It’s time to branch out and be your own boss. Do you buy an Established Business or launch one on your own? If you’re like many business owners, you’d like to have a shortcut to get from being a business owner to being one that brings in an income from the business. That’s where buying an established business can help. It’s like a shortcut that lets you start bringing in profits faster, sometimes immediately, so you don’t have to go through the startup process of creating a business from scratch.  

No Startup Time

If you start by buying an established business, you don’t have to worry about the startup period. During this period, the business is not bringing in a lot of money. In fact, it may cost more to run than expected, so you could be losing money while you get it going. If you can skip the startup time, you’ll be able to start making money much faster, and this is possible if you purchase a business that is already established.  

Already an Established Brand

Brands take a long time to create, but it is crucial to work on promoting the brand and bringing it to life. The brand is what helps bring in new customers and keeps existing customers coming back year after year. It’s what makes the business recognizable to everyone and encourages more sales. When you purchase a business that is already up and running, you are likely buying an existing brand, too. While this doesn’t mean you can avoid working on the brand, it does give you a little bit of a jump start.  

Already a Customer Base

If you start your own business, you’ll have to find customers. It can take years to create a formidable customer base and to encourage repeat customers. Many customers won’t be willing to give the business a try until it’s already up and running for at least a short period of time, but the longer it’s in business, the more likely they are to be interested. With an established business, that hard work is already done for you. Of course, you’ll want to expand the customer base, but you’re starting with a selection of customers who already know and appreciate your products or services, not having to start from the beginning.  

Established Vendors

It can be challenging to find the right vendors for your business. Whether you’re looking for product suppliers, services, or other help, you’ll want to choose the perfect vendors for the business and build a good working relationship with them. An already established business has all of this in place. You’ll be able to take over the contracts and continue working with the vendors, so you’ll know you already have everything set up and ready to go.  

Reduced Potential for Failure with an Established Business

Studies have shown that it’s incredibly difficult to create a business that will last. In fact, only around 25% of businesses make it to the 15th year. Nearly half will go out of business before the end of the second year. There are a ton of challenges new businesses must face, and it’s not always easy to overcome them. When you purchase an existing business, though, it’s already gotten past a lot of the hard work. It’s already set up and ready to go, so you have a much lower chance of the business failing.  

Better Stability

A lot of businesses, especially in the first couple of years, have ups and downs. There may be some months that do extremely well and others where it’s incredibly slow. An established business has much better stability. It’s been through those first few years and gotten to where it’s profitable throughout the year, so there’s no need to worry about whether it’s going to slow down to a crawl for a few months before picking back up again.  

Easier Financing to Grow the Business

Getting financing isn’t always easy. In fact, for new businesses, it can be challenging because the financing is tied to the owner since the business isn’t proven yet. Once the business is established, though, it’s a lot easier to borrow money. Whether it’s for expanding to new locations, getting a new product or service up and running, or for any other needs, getting financing is a lot easier once the business is established and has its own credit history.  

Insider Information Available

Every little bit helps when you’re learning how to run a business, and that’s another area where buying an existing business can help. The seller may be willing to provide training and pass their knowledge on to you. There’s also plenty of data on how the business runs, what works, what doesn’t work, and more. All of this inside information can be used to help you learn more about the business, how it operates, and what needs to be done to help it continue to be successful.  

Employees are Already Trained with An Established Business

It takes a lot of time to train employees and staff members, especially when you’re also trying to get the business up and running. Plus, when a business is new, there can be a lot of employee turnover, especially in the first year or two. When the business is already established, this isn’t much of a concern. The existing employees are already trained, there is likely a handbook or other information for training new hires, and everything is already up and running, which can help minimize turnover.  

It’s hard to start a business, but there is a shortcut that can help you get up and running a lot faster than starting your own business. When you buy an established business, you’ll get all of the above benefits, and plenty more. If this sounds like it might be a great idea, think about what kind of business you’d like to run. Then, talk to a business broker to get the help you need to find the right business to purchase. There may be a business that fits your needs perfectly and that is already established, so you can jump in and start running it right away. 

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