As a buyer you may be tempted to begin searching for businesses for sale without doing any preparation. However, unless you have prior experience of buying or selling a business most people find that the process can be somewhat daunting. That is why it is important for a prospective buyer to take the time to become knowledgeable about the way in which a business purchase works, and what to look out for along the way.

Our experienced team of brokers will be here to help you at every step of the way, but doing your own research prior to beginning the process will help you to understand how things work and potentially speed up your search.

HOW WE CAN HELP

We start by getting to know more about you, your available resources, skills, experience, and work with you to set clear objectives with regard to what it is you are looking for when buying a business in terms of questions like:

• How many days a week are you comfortable working?

• Are you planning to work alone or hire employees?

We will work with you to determine how much money you have available, and how different types of financing may be of assistance in buying a business, whether through the seller or a financial institution.

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CREATING A ‘BUYER’S PACKAGE’

Statistics show that 19 out of 20 potential buyers are either not serious or not qualified and so our team will create a ‘buyer’s package’ on your behalf that can be given to sellers and financial institutions at the appropriate time in the sale process to show you are in a position to complete a purchase when the right business is found.

Our main focus at this stage is to begin to identify the available business opportunities that are best suited to your skills, experience, and interests. Working together we can search through the available consumer sale databases, whilst at the same time our team can actively seek businesses that are not presently for sale on an official basis, and we can provide non-confidential summaries of each of these listings for you to consider.

This is where our professional edge can really make a difference in a successful acquisition. We will take the time to provide you with relevant information on a target company’s financial performance, current staffing levels, facilities, equipment, inventory, lease, customer base and market areas served.

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NARROWING THE SEARCH

Once we have narrowed the search to a business (or businesses) that are of interest to you we will ask that you sign a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA, in order that we can obtain more information and start to analyse which of the opportunities best meet your criteria and are worthwhile pursuing further. 

We make certain to ensure complete confidentiality of all information received relating to any business deals we are involved in and that is why we would not be able to disclose any of the more detailed company information unless and until we are in receipt of a signed NDA. Confidentiality when buying a business protects the prospective buyer from having anyone such as an employee or competitor discover details about the proposed acquisition prematurely, whilst at the same time protects the seller against unnecessary problems with customers, vendors, staff etc.

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At this stage we are now able to obtain the business presentation report. This document provides more detailed information than the initial overview and means we are able to review tax returns, financial statements, and further verify the information already obtained relating to the overall performance and structure of the business.

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Following a thorough review of the business presentation report and consultations with us, you will have a more complete understanding of the business, the way in which it operates, and its potential for continued success.

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Now that all of the required information has been gathered and your preferred business identified, it is time to move forward with the process. To find out more about what comes next see our ‘How The Process Works’ section, or to speak with us directly call 407-908-4663.