Finding profitable businesses for sale at reasonable prices can be difficult, as business owners often have an inflated idea of the market value of their business. There are, however, many resources for finding profitable businesses for sale.
Blog for Business Buyers and Sellers
Purchase Research
Once you've found a business that you would like to buy, it's important to conduct a hard, objective investigation. Look into every aspect of the business, verifying whether the owner's stated reasons for selling are legitimate; double check every detail for accuracy.
Many find the idea of running a small business appealing, but lose their motivation after dealing with business plans, investors, and legal issues associated with new startups. For those disheartened by such risky undertakings, buying an existing business is often a simpler and safer alternative.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) provides a wealth of information on starting a business at the SBA home page (http://www.sba.gov) under "Small Business Planner.” Within this category you will find information on entrepreneurship, writing a business plan, and managing and growing your business. You may also take advantage of SBA’s resource partners. Both the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) provide free one-on-one counseling to those interested in starting and expanding a business. This includes, critiquing your business plan, legal requirements, marketing, and licenses needed for your business. To find the location nearest you, please visit Local Resources and click on your state.
Documentation requirements may vary; contact your lender for information you must supply. Common requirements include: purpose of the loan, history of the business, financial statements for three years (existing businesses), schedule of term debts (existing businesses), aging of accounts receivable and payable (existing businesses), projected opening-day balance sheet (new businesses), lease details, amount of investment in the business by the owner(s), projections of income, expenses and cash flow, signed personal financial statements and personal resume(s).
Sometimes small business owners think that the only real option for them is to close down a business rather than sell it. For some small businesses where the owner is looking to wind down, this may be the only real option. For other smaller ventures it may be more prudent to try to find a buyer by working with a business broker.
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Thank you very much for advertising our business. We were extremely pleased with the number of requests you had for our portfolio. Our buyers would not have found us without your help. Again, Thank You Very Much!! We will now be able to retire and enjoy our winters at our home in Florida and our summers at our home in Michigan.
Bob and Peggy W.