Should You Start or Buy a Business?

Starting a business can be daunting as it is riddled with a lot of hurdles. You’ve got to be prepared for the ups and downs otherwise your doors will be closed to customers as soon as they are open. An option to getting your entrepreneurial engines firing is to buy an existing business or acquire part of a long-running franchise.

This brings us to the question; should you start or purchase a business? It all comes to where you are right now. You have to consider your level of experience, how much money you’re willing to risk and how much money you have saved.

Whether you’re starting from scratch or buying a business, the truth remains that it’ll make you no more or less of an entrepreneur. Since there’s already ample talk about starting a business. Let’s consider the basic aspects of buying one. 

The Ups

It’s a Faster Path to Entrepreneurship

Buying a business will most likely get you on the path to realising your entrepreneurial dreams faster than starting from scratch. All you’ve got to do is buy a business that you’re genuinely interested in and start putting in the work to take it to greater heights. 

The Business is Already Operational

The toughest part of starting a business is getting it operational; developing procedures, a customer base, getting skilled employee and maintaining healthy vendor relationships. Buying a business is a way to skip these hurdles.

The Business Already has Brand Recognition/Track Record

You’ll be saving a lot of money that could have gone into brand marketing because the business you’ve acquired is already known. There’s also the added advantage of having a track record because the business has been in operation for some time now. 

It Saves Cost

This one might seem counter-intuitive but in a lot of ways buying a business can actually help save costs. There are certain startup costs that are inevitable such as professional, administrative, marketing costs, among others, when launching a business. Buying one simply eliminates these costs. However, this depends on how well the business was doing before you acquired it. Ensure to run the necessary background checks on the business before buying it. 

The Major Challenge

Blending into a New System

There’s a certain shockwave that comes with acquiring a business. You’ll need to put your leadership skills into action to douce any unhealthy tensions that may come from customers and employees.

You’ll also need to ensure that the previous owner has created a roadmap to help you get in touch with in-house systems that you simply can’t take on right off the bat.