How Do I Find a Great Business to Buy?

If you have always dreamed of owning your own business, but not necessarily starting from the ground up, buying an established business may be right for you.

There are many businesses available for purchase, from franchises to unique companies.

Businesses do not always announce they are for sale. Sometimes you may not even know a location is going out of business until they announce the going-out-of-business blowout deals.

The Internet is a great resource for finding businesses to buy.

Bizbuysell.com

BizBuySell has helped connect business sellers and new owners for more than 20 years. The company has helped sell more than 100,000 businesses and currently has 45,000 active for-sale listings.

The website also provides tools and advice on selling or buying a business, financing the purchase, and more. BizBuySell users can search by state, county, business category, and minimum / maximum price.

Mergernetwork.com

More than 15,000 active business-for-sale listings from around the world are listed on Merger Network . The network actually allows sellers to post their businesses for sale ads for free. Thousand of entrepreneurs, investment bankers and business brokers can connect with these sellers. There is no cost to sign up, which is great for browsing new opportunities.

Businessesforsale.com

More than 60,000 businesses are currently listed for sale on the website Businesses for Sale . Users can search by sector, region or franchises for sale. Businesses for Sale also has a section on top searches, which includes price reduced businesses, unique businesses (ie a horseback riding business) and small businesses for sale.

Most of the sellers on each website offer information on the businesses, including images, its location, sales revenue, asking price, lease terms, competition and market, and much more.

Beyond the information in a listing, you should speak with the owner to get as much information as possible about the business, including why they are selling.

Benefits of a Franchise

If you're considering buying a business, finding a franchise for sale is one way to get started with a business that is already well-established. Some of the benefits of owning a franchise include:

• Brand recognition
• Ongoing operational support
• Continuing marketing support
• Assistance with procurement and logistics
• Less risks
• Joining a family of other franchises

If you're considering buying a franchise, inquire about how the franchise works. For example, what are the ongoing royalty fees and marketing fees? How much creative freedom do owners have? How easy is it to get support from the franchisor? All these questions and more should be considered. If you're buying a franchise, research the franchise model as if you were starting from the very beginning.