Questions to Ask the Buyer of a Business in Orange County

I am currently working with two buyers with two totally different motivations for buying a business.  One buyer already owns a successful business and has the resources to purchase another in Orange County as an investment with either minimal involvement in day-to-day or hands off.  The other buyer is from another state and wants to buy an easy to run business so they can move to Orange County to be near their family.  Point being there are multiple motivations for buying a business and the buyers need to be vetted to determine motivation to take the plunge.

A serious buyer should have the answers to the following questions:

• Why are you considering the purchase of a business at this time?
• What is your time frame to find a suitable business?
• Are you open-minded about different opportunities, or are you looking for a specific business?
• Have you set aside an amount of capital that you are willing to invest?
• Do you really want to be in business for yourself?
• Are you currently employed or unemployed?
• Are you the decision maker, or are there others involved?

The real key to being a serious buyer, however, is whether the individual can make that “leap of faith” so necessary to the purchase of a business. No matter how much due diligence a buyer performs, no matter how many advisors there are to advise the buyer, at some point, the buyer has to make a leap of faith to purchase the business. There are no “sure things” and there are no guarantees. If a buyer is not comfortable being in business, he or she should not even contemplate buying one.