Do not start a business—Buy one

Starting a business from scratch is incredibly hard. Many entrepreneurs have to convince friends and family to invest in their business idea because banks will not lend to a startup. The new business may only have one employee, the owner, who is not receiving a paycheck. Then, through sheer grit and discipline, the entrepreneur may be able to hire team members, pay themselves, pay taxes, and hopefully have a little profit left over. This is, if the business survives at all. Now, imagine walking into a bank to ask for a loan on a business that already generates $100,000 in cash flow. The bank gladly finances the business acquisition because the company generates years of consistent cash flow. The new owner gets to enter business ownership with ten employees, a customer base, all of the equipment they need, a leased space, and enough cash to pay themselves, a manager, their taxes, the debt service, and have $100,000 of profit left at the end of the year. Which scenario sounds better? Bootstrapping a business from the ground up? Or, entering business ownership with a running start and buying an existing business. Do not start a business—buy one. Many do not know...