Find The Right Business to Buy

So you're thinking of buying a profitable operating small business. Well, congratulations! Small business ownership and its operation can be one of the most financially rewarding and intellectually stimulating pursuits that you can follow in life. However, the actual process of purchasing an operating business is an extremely challenging and complicated undertaking and you'll want to be as fully prepared as you can be. You need to gather as much information as you can which will help you to find a suitable operating business for sale, to properly value the business, to successfully conduct negotiations, and finally, to actually close the deal and transfer ownership. The good news is that tens of thousands of small business sales occur every year with little or no real problems and the new owners and the sellers both realize their goals. But, you must be fully prepared and knowledgeable for this success to occur! In this article, I'll address the first aspect of finding a profitable operating business for sale; finding the right business for you!

The first step in this process is to find out whether or not you are truly a fully motivated buyer. Ask yourself these questions:
• Do you know what kind of business you want to buy?
• Are you "technically" qualified and experienced enough to run the business?
• Do you have the temperament to deal with fickle customers, demanding creditors, and difficult employees?
• Do you have the attention to detail that most businesses demand?
• Can you deal with the bookkeeping requirements of the business?
• Are you prepared to "eat, sleep, and drink" the business 24-hours a day, 7 days a week (because that's what it frequently takes)?
• Are you a good "people person" who can successfully deal with both customers and employees?

Next, you need to determine what your key reason is for buying and operating a business in addition to the obvious reason of making money:
• buying a job to earn a living
• buying prestige (many business owners are respected community leaders)
• eliminating competition if you already have a business
• buying a hobby or retirement occupation
• seeking self-fulfillment and control of your own destiny
• seeking an opportunity for a child or other family member

Now ask yourself, what is it that I really like to do, and what is it that I'm really good at? If you have determined that you are a truly motivated buyer and you know the reasons that you want to own and operate a business, then you should begin searching only for those businesses that match what you like to do and ones that match your skills, capabilities and knowledge.

Some good sources of information about businesses for sale include:
Newspaper classified advertising under Business Opportunities
Classified ads in the Business Opportunity section of your local or nearby major metropolitan newspaper remain as one of the best sources of locating businesses for sale, especially for businesses priced under $1 million. Most newspapers have a particular day of the week that features the most active day for these listings; usually the Sunday edition.
Newsletters of various kinds (in-house brokerage publications, regional and national independent publications, etc..)
There are various newsletter type publications throughout the country that collect various business for sale information to present to potential buyers. These newsletters are usually excellent sources of reasonably up-to-date information on a broad array of businesses for sale. These newsletters take the following general form:
• Local broker newsletters published by individual brokers that list only their listed businesses for sale.
• Regional and national newsletter publishers that combine many listings in a range of categories across regional and national markets.
Business brokers (most reputable ones are listed in the telephone yellow pages and with the national professional associations)
Business Brokers are also excellent sources of information regarding businesses for sale which they represent. Your local business broker should always be consulted when you're actively seeking a business for sale.
Word of mouth through friends, family, and colleagues from all walks of life
Word of mouth is probably one of the better ways to find out about a good business for sale, but it's also the most unreliable relative to conducting a specific search. However, this method shouldn't be ignored. In a way, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack; but it sometimes works very well. You just cannot sit back and let the information come to you. You should "put out the word" in your business, social, fraternal, and religious circles about your desire to purchase a business. If there are serious sellers in these groups, you may not know about it because of the need for confidentiality regarding a business for sale.
The Internet (but usually not under "business opportunities", but rather, "businesses for sale")
The Internet has become a great source of business listing information and is very useful in all parts of the country. To find information about businesses for sale just go to your favorite search engine, such as Yahoo.com, AskJeeves.com, or Google.com and conduct a key word search. The best key words are, "businesses for sale," "buy business," "sell business," or "buy sell business." It's usually best to use the advanced search capability on the search engines to better target the results you want.