PARKER BRIGGS BUSINESS GROUP

Recently, the United States’ economy has experienced much unanticipated change. We have seen numerous Wall Street firms and banking companies - with long, esteemed business histories - be quickly acquired. A large number of workers throughout our economy have been laid off, leaving many to wonder what to do next.

Should you desire or need to make a career change, you probably considered, at one time or another, owning and operating your own business. Owning your own business can be challenging and exciting – and it is rewarding to be engaged in the position of making important decisions.

This is the article to read if you have ever considered business ownership but do not know how to go about accomplishing it. We will outline some initial steps to an effective process that leads toward acquiring a business that meets your parameters. In the long run, you will save your valuable resources by following these few beginning steps.

Step 1: Determine what you want. This step is very important to not only finding a business that is right for you, but also in the fulfillment of your happiness. If you have worked for other people most of your life – or own a business where you are not happy – demands may not have allowed you the time or inclination to pursue the line of thinking that you are about to read. If you are considering buying a business and are unclear of what you may want, please take the time to go through this step.

First, please get a notebook where you can jot down your thoughts, visions, dreams, wishes, and aspirations. Unless you prefer, these notes do not have to be shared with others.  This initial step is personal brain-storming. Write as much as you can without inhibition. Entertain what you may now believe as unattainable.

After 15 years in the same field, a friend of mine went through this process. One of the things he wrote was a small note about his desire to join the Professional Golf Association (PGA) and be a professional golfer. As it turned out, this small entry grew to be recognized as his long-held, quiet passion. He left his urban high-powered East coast financial career, enrolled in golf school and is now settled in California working in the PGA.

As you write your dreams and your goals, answer the question: What do I really want? You, like my friend, are looking for your burning desire. Here are some questions to help you: What activity do you envision yourself doing? Where would you like to live? Who will be your friends and associates? What type of income are you seeking? What will be your position in your community? What community contribution would you like to make? Do you prefer to be visible or do you prefer to work behind-the-scenes? What type of employees would you hire? What business standards would you like to represent? How would you market yourself – how would you “get the word out” about your goods and services? What is your mission? Do you see yourself more as a relationship builder or as a technician? Do you like to work with people, or do you prefer to work with things such as machinery, computers, automobiles? Do you prefer to work with animals? Do you like the city, the farm, or the suburbs? Do you like your environment to be quiet or do you like a lot of action? Do you want to work indoors or outdoors? Do you want your position to involve travel, or do you like to stay put? Do you want customers to come to you, or do you like the challenge of going after them? Do you like to work on the phone or do you like face-to-face meetings? Do you want a steady paycheck or can you manage on less predictable income? Write down where you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years, and beyond.

Although this “soul-searching” is an ongoing process, much insight can be achieved as to the direction you would like to take with your life. Discovering yourself will keep you on course. In business, we call these types of activities intangibles – and intangibles are often times the driving force behind business momentum.

If you have been recently laid off and are transitioning, try to set aside this temporary discomfort as you envision your new life. Try instead to imagine a new and happy direction. This could be your golden opportunity to transform your life and to mold it into what you really want.

As you get a handle on answering some of these questions, it is likely that you will discover not only your path, but how you want it realized. You will eliminate areas of no interest as you begin to see and understand the direction that your desires dictate. As you uncover your burning desire, tolerating life areas that may be currently uncomfortable may be more difficult.

As a Business Marketing Professional, I work not only with companies who want us to market their firm, but also with buyers who believe that a particular business meets their requirements.

But how does one find the business of their dreams? Where do you begin? What else do you need to know?

Step 2: Save Time and Save Money by Meeting with a Business Marketing Professional. Working with a Business Marketing Professional - who is interested in helping you fulfill your goals - can save you time and money. They use numerous resources to find for you a good fit. They conduct specific searches on your behalf and introduce you to serious interested parties who are selling reasonably-priced businesses. Such professionals are in touch with many business owners in numerous fields.

Business Marketing Professionals can review with you important transaction terminology and explain in more detail other steps to take.

Step 3: Update your resume. You will need to communicate with your Business Marketing Professional your reasons and experiences for seeking the type of business and locale you desire. Letting them know about your skills will help both of you.

Step 4: Indicate your source of capital. Showing bank or brokerage statements is helpful along with showing any available credit lines, collateral or evidence of other sources of funds. A letter from your financial institution(s) is also useful. This information is necessary in order to understand, amongst other reasons, your financial position so to direct you to appropriate-sized opportunities.

Step 5: Learn terms, procedures and documents. Through your Business Marketing Professional you will learn transaction terms, important procedures, and view essential documents. You will learn the logistics of a transaction and why following an orderly process is beneficial. You will be required to approve confidentiality agreements for each company in which you are interested. Such agreements are designed to protect the integrity of the company and the potential transaction.

Step 6: Accessing a company’s integrity. Earlier, we mentioned the term intangible. In business, intangibles, like your soul-searching, include the “touch-and-feel” of an organization, the emotional appeal, as well as the distinguishing facts, skills, and trademarks that draw attention and have important value. Despite the business quip that we buy on emotion, you must be wise to see the integrity of the business that you may purchase. Are financial records provable, verifiable? Can they document their transactions? Are they profitable? Can they show title to important assets that are included in the sale? Can they demonstrate ongoing productive business relationships? Have they been in business for a number of years? Answers to these and many other questions will provide you insight to an enterprise and allow you to decide on their merits.

Buying a business need not be an overly complicated endeavor, yet having a third-party represent your interests may expedite the process. When interviewing a company on your behalf, a skilled Business Marketing Professional will know where to look, how to ask, and provide you with valuable information regarding the condition of the prospective purchase.

If you are thinking about purchasing a profitable ongoing concern where the owner agrees to help you with the transition, you may be ready to discuss your circumstances with a Business Marketing Professional. Hopefully the initial steps outlined in this article enable you to prepare for a productive discussion and allow you to be on your way in transforming your circumstances and attain a more fulfilling life.

© 2008 Contributing writer Calvin Coolidge is cousin to 30th US President Calvin Coolidge.  As a National Representative, he holds the following certifications: Business Transfer Specialist (BTS), Financial Recasting Analyst (FRA), Business Marketing Professional (BMP), and Financial Recasting Consultant (FRC). He works with Parker Briggs Business Group in Morristown NJ.  He can be reached at 973-634-6340. E-mail: calvin.coolidge@parkerbriggs.com