If you have just decided to start looking for a company to buy
You will need to understand the fundamental assumptions
before taking the first step to buy the
“correct” company.

This article will give you a quick “fly-through” of basic business.
acquisition knowledge learned over many years of searching for
find the ideal company that satisfies the EXACT purchase of one
criteria. Buying a business can be a complex and iterative process.
Process consisting of many steps. Most of the steps in the process
must be implemented in a logical sequence to achieve maximum
desired results. The first step in any business.
acquisition effort is to understand some of the basic realities
of what to expect within the anticipated commercial acquisition
process.

There are basic or “practical” assumptions and specific or
“subjective” assumptions one must make in every business
purchase effort. The practical assumptions can be better defined as
anticipated realities that make sense to understand no matter
the potential business transaction. The subjective assumptions are
Anticipated challenges and events that correlate with yours.
personal insights based firmly on your own purchase
criteria, previous business experiences, accumulated knowledge and
developed levels of risk/reward tolerance.

Like most complex business challenges, it’s best to do some
fundamental assumptions about the task at hand. Thesis
assumptions are not inclusive and are documented to facilitate
develop more thoughts and ideas before the implementation of
any initial steps in finding a business:

Assumptions to make before looking for a company

It is almost impossible to find the “ideal” company to buy:
Compromises will abound throughout your search and negotiations.

Not all companies are for sale:

Although this is a common “opening statement” communicated by
business owner you really like

Finding an acquisition candidate is a “numbers game”:

So many letters, calls, emails and conversations result in
thousands of candidate companies defined, resulting in hundreds of
qualified candidates to pursue, result in dozens of viable
companies to visit, result in a company that justifies a
formal purchase offer

The deal is done only when the check is cleared!

As in any sale situation, the sale is not really completed.
until 100% of the committed funds are available. Business
the purchase agreement is only truly complete when the commercial seller
endorse your check for deposit…commercial sellers can and will
change your mind at any time!

If you don’t know what you really want to buy, you will.
never find it

Develop a clear and well thought out business buying criteria.
list will add a great deal of efficiency to your
business search process and significantly help everyone
intermediates you choose to use to help you find your ideal
purchase candidate

If it’s not in writing it means nothing:

Given the remarkable amount of capital involved in business
merger and acquisition activities, along with all
required evaluation steps necessary to reach a final agreement
negotiation, and all associated support people and services
involved to get there, it’s always best to keep a
“paper trail” and use binding legal documents to minimize
responsibility and “misunderstandings” along the way

It will cost you more than you expected:

Beyond negotiating a fair price for the business that
eventually buy, there are a variety of costs involved in
find, define, qualify and negotiate the acquisition of a business, not
It doesn’t matter if you make a deal or not. Service fees, legal fees,
travel and entertainment expenses, market research publications
and industry consultant fees, to name a few “sunk costs,” can
they really add up.

The more “creative” you are in finding deals, the faster you’ll find
find the right offer:

The most diverse your means to locate viable companies for sale
the better your chances of finding a quality purchase
candidate. Distribute your business candidate search resources;
use brokers, financial institutions, industry associations,
consultants, trade shows and websites to find your next offering.
You never know where your next big clue will come from!

Have a structured process of commercial purchases to
maximizing your time and capital will dramatically improve the
probability of finding a company that is for sale, reasonably
price and meets most of your buying criteria. buy a
business does not have to be “psychological warfare” or a
stressful process.

Much of the success of buying a business will come from
document all of your thoughts, plans, processes, and
challenges necessary to achieve your goals. if this is
writing can be improved, if you can’t, you can’t.

Like trying to tackle any major business challenge,
everything you can do to find out about everything that is required
to meet the desired results, before the tasks at hand,
the more effective it is, the less it will ultimately be
had a hard time finding the business to buy that was meant to be
yours.