In the decades I've been helping buyers find and buy businesses, more than half of the buyers who bought the wrong business or bought the right business the wrong way not only lost their investment, but got divorced and then found it very difficult to find a job. Most of these people were middle aged, and smart potential employers figured their new hire might not be there long if another business opportunity caused the former business owner to quit their job.

I have seen in our almost 30 deals a great undervaluation of additional costs (especially new hires) that any acquisition has. Typically there is more often than not a big mismatch between the actual new costs and the generation of more revenues (that such costs should help to generate). This, especially in situations with a significant deal Debt, can cause serious trouble...