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Should you buy or start a business?

Written by: Helen Dowling

Article Overview: If you’re thinking about starting your own business, there are always two options open to you – starting your own business or buying a business that’s already in existence. Each of these options has its pros and cons and it’s important for you to consider these before you make your final decision.

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Should you buy or start a business?

If you’re thinking about starting your own business, there are always two options open to you – starting your own business or buying a business that’s already in existence. Each of these options has its pros and cons and it’s important for you to consider these before you make your final decision.

STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS

Starting a business from scratch is a great option, but it’s not for everyone. For a start, it’s far riskier than buying an existing business and you’ll need to make sure you really think things through and develop a business plan. You’ll need to think about whether people will buy your idea and do your market research. Most importantly though, you need to check whether the financial side stacks up and whether you’ll be able to make money.

On the other hand, seeing something that you’ve personally started grow into a business where people want and need what you offer, is one of the most rewarding things out there. It’s a real buzz to realise that you’re responsible from going a tiny seed into a glorious tree.

But, believe me it won’t all be plain sailing and that’s why you’ll need to make sure you have a plan in place to address the times when it goes wrong as well as celebrate your successes.

BUYING A BUSINESS

Buying a business, in a way is a safer option – if you buy the right one. What you’re buying is the reassurance that the business will be profitable as well as the existing customer base. In other words, you should be able to get the business up and running quicker than you would if you’re starting from scratch.

However, buying a business is pretty much like buying a house. Chances are that you’ll fall in love with the business and will be able to see all the possibilities and opportunities for it, but once you’ve decided to go ahead there will be lots of legal stuff that will be hard work and time consuming to actually make it happen. So be prepared for that before you start.

Just as with starting a business from scratch, you’ll need to plan thoroughly for all eventualities. You might also want to think about receiving some training from the current business owners so that you can hit the ground running on day one.

Whether you decide to start a business from scratch or buy an existing business, make sure that you do your homework, write a business plan and really think things through. It’s no accident that 90% of the businesses that write a business plan are still going 18 months down the line, so it’s well worth the time to do it.

For more help and advice on writing a business plan, why not contact us for our free factsheet by going to our profile and contacting us?

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Article Tags: business plan, buying a business, buying a house, buying an existing business, buzz, customer base, existence, final decision, love, market research, money, plain sailing, possibilities, pros and cons, reassurance, stacks, starting from scratch, starting your own business, successes, tiny seed

About the Author: Helen Dowling
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Exceptional Thinking (http://www.exceptionalthinking.co.uk) provides help and advice for small business owners on their marketing and to people starting up in business. To get your free audio on "Should you use email marketing in your business?" visit http://www.exceptionalthinking.co.uk/emailmarketinginfo.htm