When looking at buying a business it is a good thing to reflect upon yourself and what skills and experience you can bring to a business. You should review your skills in the following key areas of a business:

•    Face to Face Sales/Marketing
•    Employee Management and Hiring
•    Overall Business and Financial Management
•    Purchasing/Inventory Control

These are just some general areas that may be more or less important to your particular business. For example, if you are an introvert you may want to avoid a sales business that depends on extensive interactions with customers or if you're not mechanically inclined, you may want to avoid an automotive repair facility. You should focus on an industry that will complement your personal and professional skills. Knowing what you can handle and what you need help with will help your business run more efficiently and in turn generate more profits.

In the meantime, if you would like more information on buying a business, contact us at 204-478-7266x110.

Over the past five months, we have been talking about the five most common myths that business owners have when they think about selling their business. Last month, we talked about the timing issue. This month, we want to talk about the difference between selling a business versus selling a house.

Preparing to sell your house may take a few weeks, then you want to get the word out to everyone that the house is on the market. Once you get a satisfactory offer, you sign on the dotted line, turn over the keys and move on.

Selling a business is much more complex. A successful business sale usually requires a great deal of pre-planning, possibility up to a year and maybe as long as three years to drive sales, develop key staff, document the operations, control expenses, and potentially restructure the company for tax benefits.

The average house will sell in less than four months, while the average business takes nine months to a year.

Even after the business is sold, the seller can be expected to put in at least a few months, and possibly a year or so of transition time, helping to make the new owner a success. Sound sale strategies will bring you the optimum price the market will bear. Go to market with realistic expectations by getting a professional valuation and using a professional business broker. We can help.