An established structure.

Many pre-owned businesses have a recognizable brand, a proven business concept, an established customer base, a dependable base of vendors and suppliers, trained employees, a complete set of procedures and processes, and a deep understanding of their competitive positioning.

Owners attempting organic growth can spend countless hours and resources developing these parts of their business, but as a business buyer, you can acquire most (or all) of them in a single transaction.

.

Faster ramp-up.

Does your strategy involve adding new product lines, internalizing more of your supply chain, or taking on new kinds of work that require specialized skills, supply, or equipment? Think about buying a business with those attributes in place.

You'll likely invest some time into revamping processes, eliminating duplicate costs, or synching up systems. However, you can often avoid the lengthy ramp-up time many others spend configuring these options from scratch. Plus, you can benefit from lessons your target business has already learned.

.

Clarity of costs.

When buying a business, you’ll be able to examine the company’s financials before agreeing to take control of it. You’ll see how profitable, indebted, and costly it is to run because you can review years’ worth of records before the sale.

Business owners who try for organic growth with new product lines or markets don’t have this advantage. They can certainly make projections. However, it's all too easy to underestimate the capital they need to succeed.

.

The ability to bypass initial-phase costs.

Organic growth comes at a cost. Between buying new supplies and equipment, developing marketing and web campaigns, and getting the word out about a business’s new offerings, owners can spend a significant amount of money in the first one to three years of their expansion efforts.

As a business buyer, you may bypass many of those costs. This is especially true if the business you choose is well-established, running smoothly, and well-known in its market.

.

High upfront costs.

Purchase prices can be significant because they account for more than just the assets and equipment a business holds. When you buy a business, you’ll gain rights to the business’s brand, customer base, concept, strategic plans, processes, intellectual property, and capacity for profit. Because of the value of those items, many businesses sell for one to four times their cash flows. Prices, then, can range from thousands to millions of dollars.

You might attain the funds you need through SBA loans, seller financing, or other financing options. However, the process to attain this funding can be lengthy. And, of course, the funding comes at a cost..

.

Steep learning curve.

By buying a business, you’ll take on an operation that runs on processes, policies, and practices that'll take time to learn. You might find it difficult to get up to speed quickly and gain the knowledge you need to guide the business effectively just after the transition.

Lots of owners overcome this by arranging for seller support after the purchase and by keeping on managers or employees who can help the business endure through the transition..

Potential for unforeseen problems.

Before you buy a business, you’ll take part in a due diligence process that should help you spot the business’s problem areas and risks. Still, it's possible to find additional problems after taking ownership, and those problems could be costly to solve or quite difficult to navigate. For some, these problems include:

.