I’ll level with you, in my 15+ years of buying businesses and training others to do the same, I’ve made a few mistakes.
Every time a deal goes wrong, it’s for one of four reasons.
Four mistakes, all of which I’ve made myself, and all of which I’ll never make again.
Because when you know what these four mistakes are, you can wipe them out and make your business buying journey a LOT stronger, a LOT more profitable and a LOT less stressful.
So what are they?
Mistake #1: neglecting to build rapport with the seller
Bumps in the buying process are inevitable and without a good relationship with your seller, you’ll struggle to resolve any problems that do crop up.
Mistake #2: letting emotions take over
It’s all do easy to do when you’re putting all your time and effort into a deal. Always remember there are plenty more fish in the sea – it makes you feel so much better if things do go south.
Mistake #3: bottling the numbers
There’s no space for schoolboy errors in this business. Without thorough financial modelling and forecasting, how can you know what your acquisition will look like after completion?
Mistake #4: outsourcing due diligence
Not only do you save money by doing this yourself, you negate a heck of a lot of risks too. You’re in the driving seat, so you need to know what’s under your target’s bonnet.
They sound like simple mistakes (and that’s because they are), but their effects can be far-reaching and pretty damaging too.
If you’d like any more advice to help you get started on this journey, do get in touch.
– Guy Bartlett