Let us take a moment to define the term “perfect business”. Picture if you will a live orchestra consisting of 100 musicians. At the front stands a conductor waiving their arms to the beat of the music, guiding the orchestra to play flawlessly and in complete harmony.
A “perfect business” is one where the conductor (the business owner) can be replaced at anytime, (by a qualified buyer), with little to no effect on the orchestras performance, (in this case, the companies performance).
From time to time, we come across an individual or couple who have spent years searching for that perfect business to buy. This is no real surprise as the reality is many business owners have not built a sellable, financeable business. So in keeping with the analogy of an orchestra, this is an orchestra (company) that has no one standing in the place of the conductor. Instead the conductor (business owner) is in amongst the musicians, running around frantically trying to make them play as one.
Often the result of trying to sell a business like this is that the business ends up selling for a fraction of what it could be worth or in some cases, not selling at all.
The opportunity for you as a buyer is to recognize that many businesses for sale have not been built to sell. Therefore step back a moment and instead of searching for that perfect business consider a business opportunity that you can build into a perfect business – a business in need of a conductor like you.
Is it possible to find a perfect business? A business that is sellable and one that you can purchase with financing? We say – YES.
About the Author: Matthew Buxton specializes in helping business owners build Sellable, Financeable Businesses. He also completes Business Valuations, and helps people Buy and Sell Small to Medium sized Businesses. For more information please visit www.businessfinancecanada.com
