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The
person who is serious about buying a business must forget all the perceived
glamour about "being their
own boss". Be prepared to make the
sacrifices and put in the "sweat equity" needed to be successful.
How
do I start?
First
establish the answers to the following questions.
Why
do you want your own business? Do you want to work from early morning to
last thing, worry about where the money is coming from, chase people for the
money, never take leave because your scared of what the staff will do to the
business?
What
expertise or skills can you bring to the business? Do your strength’s lie
in management, marketing/sales, or on the technical/financial side?
What
are your weaknesses? Generally most small businesses require the owner to be
a "jack of all trades", to have all round business skills, like
management, financial, marketing and technical. So now is the time to
identify skills lacking and take a short course to overcome that problem.,
ie, "How To Run A Business"
What
would be the minimum income ( profit/salary ) you would need from the
business to live on? Your idea may be to buy a smaller or less profitable
business and build it up. That’s fine, but you must know what the minimum
income is you need to survive. Commit pen to paper and write down your
monthly expenses.
How
much money can you raise?
If
you intend raising a loan against your property to purchase the business,
establish market value and how much you could borrow.
What
type of business would suit you? Retail, service, manufacturing.....The
question should really be, how do you relate to people? If you have a
problem communicating with people, don’t get involved in a business where
you have to deal with the public on a day- to – day basis as you will end
up hating every moment of it.
How
far are you prepared to travel each day to and from your business? Natalians
don’t travel well. In Gauteng, buyers will drive from the North side of
Johannesburg to the south, daily for their business, but not
Kwa-Zulu-Natalians. Try to find a business not too far from where you live,
unless you intend to relocate.
What
hours are you prepared to work and how will this affect you family life and
leisure time? Often buyers get involved with the disastrous consequences in
businesses that operate seven days a week with long daily hours. A young
couple approached us recently, desperate to sell the business they purchased
only a few months ago. They bought the cafe/tea room, blinded by the monthly
net profit of R20 000. They planned to work and save like mad for a few
years. They borrowed the deposit from their families and went to work.
Tremendous, you may say, but the hours of 6am to 8pm, seven days a week were
killing – a situation not helped by having a daughter of three. What
started as a dream, ended in a nightmare. They slept in the store room
between shifts, fighting like cat and dog and with no time for family or
friends. This undertaken may have worked as a two person family business....
if the right questions had been asked. Answers to the questions committed to
paper provide a mini prospectus of yourself. It is the first step and will
become a great tool towards getting involved in your own business.
Order your
E-Book
for only R50, on 'How
To Buy And Value A Business'
We have franchise
business broking representation in all major areas throughout South Africa.
Please contact head office for details of one of our franchises closest to you.
Interested in finding out more about an Aldes Business Broking Franchise
opportunity? -
click
here for details
Aldes Head Office, Durban,
South Africa +27 31 822 5337. Email
aldes@aldes.co.za
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