I'm trying to buy a business........................?

Question

And I'm looking for the right business for me. But everytime I find something that might be interesting and I show my husband, he always looks at the negative. For instance, I found a laundrymat for sale for a good price. Now there are certain things in business that you will have to deal with, but he goes into, "what if there is a flood or one of the machines breaksdown?" Now I know that things could happen, but I try to approach it from "Well, what if these things happen, how can we deal with it and/or can we deal with it?" meaning, if there is a problem, what solutions can we come up with.

I can't seem to get him to understand where I'm coming from. He accuses me of just wanting to jump into any business without asking questions and I keep trying to tell him that I'm approaching my investigation with "CAn I work this out and if I can, how would I go about doing it?"

Can anyone help with getting him to understand??

Answer 1

I am a business consultant. The company I work for contracts my services to small and mid-sized companies for $235 per hour plus "reasonable expenses", which include travel to and from my home, rental car, hotel, fuel, and per-diem of $35.

One of the services our company offers is risk assessments; another is business evaluations.

In order to "convince" your husband that the business you are looking at buying is a "good deal", I would need to see their current financials, including an up-to-date and accurate P&L (Profit & Loss Statement, also referred to as an "Income Statement") and a likewise up-to-date balance statement, showing company assets and liabilities.

I would also want to know the age and condition of the equipment owned by the company - in this case, the washing machines, their service history, etc.

I would want to look at customer history and the local demographics of the area, including age, income, owned vs. rented property, homes vs. apartments, % of single, married, married with children population counts, and income spread in the respective groups. There may even be statistics available on the # of households with and without laundry facilities. Nowadays, even large apartment complexes have their own facilities for the use of their renters.

Every business has its own set of particular items that should be considered closely before venturing into ownership.

What is the expected ROI (Return On Investment)? This is probably THE single most important knowledge to have when buying a business. The value of the business should be no more than the collective value of the real-estate purchased, and one to two years of estimated profit, based on current P&Ls and the forecst based on growth history.

In some rare cases, the ROI can be up to 5 years profit.

Feel free to contact me (at no charge) if you would like advice on a specific business you are currently looking at.

Answer 2

Think he is a bit too careful... usually people like that land up with a bad deal after all their questions. Any business comes with its own risks & along with these risks comes bigger profits.

I think you should identify a good business, completely understands its pros & cons, take a decision of whether that business is YOURS.

When you are sure & have all the CONS lined up, tell your husband that this business is up for Sale & these are all the CONS... and end up saying well these are its PROS. Make him argue the PROS of the business. Then you've got him.

Hope that helps

Answer 3

If you are properly convinced of something , Tell him that you take the responsibily of dealing with the hindrances,no matter what , Provided he stays by you ( Jus' to tell him that you need him throughtout your life , )