The 10 Scariest Things About Buying A Business
By Business Desk
Sunday, April 23, 2017.
Buying a business is going to be one of the scariest things you ever do, for a number of different reasons. It doesn’t matter if you’re buying an established business that you want to bring back to life, or a franchise. Here’s an idea of the 10 scariest things about buying a business:
Getting The Funds To Buy A Business
Not everyone can get a bank loan or angel investor right away. You may need to build the business up slowly and steadily, putting any profits you make back into the business. Slow and steady often wins the race.
Writing a large check for an upfront franchise fee can be terrifying. There’s so much cash getting put into a business before you’ve even started your journey. The only thing you can do about this is make sure you’re a good match for the business or franchise. When you know it suits you, and you feel good about it, all that’s left to do is take a risk.
Not Being An Expert Yet
All entrepreneurs continue to learn after starting a business. There isn’t usually an entrepreneur who knows absolutely everything there is to know about a business or industry before starting.
So, you’re not an expert; should you buy a business? Absolutely, if you’re interested in it, make a good match, and feel passionately about making it work!
3. Not Being Able To Handle Success
Failure is frightening, but what if you struggle to handle success? Many people don’t realize that it’s actually success they are afraid of, and not failure. They worry about the social criticism, alienation from peers, and keeping up with demands that all come with success. Somebody has to lead others though: why not you?
4. Not Earning Enough To Make Back Your Investment
Taking on bigger than normal financial risks is always going to mean there’s a chance you won’t make back your investment. You may not see an immediate return, but that doesn’t mean you won’t make one if you’re determined. Ultimately, you need to be passionate and determined to make it work. Failure shouldn’t be an option.
5. Everything Going Wrong
You’re taking a lot of risks when buying a business, of course some things can go wrong.
Franchises can even go belly up sometimes, although it’s rare. Providing you have a good business plan and get the right people behind you, there’s only a small chance of big things going wrong.
6. Running Out Of Money
Getting the money to start a business is one thing, but what if you run out completely? There are lots of other forms of funding you can consider if you do start to run out, so you’ll need to consider this if you really believe in the business model. If you don’t believe in it, you probably shouldn’t do it in the first place!
7. Being Overwhelmed
Being overwhelmed sometimes is all part of being a business owner. There’s stress, hard work, obstacles - you name it, that’s what you’re going to find you must come up against with entrepreneurship. You do have options if you need them though. If you have too many financial issues, you can hire an advisor. If you’re not getting the results you want with a contractor or freelancer, find a new one. You aren’t stuck.
8. Fear Of The Unknown
You just don’t know what the future holds. The prospect of starting a business and not knowing where you’ll end up can be thrilling and terrifying at the same time. Fear of the unknown is totally normal, and stepping out of your comfort zone to start a business will usually give you some good, if not great results. Life starts outside of your comfort zone! Stop trying to control things so much and know everything. Things better than you could have even imagined could happen!
9. People Not Believing In You/Thinking You’re Crazy
It’s really important not to care what others think when you’re buying a business. Obviously you can take on board the opinions of your nearest and dearest, and it’s a good idea to listen to your target market and what not. However, you will usually get some people who don’t believe in you, or think you’re crazy for doing it. As long as you feel in your gut that this is a good decision for you, you need to learn to ignore the naysayers. Worrying too much about what others think will stop you from reaching your full potential every time.
10. Hiring The Best People To Help You
You may already have some employees ready trained that come with the business, depending on who is selling it and what stage it’s at. You may want to keep some of these. However, when it comes to hiring your own employees, the thought can be frightening. You can’t go on personality alone, although going on qualifications alone can sometimes be a mistake too. You need people who are going to fit in with your company culture, and bring something new to the business. They may even know more about it and be smarter than you. Just because you’re the owner, doesn’t mean you’re going to be the smartest. Hiring people who can teach you a thing or two and add something in their own unique way is always a good idea.
If you didn’t have fears associated with buying a business, you’d probably need to have your head looked at! The worst thing you can do with fear is pretend it’s not there. You don’t have to be completely fearless to buy a business - this is a common misconception. Buying a business and becoming the CEO of a company or an entrepreneur is about accepting your fears, embracing them, and using them to motivate you to do better and work hard. If you really want this business to work, then you’ll stop at nothing to make it happen. Leave your own thoughts below - thanks for reading!