15 Questions You Should Ask Before Buying a Business

15 Questions you should ask before making an offer, when buying a business.

Most people have questions they need answered before making an offer and before hiring help to evaluate, audit or review the business. The most commonly asked questions are as followed:

1. What information should I ask for?
2. The broker wants me to make an offer before getting the financials? How can I do that when I do not have the financials to determine what I am willing to pay?
3. They gave me the sales and profit numbers, for last year. Should I make an offer based on that information?
4. The broker wants me to give him a non-refundable deposit check with the offer? Should I do that?
5. Do I have to offer close to the asking price?
6. The seller wants the deposit check made payable to him. How do I respond to that request?
7. The seller wants me to pay him five times the last year’s profit. Is that a fair price to pay?
8. Can I trust the information that the broker or the business owner has given me?
9. I am being pushed to make an offer with limited information. What do I do or say?
10. Does the broker work for the seller or for the buyer?
11. What do I do if the broker is acting like he works for the seller?
12. I realize that I do not have a clue as to what I am doing but I want to buy a business, what do I do?
13. I have been looking for a business on the web and working with business brokers but I cannot find what I want. Now what do I do?
14. I want to find a profitable business to buy but I am not sure what is a good business to go into. Can I get help?
15. Is there anyone I can rely on to be 100% on my side and always tell me the truth? If there is, how do I contact them?

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