Buy an Existing Business (Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition)

1. 1

   Write your acquisition criteria

   Pick an industry you can credibly operate, a size range, and a geography before you look at a single listing. Buyers without criteria waste a year chasing deals they would never close.

2. 2

   Get your financing lined up

   SBA 7(a) loans finance acquisitions up to $5 million with as little as 10 percent down. Get prequalified early, because sellers and brokers take financed buyers seriously.

3. 3

   Search where retiring owners are

   Work business brokers, industry associations, and direct owner outreach. With record numbers of owners at retirement age and millions of businesses set to change hands this decade, motivated sellers exist in almost every category.

4. 4

   Run real due diligence

   Verify financials, customer concentration, key-employee risk, and why the owner is selling, with an accountant and an attorney on your side. The price you pay and the problems you miss decide your outcome.

5. 5

   Structure the transition

   Negotiate a seller transition period, meet the employees, and keep what works before changing anything. The customers and systems you bought are the value; protect them in year one.

6. 6

   Operate, then grow

   Apply your P&L and operations experience to the basics: pricing, retention, and process. Owner earnings range from $120,000 to $2,000,000 and up depending on the business you buy and how well you run it.

Do not take our word for the money. Put your own numbers in and see what this idea has to earn before it works. Free, instant, no account needed.

Best for: Executives and operators who would rather run a business than invent one

Not for: People without capital or borrowing capacity, or anyone unwilling to take responsibility for an existing team and an owner's mistakes along with the cash flow.