Steps to Buy a Business--Business Broker Processes that Work!

Vested Business Brokers' Basic Steps to Buy a Business

Initial Consultation—Learn about how Vested's processes work to help you buy a business

You will want to have a one-on-one consultation via phone or in person with a Vested Business Broker in your area to discuss all of your questions and concerns regarding the processes involved for Vested to help you buy the right business for sale. Our brokers are trained to help you with your business concerns as well as your personal concerns. We realize that you are making both a financial and lifestyle decision, and the more we understand your needs, the better we will be able to help you buy the right business for sale.

FREE Buyer Registration—View confidential information about a business for sale

Once all of your concerns have been addressed and you have decided to proceed to use Vested in your quest to buy a business, your Vested Business Broker will help you to register as a business buyer at no charge. This is so you can view all the confidential financial information that you will ultimately need to see in order to feel comfortable when you buy a business.

You will need to either sign a one page confidentiality agreement electronically, or if you prefer, you can fax in the agreement. In the agreement you promise not to disclose to anyone else any confidential information we may show you about any Vested listed business for sale.

Buyer Profile—Automation that helps you buy a business

Your Vested Business Broker will work with you to create your "buyer profile." This process helps make your search to buy a business more successful. Vested Business Brokers bring in new business for sale listings every day and your completed buyer profile will help our database to automatically flag any new listing that may be a good fit for you. When this happens, both you and your business broker are notified that there is a new small business for sale that you should take a look at.

Viewing Listings—Start online and then request an address of a business for sale

After you and your broker complete your buyer profile and enter it into the system, you can review each business for sale that the system recommends online. We also encourage you to browse through our listings of businesses for sale because often a registered business buyer believes he or she wants to buy a business of one type but ends up buying a business of another type that they simply just didn't think of.

Whenever you have looked in the database at a business for sale that you think may be a good fit, your Vested professional will provide you with the address of the listing so you can do a "drive by." If you prefer, your business broker will go along with you to take a look at the business for sale and address any questions about it that you may have.

Offer To Purchase—Making an offer on a business for sale

If a business for sale seems to be a fit and you have had a chance to think about making an offer (sometimes you may have to make several visits to the business to be certain), your broker will help you fill out a Letter of Intent. The LOI details the price and terms at which you would like to purchase the business for sale and sets the timeframe for due diligence (see below). Here your broker's experience will help you structure and make your best offer.

Due Diligence—Verifying the financials of a business for sale

Once your offer has been accepted, you will conduct a period of research on the business called due diligence. Basically, the process of due diligence takes place over a set period of time where you work with the seller to verify the financials of the business for sale as well as learn the inner workings of the business. Due diligence typically takes two weeks. A buyer should always bring in an attorney and accountant to help during this phase of the purchase. Your broker will be available to assist you during the due diligence process in every way.

Contract & Closing—Your dream to buy a business becomes reality

Following a successful due diligence period in which all of your concerns have been addressed, a contract will be drawn up between you and the seller. Typically, this is done by the attorneys on both sides of the deal. If the contract satisfies all the contingencies you have set forth, you and the seller can sign it and set a closing date. At closing, the business will officially change hands and you will have realized your dream to buy a business. Vested Business Brokers are available for you every step of the way to ensure that you are making informed decisions.

Do You Need More Information? Call us today!

Call us at 1-877-735-5224 and we will arrange for one of our brokers who works in your local area to call you for a "no-obligation" consultation today.

If you feel you are ready to buy a business without having a business broker consultation first, you can browse through our listings of businesses for sale on our Home Page or Buy a Business Page and then register to become a business buyer at no charge. A registered business buyer agrees not to share any confidential information we give them about a listing and is permitted to view all of the financial details of a given business for sale, as well as receive the address of businesses for sale to do a "drive by." You can register by signing our confidentiality agreement electronically, or you can print out the agreement and fax it to our corporate office.

Why You Should Buy a Business through a Vested Business Broker

If I Want to Buy a Business, How Can I Benefit by Using a Vested Business Broker?

Many people who want to buy a business are not sure that they need a business broker at all. They do not see why they cannot just buy a business on their own and deal directly with the seller. There are actually many reasons why this is not a very good idea. Not the least of which is that a buyer never pays for a reputable business broker's services because the seller always pays the commission.

Listings: The job of a Vested Business Broker is to act as an intermediary between a business buyer and a business seller. Our business brokers have a ready pool of pre-qualified sellers and once you decide to engage our services, you will have access to all of our listings. Finding the right business can be a very time consuming process and a Vested Business Broker can help you save time by only recommending a business for sale that might be a good fit.

Process: Vested Business Brokers have systems in place to take care of deals. Whether you want to buy a business or sell your business, it is usually a stressful time for both parties, so having someone to put everything together and take care of the paperwork is very helpful. This allows you to concentrate on getting a worthwhile deal, since you will not have to worry about whether all the documents (and there are a lot of them) are in order.

Realistic Perspective: A Vested Business Broker always takes the time to learn about the specific needs of every buyer, and to facilitate this process we have created our "Buyer Profile" which helps us to target listings specifically for our buyers. In addition, your Vested Business Broker knows your local marketplace and this will also help guide you to find the most suitable business for your needs. Vested Business Brokers know what is happening with other business listings of the same type and have an educated feel for what makes one deal good and another deal great.

Possible Financing: A Vested Business Broker will usually succeed in helping you to secure some kind of financing for the deal. There are many options available, and your broker can help you evaluate the particulars of your case to see what the best option is for you. In today's market, the majority of listings available through a Vested Business Broker come with seller financing for a large portion of the total selling price. The good thing about seller financing is that it shows that the seller is being serious and honest about the deal, and is not trying to offload an ailing business onto you. It shows that he has enough faith in the business he is selling to share the risk involved in running it with you. There's no better way to be sure that a business is really worth buying. Seller financing also allows for far greater flexibility than any other kind of financing.

Help Structuring An Offer: Vested Business Broker structure offers all the time and the offer is a critical part of putting together a deal that will close. By relying on a Vested Business Broker to help you structure your offer in a professional manner, you are increasing the likelihood that your offer will be accepted.

Guide Financial and Operational Due Diligence: Due diligence is when your accountants and attorneys determine the veracity of information that was provided by the seller. Your Vested Business Broker's expertise is particularly useful during this period (usually two weeks) and can keep a deal on track.

Help Negotiating The Deal: It is useful to have your Vested Business Broker present your case to the seller you're negotiating with, particularly at times when it seems like things could get unpleasant. For instance, if you need to modify a previous offer, it is probably a better idea to let your broker handle it rather than doing it yourself. The seller and buyer often need to remain associated after the sale and an aggressive confrontation during the negotiation could sour the relationship.

Buying and selling businesses is sufficiently complicated so as to require specialized people to put deals together. Most people who decide to buy a business never end up actually going through with it. Putting a Vested Business Broker in charge will give the process a momentum that it wouldn't otherwise have had, and this can help ensure that your decision to buy a business sees the light of day.

People that buy a business come from a wide range of past positions and professions and we recognize that every business buyer, regardless of background, is a different individual with different needs and aspirations. We train our business brokers to be good listeners and it is this skill, above all others, that enables your broker to use all of our resources to match you to the "right" business for sale. It is also the reason why so many buyers choose Vested Business Brokers to be their business broker after an initial "no-obligation" consultation. Call us at 1-877-735-5224 and we will arrange for one our business brokers from your local area to call you today.

If you feel you are ready to buy a business without having a business broker consultation first, you can browse through our listings of businesses for sale on our Home Page or Buy a Business Page and then register to become a business buyer at no charge. A registered business buyer agrees not to share any confidential information we give them about a listing and is permitted to view all of the financial details of a given business for sale, as well as receive the address of businesses for sale to do a "drive by." You can register by signing our confidentiality agreement electronically, or you can print out the agreement and fax it to our corporate office.

Is Now the Best Time to Buy a Business?

Why "Right Now" May Be the Best Time to Buy a Business

Anyone who wants to buy a business must address the important question of when to make the purchase, and like most things in life timing is a critical factor that can determine the ultimate success or failure of the endeavor. Economists all agree that recessions and "down turns" in an economy are "normal" and that by combining a study of past events together with current leading economic indicators, it is possible to create a fairly reliable timeline for predicting general economic "recovery." Similarly at Vested Business Brokers, we are in a unique position to predict the best timing to buy a business, particularly during a slow down, because we are constantly assessing historic small business sector trends together with current "Main Street" market conditions.

On a daily basis, we review our database and track the activities of our 50,000+ registered business buyers who are actively searching to buy a business and our 3300+ sellers who have requested our help in selling the small businesses that we currently list for sale in our active listings inventory. This tracking and subsequent analysis invariably leads us to seeing trends that we normally share with our registered business buyers to help them navigate through the process that leads to successful business sales. Today, in an effort to help you reach the right decision concerning your own plans or aspirations to buy a business, we would like to share publicly the trends that have become apparent at Vested since the current recession began to affect the small business sector of the American economy.

Five Significant Trends in the Current Small Business Market

We began to register the effects of the current economic down turn within the small business sector beginning in January, 2009, when the first of five significant trends became apparent.

Influx of People Wanting to Buy a Business

There has been a tremendous and steady increase in the number of new Financial Services Sector buyers entering the system and the majority of them have recently lost six-figure income. Overwhelmingly, these new buyers all have one characteristic in common: Rather than attempting to acquire a new position within an increasingly shrinking job market, they desire to "buy an income" by purchasing an existing profitable business.

Depletion of Available Down Payment Monies for Our Clients Searching to Buy a Business

To purchase an existing profitable business, all business buyers must conform to certain pre-requisites, foremost of which is the immediate availability of down payment monies (typically forty to fifty percent of the selling price of a business) in the form of liquidity or through pre-arranged bank loans or lines of credit. The amount available for down payment determines the asking price level where a buyer should begin the search to buy a business. Business buyers must bear in mind that the down payment amount typically declines over time because the business buyer will also be using the funds to cover expenses during the lifetime of the search.

This means that the longer it takes to complete the purchase process the more the highest asking price the business buyer qualifies for diminishes. In other words, as a buyer depletes available cash, the price of businesses for sale under consideration falls, and so ultimately, does the level of income the buyer will be able to realize upon completing the purchase. This depletion of down payment monies is understandable given the recent general reticence of all Americans to make any type of purchase despite the fact that it may be self-defeating not to act.

Record Number of Letters of Intent Submitted by Clients Who Want to Buy a Business

Vested has received a record number of Letters of Intent from February through September, 2009. (With a Letter of Intent, a registered buyer makes a formal declaration of intent to buy a business based on the outcome of the due diligence process, and secures a waiting period from the seller by making a "good faith" deposit.) This means that more buyers than ever are committing to seriously investigate purchasing businesses for sale.

Temporary Decline in Closings of Businesses for Sale

The ratio of the number of Closings to the number of Letters of Intent did not increase proportionately until the end of June, 2009, when businesses for sale began to close steadily again. We can easily understand this because up until now buyers have been holding back from closing on buying a business, thinking that by waiting they may be able to reduce the price or hold out until general business conditions improve. This trend has now reversed and, for example, we have had more successful closings on businesses for sale this past July than in any other July since we started Vested Business Brokers almost eight years ago!

Unprecedented Levels of Seller Financing

Sellers are offering seller backed financing at unprecedented levels and at unprecedented interest rates that rival even the best financing that used to be available through sources like banks whose loans are guaranteed by the Small Business Administration. Most sellers are now offering financing programs for up to fifty percent of the selling price spread out over five to ten years with single digit interest rates.

So Is Right Now the Best Time to Buy a Business?

Based on the trends we have described above, we believe that buying a business right now is the best time to buy a business. To recap, following the steady influx of newly registered buyers there was a record number of Letters of Intent submitted and a temporary slowing of customary closing rates on businesses for sale that has since reversed. We believe that the diminishing amount of buyers' down payment monies available coupled with unprecedented levels of seller backed financing has swung the market back to a very favorable position for buyers who are ready to capitalize on the situation.

Can Vested Business Brokers Help Me?

The biggest errors in business occur when business people get caught with "their pants down" and they have to scramble to make up for lost time all the while fretting that they may have missed an outstanding business opportunity. We would like a chance to speak with you directly if you are "on the fence" concerning whether or not to buy a business or are uncertain about the timing of your acquisition. A "no obligation" consultation with one of our Senior Business Brokers could be just what you need to analyze your personal situation and to help you on your way to the new life you have been envisioning. Call us at 1-877-735-5224 and we will arrange for one our business brokers from your local area to call you today.

If you feel you are ready to buy a business without having a business broker consultation first, you can browse through our listings of businesses for sale on our Home Page or Buy a Business Page and then register to become a business buyer at no charge. A registered business buyer agrees not to share any confidential information we give them about a listing and is permitted to view all of the financial details of a given business for sale, as well as receive the address of businesses for sale to do a "drive by." You can register by signing our confidentiality agreement electronically, or you can print out the agreement and fax it to our corporate office.

Additional Informative Articles:

Should I Be Starting a Small Business or Should I Buy a Business That Is Already Profitable?

If I Want to Buy a Business, How Can I Benefit by Using a Vested Business Broker?

Vested Business Brokers' Basic Steps to Buy a Business

Start a Small Business or Buy a Business That Is Already Profitable?

Should I Be Starting a Small Business or Should I Buy a Business That Is Already Profitable?

Whether you are starting a small business or going to buy a business, you have the potential to be in charge of your financial future, and from this vantage point, you can realize your dreams and enrich your life!

Due to the downturn in our economy and the highest unemployment rate in fifty years, people are facing severe financial hardship and a very uncertain future. Multinational corporate employers seem to care only about their "bottom line," not about their employees, and increasingly, "be your own boss" is resonating with people who once worked for someone else. Many Americans now realize that the best way to safeguard their family's financial future is to take steps to control their livelihood and thus control their destiny. Whether you are starting a small business or going to buy a business, you have the potential to be in charge of your financial future, and from this vantage point, you can realize your dreams and enrich your life.

If you are considering starting a new business, it is important to recognize that national research repeatedly reveals that almost every new small business is destined to fail within the first 3 years. At Vested we believe the best way to overcome this problem is to buy a business that is already operational and showing a profit. An established business has a track record that demonstrates a real need for a product or service in a particular locale. Financial records are available which verify past sales and most sellers are willing to stay on for an agreed upon period to train a new business owner.

When you are ready to buy a business, you may need financial help to make your dream become a reality. At Vested Business Brokers, we have sold over 750 businesses and in the process we have become experts at helping a business buyer obtain financing. In addition to our own financial programs, we also work with a number of independent financing sources that can help you navigate goverment programs like the Small Business Administration. Of significant note in this economy is the fact that most sellers who are listing their businesses for sale with Vested are offering seller backed financing at very low interest rates.

People that buy a business come from a wide range of past positions and professions and we recognize that every business buyer, regardless of background, is a different individual with different needs and aspirations. We train our business brokers to be good listeners and it is this skill, above all others, that enables your broker to use all of our resources to match you to the "right" business for sale. It is also the reason why so many buyers choose Vested Business Brokers to be their business broker of choice after an initial "no-obligation" consultation. Call us at 1-877-735-5224 and we will arrange for one our business brokers from your local area to call you today.

If you feel you are ready to buy a business without having a business broker consultation first, you can browse through our listings of businesses for sale on our Home Page or Buy a Business Page and then register to become a business buyer at no charge. A registered business buyer agrees not to share any confidential information we give them about a listing and is permitted to view all of the financial details of a given business for sale, as well as receive the address of businesses for sale to do a "drive by." You can register by signing our confidentiality agreement electronically, or you can print out the agreement and fax it to our corporate office.