Ace Chapman joins us to explain how to buy a business. Something he’s been doing for sixteen years and it’s made him a millionaire. Ace was on the usual college path when the opportunity to buy a business fell into his lap. He was playing with an online stock simulator that crashed a lot and found the company unresponsive. He reached out with an offer to help, merely hoping for an internship. Instead, he was offered the chance to buy the business for $70,000. Ace had just $3,000. What he also had was no idea how such transactions usually work so he asked if the sellers would finance half of the deal. They agreed! Ace got some money from a similarly entrepreneurial minded friend and financed the rest of credit cards. Ace grew the product from 10,000 members to 250,000. He turned down seven-figure offers to sell but lost it all in the first dot-com bust. But he had a school of hard knocks bestowed MBA and decided to buy businesses was what he wanted to do. Due Diligence Ace had a big advantage when he bought that first business; he had been a long time user of the product so he knew it well. He had spoken to many of its other customers to find out what they did and did not like about the product. It’s not a requirement but it will certainly give you a leg up when it comes time to take over running the business. Why Are They Selling? If this business is so great, why are the owners looking to get out? It could be one of a million reasons; a divorce, failing health, boredom and the desire to move onto the next thing. As the Boomers start thinking of retirement, there will be a lot of established businesses on the market. Don’t Start From Scratch Many people don’t really give much thought to buying an already existing business. Starting your own business is something that is woven into the American Dream and we all think we could be the next Bill Gates. But the stark truth is that about half of new businesses fail within five years. So why not let someone else do the hard work and pour in the capital that the early years of a new business require? Where To Find An Opportunity You aren’t very likely to walk into a business and see a for sale sign in the window. There are some sites that have listings like bizbuysell, but the large majority of businesses for sale don’t advertise that way. You can advertise though, that you’re looking for a business to buy. Let them come to you. So you have to hunt around for something to buy. Because some businesses are sold due to things like death and divorce, attorneys who handle divorces and estates are a good resource to find an opportunity. The sellers in these situations may be highly motivated which can net you a bargain. Attend events related to the industry you’re interested in, meetups, conferences, seminars and use them as an opportunity to network. The pay off may not be immediate; Ace once bought a business that he had sent a letter to the owners of four years after he sent it. But the owners kept the letter and when they were ready to sell, Ace is the person they called. The lesson is to have a long-term view. The Valuation The formula Ace uses when deciding what a business is worth is to multiply the net monthly earnings by two. He likes to employee opportunistic due diligence to find a way to buy at two times but within a few months, increases the revenue by four times. There are a few things to look for that can make this possible, the business has a hidden asset, a unique opportunity or can be part of a joint venture with someone else in his network of clients. Face Of Business Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices