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TRUMP UNIVERSITY WEALTH BUILDING 101

                         Arrange Seller Financing

                     I don’t think you should ever buy a business without seller fi nancing. What
                   better way is there for the seller to validate that everything he or she has told
                   you is true? If the seller won’t finance part of the deal, don’t agree until you

                   get a substantial price concession, and you become familiar enough with the
                   business to arrange alternate fi nancing.
                       Interest rates can be negotiated and should be in line with the banks. In
                   exchange for a longer term, agree to a higher rate. That may sound nuts, but

                   you get more flexibility with a seller note that makes it worth it, and you can
                   negotiate the following:

                       •        A holiday from any payments for the first three to six months after

                         closing
                       •      The ability to make lump-sum principal payments throughout the
                         term
                       •      No lien against personal assets to secure the loan
                       •      The right to payoff the loan early


                           If business is going well, think about paying off the whole note early.
                   Mary Beth had $125,000 remaining on her note to the seller for two ladies’
                   clothing stores. After two years, she called him up and offered to pay off the
                   whole note immediately for $80,000. Later, she told me, laughing, that she
                   could hear the seller starting his car when she made her offer.



                         Get Comfortable with Risk

                     Buying a business involves risk just like any entrepreneurial pursuit, and you
                   must be willing to bet on yourself. There’s no need to be reckless, but buying
                   a business and providing a platform to accumulate wealth may force you to
                   take some measures that you normally would not choose, and leveraging
                   your personal assets may be part of the equation. Be prepared to take that
                   step.

                       In my fi rst significant business purchase, I leveraged myself up to the
                   eyeballs, including every credit card I had available. But the $100,000 that I

                   begged and borrowed for my first business grew into a $4.5 million company.
                   Would I do it again? Yes! Why? Because I knew it was a good business that
                   was perfectly suited to my skills.




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