Know this before you jump into buying a business…

I have started, purchased and sold my own businesses, and have also been involved in hundreds of business sales through brokering and business valuation.  Today, I work with buyers and owners of businesses, and have created the Zoom in Business 4-part series from the extensive collective experience of legal, accounting and consulting experts in the field of small business.

If you are considering buying a business, congratulations!  You have identified a unique opportunity to break that glass ceiling, invest your money, take control of your life and focus your time, skills and experience to grow your wealth.  However, when you announce your plans to your inner circle, you may find that the “advice” and horror stories will be profound and the skeptics will rally by the dozen.  Look, it’s true that people can go broke buying businesses, usually because they do not understand the business of business.  They have short-term thinking.  For example, a young couple bought their dream cafe for $130,000.  It turned out it was actually only worth a mere $25,000. That’s $105,000 that buyer could NOT afford to lose. Shit can hit the fan very quickly, and very dramatically if you’re not prepared.

The good news is that there are wayyyy too many horrible and expensive mistakes that can be easily avoided if business buyers had access to a simple training program designed to empower and guide through the process of buying a business – but there wasn’t anything on the market.  So, I created the “How to buy a business” workbook, which was, in part,  inspired by a book called “Cashflow Quadrant” by Robert Kiyosaki (www.richdad.com).  This book has been the single and most powerful idea in helping me understand WHY you, or I, wants to own a business and create our own wealth.

Stay with me… read on…

Quadrant E: If you currently have a job, you earn your income by working for other people. In this current economy, a job can be valuable for security.

Quadrant S: When you are self-employed worker, you earn your income from your own sales ability.  Usually, self-employed people do not have strong cashflow unless they have contracts in place.  This can be challenging for most people to sustain.

Quadrant B: When you have a business that employs people or systems to drive sales, you earn income from the business.

Quadrant I: When you are an investor, you earn income from your investment/money, which generates more money.

Generally speaking, everyone is at least on one spot of the quadrant.  Quadrant B and I reach their financial goals more quickly than Quadrant E and S, so that ultimately would be your goal when you move around each quadrant.  The good news is that if you are in Quadrant E and S, you don’t have to be stuck there.  Buying a business could be a solution as long as you understand WHY you want to be in business, and you are SMART about your Due Diligence…

Want to join me in the “How to Buy a Business” self-study group?  Click HERE.

Let’s do this!

#kirstenlowis

“I would rather earn 1% off 100 people’s efforts than 100% off my own efforts” – J. Paul Getty