Steps to Buying a Business - Part One

So, you've decided to buy a business!

There is nothing more exciting, financially rewarding, and scary than being an entrepreneur with your own business.  This series of posts will help you understand the process of identifying the right business for you, how to investigate and negotiate, and how to finance your acquisition.

The first step is to decide whether you want to start a business from scratch, buy an existing business, or buy a franchise.  Starting a business from scratch may appear to cost less in up-front money, however it generally takes longer to get to profitability, so while buying a business may cost more up-front, you'll generally get to profitability faster.

Next is to decide what type of business to buy.  There are two criteria to keep in mind;  What are you passionate about, and what makes a profit.  There are several types of businesses that only satisfy one of those criteria.  The "right" business is the one that you are both passionate about, and can turn a profit.

The basic steps in the process, once you've decided to buy a business, are deciding how to identify the business to buy, the preliminary due diligence, making a non-binding offer, performing advanced due diligence, negotiating the final price and terms, closing the transaction, and finally transitioning into ownership.

We'll explore these topics more in depth in the next posts.

B. Dane Byers, CPA, ABV, CFF

Bassett & Byers, P.A.

Partner

3701 Lake Boone Trail, Ste 201

Raleigh, NC 27607

dbyers@bassettcpas.com

(919) 303-1049