There are many Austin businesses for sale.  How do you, as a business buyer, choose the right one?  Which Austin business for sale is for me?  If there is one piece of advice we try to give prospective buyers, it’s choose a business where you have some experience or competitive advantage.  Many buyers do not know what to buy, so they choose the usual suspects, such as car washes, restaurants, dry cleaners, laundromats, and convenience stores.  While these may be fine choices for some buyers, most would-be buyers have no experience in these fields.  Because they feel these businesses are not complicated to run, these are some of the more obvious choices.  Many of these types of businesses are actually very competitive.  It may take more than you think to make these types of businesses successful.  Many of the sellers have many years of experience in these industries, so don’t let the simplicity mask an underlying competitiveness.

Which type of business is right for you?  Only you can answer this question, but over your years of experience, there is probably something from your work experience that can make a successful business.  It could be as a distributor or supplier to one of the fields where you have experience?  Sometimes it is best to take a page out of the venture capital book.  What frustrated you about your industry that you believe can be done better?  Are there existing businesses that address this issue?  Can you buy an existing business with reoccurring cash flow that can be built to address this issue while you collect cash from the underlying business?  All of these questions must be answered if you are looking at an Austin business for sale before you pull the trigger.

Another reason to look at business you know is for the stakeholders and lenders.  Will a bank lend you money in a field you know nothing about?  Probably not.  How about other equity stakeholders?  Would you ask a friend or family member for capital to buy a business where you have no experience?  Chances are they will say no.  This is also true of the banks.  To lend you money, either under SBA rules or conventional loans (very rare), the bank will likely want to see you with some experience in the business you are buying.  In short, it’s best to stick with what you know when you are looking at an Austin business for sale.

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