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Buy Y our Own Business

Every potential buyer needs to ask key questions. Here are just a few:

• Can you give me an overview of the business?
• Why are you selling?
• Can you elaborate on the terms of sale?
• Would you stay on and train me longer than indicated in the Listing
Agreement, or can I hire you as a consultant?
• What are the biggest challenges facing the business in the future?
• What keeps you up at night?
• Are there any obligations, contractual or verbal, with any employees?
• Do you like the business?
• Who are your main competitors and how can I get more information
about them?
• What are the resources available to me?
• Do you have a business or marketing plan?
• Why do your customers buy from you? Do any represent more than
10 percent of the business?

• How much salary and benefit, including vacation, do you take?
• If you were starting out again, what would you do differently?
• If money wasn’t an issue, as a new owner, what would you do, specifi -
cally, to grow the business?

Then be prepared for questions they’ll ask you, such as:

• What is your background?
• What is your area of expertise?
• What is your fi nancial situation?
• What is your time line to buy a business?

Keep your answers brief, and stick to the point.

Next Steps

After the meeting, ask yourself: “Do I like the seller? Do I trust him or her?
Do I like the business? Can I see myself running it?”
If you can’t answer yes to all of these questions, move on. Be sure to send
a note to the broker or seller thanking them for their time. They may be a
source of valuable future leads.

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