subject: Buying A New Or Existing Business For Sale [print this page] If you are thinking about buying some kind of a business for sale in the near future, you need to decide before you do anything else if you are going to start a brand new business or you are going to purchase an existing business that is up for sale. There are upsides and downsides to both types of businesses, and what is the best choice for one buyer may not be the best choice for all buyers. For the most part, it is usually considered to be much safer to purchase an existing business than it is to start up a brand new one. The statistics on this are pretty convincing and a bit disturbing at the same time.
Most established businesses that are put up for sale continue to be successful after they are sold. In sharp contrast, more than 80% of new businesses fail and have to close their doors in the first three years. Now you see where the sharp difference lies between purchasing an existing business for sale and starting up a new one.
If you choose to buy an established business, it does not mean that you are any less motivated by personal accomplishment, any less stimulated by challenge or anything else. What it does mean is that you were smart enough to let someone else take the risk and the high cost that is associated with starting up a new business from scratch. When you buy an established business, you will already have the enormous advantage of having a proven, successful location and a strong customer base and you will also already have the right product. The third ingredient that is needed, which you are going to provide, is management.
If you are looking for a rundown list of all of the advantages of buying an established business as opposed to starting a brand new one, you will find a good dozen of them right off the bat. One issue that many buyers fail to realize until it is too late is that a market cannot sometimes support another competitor there is simply no need for a new business.
When you buy an existing business for sale, you will be able to get it up and running quickly, and usually a successful business is going to stay successful while you get the hang of everything. You will most likely already have the equipment and assets that you need to keep it running, and the set up and installation costs are significantly lower than those of a new one. Your expenses are already established, it is easier to get licenses and permits, loans and other financing, and the relationships with suppliers are already established when you buy an existing business for sale.
