There is lots hype and claims out there that people have found their deal in 6 months to one year which I deem to be unrealistic for the majority of us. The search tends to take long than 2 years or beyond due many factors especially if your focus is one typical industry. Businesses that make more than 7 figures in revenue, that have been in business for aleast a decade have less than 500 business nationwide in databases and the one that make 6 figures and less tend to have so many in the databases but they have many operations challenges just to know most of those owners have glorified jobs which most of us wouldn't want that because we want to buy a business not a job. Any thoughts?
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Searchfunder is an online community and toolkit for searchfunds. Over 80% of those involved in searchfunds maintain a Searchfunder.com account to help them network, problem solve challenges, and keep up with the industry.
We maintain partnerships with database providers that make searching more effective, efficient and affordable along with features that help searchers find deals and investors and vice versa.
We maintain partnerships with database providers that make searching more effective, efficient and affordable along with features that help searchers find deals and investors and vice versa.
1) Proprietary searches tend to yield better results then broker deals. There is less competition and more of a direct relationship formed between the buyer and seller.
2) Do not keep your search criteria too narrow. If you keep the geography or type of companies you are looking for narrow, then it will be much harder to find a good business that fits your needs. I cannot tell you how many times we have had clients tell us they found a business that was not what they were looking for but still fell in love with it and bought it.
3) Do not be afraid to make offers on businesses you like, even if you think the request is too high, and then try to negotiate a deal or get creative in your negotiations (large seller notes, forgivable seller notes, etc.). Just because a business is listed "too high" does not mean you cannot find a way to make a deal work.
4) You have to put out a lot of LOI's to find the right deal.
5) You have to work at it. It can be a full time job. The right deal typically will not just fall in your lap.
I hope this information helps. Again, just a perspective from what I am hearing from clients as a lender. Good luck with your search.