Is it worth buying a ready-made business: real facts
Is it worth buying a ready-made business: types of business in the Russian Federation + 4 resources for finding ads for the sale of a business + 5 reasons why a business is being sold + 3 ways to get around scammers + 2 main options for buying a business + 6 factors affecting the price.
Is it worth buying a ready-made business? Or is it better to start from scratch?
Each of these paths to becoming a successful entrepreneur has its pros and cons.
Today we will analyze in detail the issue of buying a business.
Do you need it? How not to fall into the clutches of scammers? How to buy an enterprise that will not go bankrupt in a week or two?
But first, decide for yourself exactly how much money you have in opening your new business. If the funds are not enough, consider whether you are ready to take out a loan.
Remember, the bank will give you a large loan only if you have real estate or a sufficiently large monthly income.
If enterprises sell for this reason, then the buyer must be informed about this.
Of course, selling a company with debt is considered a scam. But if you fall into such a trap, it will be extremely difficult to prove anything and get your money back.
Before a deal, check with their suppliers and employees about the activities of the company in order to protect yourself from loss.
How to protect yourself when buying?
A sure way to protect yourself before buying a business is to check the activities of a particular legal entity using online government resources.
To understand whether it is worth buying a ready-made business, the following sites will help:
- Unified Federal Register of Bankruptcy Information: http://bankrot.fedresurs.ru
- Database of the Federal Antimonopoly Service: http://solutions.fas.gov.ru
- The Federal Tax Service: https://egrul.nalog.ru
- Debt Center: http://www.centerdolgov.ru
These services will help you find out if the company has debts, check the accuracy of the data and get other important information that will secure the transaction.
How to understand that a business is unprofitable?
It is difficult to understand that they want to sell you debts, and not a profitable business. Now there are many tricks on which scammers profit.
There are several rules that will help you avoid a wrong trade:
If you are not given documents on demand, then something is wrong with them.
Do not rush to buy this business.
Sometimes management asks for a deposit.
Do not under any circumstances do this. As practice shows, after a money transfer it is impossible to find either offices or managers.
If you are buying a ready-made business with staff and all the necessary equipment, and not just documentation, then check the serviceability of everything that passes into your hands.
Invite an independent master who will assess the condition of all tools.
If everything is in order with the above points, then you should check the documentation well.
It is necessary to re-read even the contracts of all employees. Be sure to ask for a lease agreement, as well as a certificate that confirms the absence of debts.
You need to buy a business only after a documented inventory.
If you do not understand some of the nuances, then it is better to hire an experienced lawyer or accountant who can check the documentation in all respects.
2 options for buying a ready-made business
Option number 1 - the acquisition of only documents for the company.
Many mistakenly believe that a ready-made business will significantly save money and time on paperwork ...
This is not so, because when selling a company with "clean" documentation, the company's managers will ask for 5-10 thousand rubles more than it would take you to complete the paperwork on your own.
In addition, in any case, you will have to deal with the re-registration of documents in your name. This takes approximately 5-7 days.
It takes 5-10 days to register an LLC if the collected documents do not have any “deviations from the norm”.
If you choose in this case between and buying a company, it is better to do everything yourself, and save money on developing your business.
PS. Typically, the price of a package of documents for a company varies within 20,000 rubles.
Option number 2 - the acquisition of a ready-made business.
This option is more tempting, because you are already acquiring a ready-made and established business, which includes a team of employees, clients, suppliers, ready-made contracts, etc.
This is a big plus, but there is a considerable risk that scammers can deceive you.
Sometimes a business is sold due to a large amount of debt. The value of the company will be underestimated, and this will be your first signal of danger.
PS. The minimum cost of a ready-made enterprise starts from $15,000.
Price policy
There are many factors that affect the price of a business:
Supply and demand.
Even a novice entrepreneur must understand that every business is built on the ratio of demand from buyers and supply that comes from the enterprise.
The more demand a business has, the higher its price will be.
Kind and type of business.
If the company has a narrow specialization, then its price will be underestimated due to the lack of great demand among potential buyers.
A business with “clean” accounting will be very expensive for the new owner, but he will be calm for his invested money.
Availability of assets.
Enterprises with all the equipment, the base of suppliers, concluded contracts, employees, etc. are sold at a high price.
Popularity.
The more famous the company, the higher its market price.
The urgency of the deal.
Sometimes a legal entity, for a number of reasons, may be in a hurry to sell its business, then the price will be lowered in order to quickly find a buyer.
Buying a ready-made business can be a great start for an entrepreneur.
The main thing is to understand what you will do with it next.
The owner of a beauty salon shares her personal experience:
Franchising as an option to start your own business
Another way to make a purchase of a ready-made enterprise, and at the same time be sure that everything will work out, is this.
This term in business denotes a form of relationship between two organizations that begin cooperation and are interested in developing the case on both sides.
In simple terms, a well-known firm (in the transaction it calls itself franchisor and you will refer to yourself franchisee) offers to buy you the right to use his famous "name" and sales techniques.
In turn, you get a ready-made brand, which you just need to further promote, as well as look for sources of distribution, etc.
What do you get from such a deal:
- at the conclusion of the contract, you will have a ready-made method of work, you do not need to invent anything;
- a customer base that will be happy to purchase goods from a well-known supplier from you;
- the franchisee also receives the image that the franchisor company will create for him, and along with this, new customers and partners in the future.
Of course, this is not a charity project for newcomers to entrepreneurship.
You agree to pay the franchisor a certain amount and a percentage of the turnover. These details are written into the contract without fail.
