Buying a Business Vs. Starting a Business

It's a good idea to list the pros and cons of buying a business versus starting a business. It will help you evaluate your tolerance for risk.

If you think buying a business sounds expensive, try starting one.

Experience can be your worst teacher, unless it's somebody else's. Try buying a business that has already had some experience.

When you buy an existing business with a proven track record you are buying an existing cash flow with proven services to a known market. If you run it at least as well as the seller, it pays for itself.

When you start a business, you're betting on the future, when you're buying a business, you're betting on the past.

With millions of baby boomer-owned businesses transitioning over the next decade, it is an optimum time to find the right business to buy.

The opportunities for entrepreneurial expression are endless and today are being fueled by the "silver tsunami."

Buyers have to ask the "barrier to entry" question… is it cheaper and more efficient to start your own business or does a particular opportunity offer you a sufficient leg-up to warrant purchasing a business instead?

There are many points of view on whether to start or buy a business and each has pros and cons. Make your list and evaluate your own appetite for risk.

When you buy an existing business with a proven track record you are buying an existing cash flow with proven services to a known market. If you run it at least as well as the seller, it pays for itself.