如何买生意
英语阅读有困难的朋友可使用 www.mbig.ca <英语学习与翻译>中的机器翻译进行参考.Do your due diligence
Before you buy any business, you'll want to do some serious research.
It's important to research the area you'll be buying in. For example, if you're buying a retail outfit, you'll want to know if similar stores in town are doing a brisk business.
Scope out nearby businesses. Are they getting a lot of traffic? Is there ample parking in/near your location? Have there been layoffs at nearby companies that would affect the economy the town or city?
Is there a big box store coming to town? Inquire at town hall about any recent permits that have been granted.
Remember, you can't trust everything a seller tells you. Chances are you'll have to get your hands dirty to get the information you need.
Another important tip is to ignore all claims about "unreported income." A seller may try to tell you that they had a significant amount of income that didn't show up on their IRS tax returns. Their goal? They'll want you to consider this pie in the sky income in your valuation of their business.
Naturally, you'll want a lawyer and an accountant with commercial business experience to look over all the terms of your deal.
. The lowdown on seller financing
If you're looking to buy a business, the easiest way for you to go about it is through seller financing.
You may feel uneasy about this kind of scenario, but most business sales are seller financed since few banks will loan money to buy a small business because banks tend to lend money for hard assets like real estate and inventory. Sellers offering financing can generally charge a slightly higher interest rate than banks do, since it's a riskier loan.
Here's how it works. Say you're selling your widget shop for $100,000. A buyer has agreed to pay you $30,000 up front and give you a note for the balance. The note is generally backed by some kind of collateral, which is often the business itself.
If you (the buyer) fail to pay, the seller can take back the business and exercise any other rights spelled out in the default clause of the note.
. Get the valuation right
There are all sorts of complicated equations that can be used to determine out the value of a business involving cash flow multiples and other figures.
But here's an easy way to think about valuation: A business is worth only as much as its ability to produce profits for you. So working backwards to find a business's value, starting with verifiable profits.
For example, let's say that a sole-proprietorship has a total of $100,000 in profits (proven by tax returns for the latest full year). If you plan to work full time in the business and figure a fair wage for the work is $40,000, that leaves $60,000 profit to work with.
But don't forget to deduct the income taxes that you'll have to pay on that, so figure at least 30 percent. That leaves you about $42,000.
To determine the valuation using this number, figure that most sellers/lenders will want to see a relatively short payoff term, typically three to five years (let's say five years) and a fair interest rate on the money of about 8 percent (but for round numbers' sake, let's say 10 percent).
If you do the math, you'll find that yearly payments of $42,000 for 5 years at 10 percent interest works out to be about $165,000. This is the approximate total value of the business and a good starting point for negotiations with the seller.
. To franchise or not to franchise?
Buying a franchise is another way to get into business. The benefits are easy to see. You're buying a business with a proven product, a recognized brand name, an existing operating system and marketing/advertising assistance.
Before you jump in, there are a few things you'll want to find out.
When you contact a franchiser (like Burger King), you'll typically get a list of current and former franchisees. The reason? So you can ask questions.
Potential franchisees should contact these experienced entrepreneurs and find about their experiences -- how satisfied they are, whether they would do it again, and whether the franchise company was helpful.
If you decide to proceed, you'll need to sign a franchise agreement that details royalty rates (which is a percentage of sales), the franchise fee and the number of years you'll be licensing the franchise (10 years is typical).
If you go this route you'll also need to decide whether you're going to buy an existing franchise or whether you're going to start from scratch. An existing franchise may be more expensive but it has its benefits. For instance, you'll know what the revenues are, you'll have an idea how profitable the business is and you'll have employees
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