Buy and sell Businesses - First City Business Brokers

We are here to help you sell, buy, or value a business in the North West of England

CHOOSING THE TYPE OF BUSINESS THAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU

Clearly the type of business that is best for you is a crucial decision to make and the answer is very specific to the individual.

Useful questions to ask yourself when trying to narrow the scope of your search down include:-

• What are you good at? Are you a people person or are you slightly shy, but excellent at statistics and logistics? Honest answers to this type of questioning will quickly exclude various sectors and help you narrow your focus.
  
• What do you enjoy doing? Most entrepreneurs and business owners get a huge amount of satisfaction from what they do and whilst the financial rewards are an important motivator, they enjoy the journey of becoming financially comfortable and of building their business up. If you are going to put your reputation on the line and invest 60-70 hours per week, you might as well enjoy it.
  
• Do you have any specialist skills?
  
• Does the business you are considering require any specialist skills? Obviously it’s an advantage to be a qualified dentist before you buy a dental practice!
  
• Do you wish to invest in a managed business (i.e. one that you can eventually manage without having to be on site every day) or a ‘hands on’ business where you are effectively employed in a hands on capacity.
  
• What are the requirements on you and your family in terms of physical demands and required weekly time input?
  
• How much can you afford (see next section) and with your own personal financial background and business experience is it realistic for you to be able to buy an existing business in the sector?
  

Once you have narrowed the options down a little, it is a good idea to carry out a SWOT analysis of your short listed sectors to review the:-

• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Opportunities
• Threats

You do not have to decide on the exact sector straight away, it is quite acceptable to have a short list for example of retail businesses or wholesale businesses and restaurants and cafes as a starting point for your more detailed research.

This material represents the views and opinions of the authors and the contents of these pages are provided as an information guide only. It is strongly recommended that readers commission the relevant professional advice as indicated in the text. No legal liability or other responsibility is accepted by or on behalf of First City Business Brokers for any errors, omissions, or statements on these pages, or any website or other resource to which these pages refer. First City Business Brokers accept no responsibility for any loss, damage or inconvenience caused as a result of reliance on such information.