Originally written by Jo Thornley on Small Business
To many people, becoming a business entrepreneur means setting up your own business and beginning to trade in your own right.
But while this is what plenty of entrepreneurs actually do, many others choose to buy an existing business as a means to becoming an independent business owner.
So which option is best? In reality, the answer usually depends upon your own circumstances and expectations:
Option one: buying a business
With buying an existing business, the first problem you may encounter is actually raising money for the purchase. By implication, buying a profitable business implies that it has a value. So, if you wish to take advantage of a ‘going concern’ as a source of income, you will need to be able to afford to do so.
However, even though raising money to buy any business is rarely plain sailing, you will find banks and other lenders much more likely to offer a loan against an existing business. Provided you have solid evidence that your chosen business for sale is profitable and forecast to remain in good business health, any lender should see this as a reasonable investment.
What this means is you must always ensure that any business