Starting A New Business Versus Buying An Existing Business
From Smallbusinesslibrary
One of the most important questions to consider when thinking about going into business for yourself is whether or not to buy an existing business, or to start a new small business from scratch. There are pros and cons to both options depending on what you are looking for, including the increased flexibility of a start-up versus the ease of utilizing an existing companies business plan and inventory.
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Buying A Small Business
Here are a few resources for information on buying an existing small business:
Buying A Business (SBA.gov)
This brief article from the SBA outlines a few of the pros and cons of buying an existing small business. At the bottom of the article is a link to a free online course produced by the SBA on entrepreneurship, which is also a valuable resource for information on the topic.
How To Buy A Business (Entrepreneur.com)
A detailed article from Entrepreneur Magazine that describes many of the issues involved with buying a small business. Topics include how to choose the right business, 25 things to consider when evaluating an opportunity, how to determine a fair price, the art of the deal, and common mistakes to avoid.
Buying a Small Business: Facts All Potential Business Buyers Need To Know (SCORE.org)
This article, written by a SCORE contributor, has eight facts that any potential buyer of a small business needs to know. These include having an idea of the size and location of the ideal business you are in the market for, knowing how much money you are willing to put down, and making sure that the deal keeps moving, in addition to several other tips.
Starting A Small Business
Here are a few resources for starting-up your own small business:
Definition of Start-up (Wikipedia.org)
This definition of start-ups from Wikipedia provides a broad overview of what start-up companies are.
Small Business Readiness Assessment Tool (SBA.gov)
This online tool from the SBA helps to evaluate your readiness to start a new small business. Following filling out 40 yes or no questions the tool will assess how prepared you are to start a business, and provide recommended resources from the SBA based on this assessment.
Small Business Primer (SBA.gov)
This free online course from the SBA serves as a good introduction to some of the topics that must be considered when starting a new small business. Topics discussed in the presentation include, “Are you ready to start your business?”, “Is your idea viable?”, “The legal side of your business”, “Understanding the numbers”, and “How to attract customers.”
