On 13/03/2014 09:46, dennis@home wrote:
On 13/03/2014 09:01, Nightjar wrote:


You might not actually want to buy one, but browsing through could give
you an idea of something else you might like to do. Some might even
allow you to work 9-5 and have six weeks' holiday a year, although the
latter is improbable if you work for yourself until you get really
successful and employ lots of people to make profits for you. However,
buying an existing business, even quite a small one, should mean that
you start off with an established customer base.

If you do decide to buy a business, look for a retirement sale. They are
usually the most reliable. Especially avoid those described as having
great development potential. If they had any, why hasn't the seller
developed the business, to increase its value, before putting it on the
market? There may be a good reason, but they are more usually businesses
where somebody has had a dabble and didn't like it.


There are some pretty nasty ways to get customers on the books to make a
business look viable, only to have the customers evaporate as soon as
its sold.

One of the milkmen around here came around offering half price for six
weeks, just before he sold it to a mug that thought he had a good round.

Just be sure the customers are real and want repeat business.

I would be dubious of anybody who couldn't produce at least three years'
accounts. Five would be better.

Colin Bignell