If you want to be your own boss, launching a startup isn’t your only option. When you buy an existing business, you can accelerate your success and start generating revenue straight away. What’s more – purchasing a thriving company can enable you to implement growth plans and scale the business more quickly. To find the right opportunity, take a look at these three things to do before buying a business:
- Identify Your Goals
There are many profitable businesses for sale, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re the right fit for you. Are you looking for a company that will empower you to make high profits or do you have other goals in mind too?
Perhaps you want to change your career and do something you’re truly passionate about? If so, the type of business and the industry it’s in will have a big impact on whether it’s the right opportunity for you. Similarly, if you want to use your existing skillset in your new venture, you’ll be looking for businesses within your current sector. Before you start looking at companies on the market, analyze your motives for wanting to strike out on your own and figure out what your goals.
- Find a Specialist Broker
Working with a business broker can be an effective way to find a great commercial opportunity, but don’t rely on a general approach. Once you know what type of business you’re looking for, find a specialist broker to assist you. Poe Group Advisors can provide advice and assistance when you’re buying CPA firms or accountancy practices, for example. With sector-specific advice and industry insight, a specialist broker will be able to provide a seamless service that makes it easier to purchase and take ownership of an existing enterprise.
- Plan a Client Retention Strategy
One of the advantages of buying a thriving business is that you gain access to an active current base. However, a change in ownership can be enough to make clients or customers reconsider their options and go elsewhere. If you want to retain as many clients as possible, you’ll need to put an effective customer retention strategy in place.
In some instances, this retention strategy begins well before you’re actually running the business. Once the deal is done, the existing businessowner may assist by notifying their customers of the upcoming change and endorsing your expertise, for example. Additionally, you may want to plan retention campaigns, such as promotional offers and loyalty rewards, that encourage customers to remain with the business once you’re in charge.
Is Buying a Business the Right Choice for You?
Purchasing an existing business enables you to avoid much of the hassle that comes with starting a company, including hiring staff, establishing demand, and setting up the firm’s operations. Furthermore, the company’s financial history should make it easier for you to obtain financing for expansion, if you want to grow the firm. With so many benefits associated with buying a business, it’s easy to see why so many successful entrepreneurs choose to purchase existing companies in lieu of launching a startup.
