If you'd like to know how to buy a business the "easy" way, as opposed to the way 99% of everyone else does it, then this article will show you how.
You see, it all comes down to getting investors to finance your business. When you do that, 99% of the "work" is already done for you. The first 25 years I was in business, I never used investors. I used banks. I used owner financing. I used supplier financing. I rented financial statements. I did everything under the sun to get the financing. And I was doing it the hard way.
And I found that when youre working with investors, the whole process of buying a business changes -- it becomes easier and a LOT more profitable for you.
On the other hand, if you try to get owner financing, for example, the owners going to "qualify" you first. He's going to ask for extra collateral on everything and do everything he can to make sure you're "for real" and not some flake who's going to stiff him later on down the road. He has to, if you think about it. He has to protect himself. And it's the same with bankers and traditional lenders.
On the other hand, when you come in to buy a business with an investor or investors, youre basically not asking for financing. Youre paying all cash. So, you dont have to go a bank. You dont have to go through the seller. It's like buying a car. The car dealer only needs to run your credit if you plan to finance the car. But if you show him cash, he won't care what your credit rating is, or what your financial statement looks like.
It's the same when you use investor money. And since most investors -- not all of them, but 99 percent of the investors I've worked with -- are business owners, theyre not banker mentalities. For them, it boils down to one thing: If they think what youre doing makes sense, and if you and the investor get along, you like each other, youre going to find you get the money. Period.
It's funny. They don't teach this at Harvard or any of the Ivy League business schools. But the fact is, when you buy a business using investor financing, the most difficult thing is simply getting off your duff to go out and find a good business that makes sense. Everything else is actually pretty easy. |
