners. They were dirty, outdated and poorly managed and he turned them around to profitability with a lot of hard work. Expect 60-70 hour weeks in the beginning getting everything operating the way you want it.

 

[Paul Maurer 2]

Yes- have bought anothe doctor's business and recently broke off negotiations on a second larger one after seller verbally accepted my best offer, reviewed my letter of intent and called me to ask for $250k more money. I spent over a year on this deal but felt seller was unreasonable/disrepectful- bad signs at the START of hammering out the written contract. My best advice would be: have a sound business plan, make sure your cash/financing is in place, assume a 20% drop in business immediately following the purchase and prepare for some long hours. Good luck- having my own businesses has been a great experience.

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

Lasik1-that owner is horrible. One of my good friends both his parents are doctors, General M.D., and they are both in their 80's now. They are trying to sell their practice and the people that come through are so unreasonable on their request.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Me and or my family have bought and sold 6 businesses thus far...



Give me/us a clue as to what you are after and we will be able to help you much better...

 

[Wes Davis]

Buy this one.