Whether you are a seasoned business owner or an investor with a pocketful of cash that is begging to be spent, you will see the merits of buying a business and giving it a new lease of life. Piling your money into a company that is already established on the high street can be quicker and easier than starting over from scratch.
The downside is the time that it can take to find a business that you feel is worth your time and your money. The costs that are involved in buying an existing business, stripping it back and rebranding it the way that you want are huge, and you shouldn’t underestimate this.
Often, business owners get restless with their current company and spot a new venture in the market. Selling a business to go and buy another need some careful consideration. Realising a new business venture may take you realising the capital that you have in your existing business, and if you do want to sell up and move on, you need to get the timing absolutely right.
You should be aware that when you buy an existing business, you are taking on the legacy from the previous owner and that comes with the reputation they have left behind. You need to also remember that you are starting over, not rebuilding a dying brand.
The good bit? A lot of the groundwork for the business you are buying is already done for you, which lessens the workload that you have to do yourself. It also could be a lot easier to work alongside the banks and get the right finance for a makeover of the premises you go ahead and buy.
Buying an existing business also means that there was a market for the product that they were selling. You need to do it better, though, so work out why they are selling their business and work on those weaknesses. A business plan and a marketing plan should already be in place, but don’t feel like you can’t change things up.
There are, however, some downsides of buying an existing business. The biggest one is the amount of money that you need to invest up front. It’s not just the cost of the business you have to consider, but the legal costs of surveying, solicitors, accountants and potentially the existing staff in that company.
There will be salaries and overheads of the premises to consider, and you need to consider the fact you have to have a little more money than that ready to pump into the marketing plan in place. The whole idea is for you to breathe some life into an existing business and that means taking on a lot of the pieces left behind.
Choosing the business that you breathe life into is going to be entirely up to you. However, you should choose something that you are interested in, rather than something that you have little time for. Your whole adventure of making an existing business great again will take some time, so be patient and wait to reap the reward.