subject: Troubleshooting a Business to Buy [print this page] Troubleshooting a Business to Buy Troubleshooting a Business to Buy
When a seller decides to sell his business, he is motivated by some reason. It usually has something to do with the business and not the individual himself. Sellers quite often site personal or family reasons for selling. Even illness is not a business reason but a personal reason. It does tell you something about what is happening with the business. If the seller's business is doing poorly, it will make him sick. So this is not the real reason for a sale.
In order to buy a specific business you want to know the real reason the seller wants out. If you know that, you know what you need to work on to fix that business.
Being able to trouble-shoot a problem is an art that must be developed, though there are those who think they are naturally good at it. There are a very small number of business schools that actually train you in the art of doing this, I only know of one The Hubbard School of Business Administration in Hollywood California, which trained me.
Trouble-shooting means to locate, "What is really causing the trouble, of some problem or situation?" Another way of looking at this is "Why does the problem exist?" "What is the source of the problem?" When you find the basic cause of a problem, it usually can be corrected with a step-by-step plan of attack.
The most interesting thing about trouble-shooting is that it is almost impossible to do when you are too close to the problem. That is because when you are very close to a problem you are emotionally involved with it and cannot see the obvious. This causes the problem to continue despite all your best efforts to solve it by the business owner.
When you find it, the opportunity to make substantial profits is now available to you.
Due Diligence Defined: The phrase is composed of two words. Due, which the dictionary defines as "proper or adequate", and Diligence, which is defined as "Degree of care or caution expected of a person. Especially as a party to an agreement." Caution: is the watchword in this definition.
Willard Michlin is a CPA and offers assistance in the key areas involved
in the buying of a business: Due Diligence and Business Valuation.
He is an experienced, honest and trustworthy consultant. He has published many
articles and is in demand as a public speaker in the Southern California business
community. You can write to Willard at info@evaluateabusiness.com
and he will always answer your questions. He can also be contacted at his
Ventura County, California office by calling 800-864-0420.
See other articles and information about his services at: www.BusinessBuyingServices.com
