Buying an Established Business
Buying an Established Business
The Wall Street Journal’s “Running a Business” blog analyzes the benefits of buying vs. building:
If you’re interested in entrepreneurship, but lack ideas or time to create a new business, buying an established company may be a wise alternative. You’ll inherit a working infrastructure complete with resources you’d otherwise have to secure on your own, such as equipment and employees. You’ll also ideally be taking over a known brand built on a positive reputation over many years’ time.
Buying a business typically does require more capital upfront than if you were to build one anew. But asking prices have been on the decline in recent years due to the weak economy. And sellers are increasingly offering to finance a portion of the price for buyers who are unable to obtain bank loans.
The median asking price for a small business was $239,000 in the second quarter, down from $249,000 a year earlier, according to BizBuySell.com, a global online marketplace for small-business acquisitions based in San Francisco. For businesses sold in the quarter, the median selling price was $150,000, down from $155,000.
