Things that I would do next time I buy a business

Buying a business was both easy and hard in ways I didn’t ever imagine. During diligence, every single day that I woke up there was something new looking to destroy my deal. Every. Single. Day.

Finding the deal was the easy part, then it felt like everyone was trying to blow up my deal and I was the only one that cared. I wish I had known that problems will definitely come up, but just like in life, most things can / will be figured out.

If I had to do it again, here are things that I would do differently if / when I do it again. I’m not trying to say that I’m an expert by any means, but I think these can be applicable to most people.

1. Find a banker that is willing to work with you early, and use them to help you structure your deal. I would not advise sending an LOI without a banker or broker doing a high level review first. While the LOI is not the final purchase agreement, you want to have a deal that can at least pencil.
2. Find MORE THAN ONE banker/bank. Each bank will have it’s own list of requirements, some banks will be open to more creative structures, some banks will be very competitive on rate, have a couple so that you can pick and choose depending on your circumstances.
3. Find a lawyer that specializes in your industry. Same for your QOE. Or any other advisor. Make sure your experts really understand the space that you work in. If they don’t, they won’t be useful advisors.
4. It is a marathon, not a sprint. I had a very short deadline since I wanted to close before the busy season in order to capture the revenue, so I was under the gun. I had a signed LOI the week after Thanksgiving, found a bank I liked by 12/15, then I had to suffer through Christmas, New Year, AND MLK day. I was pushing every single day, even on holidays, but everyone else was on vacation! I was pushing every single day, by the week we were set to close, my tank was on empty. I really had nothing left to give. Somehow I found more. Not only do you need enough energy to get through to the closing date, you then have to take on a whole new business and start your new journey as a business owner. Find moments to recharge and step away, take a nap, do a meditation, go for a run.
5. Last but not least, find a friend! It’s such a lonely journey, I could not imagine doing it alone. I obviously had my husband who was always there to support me, but more importantly, I found a friend that I could word vomit on everyday about the difficulties I was running into.

Again, no one will care about your deal as much as you. You need to be quarterbacking everyday. Check in on everyone, push people along. Follow up. Again and again. You’ll be doing a lot of it once you take over your business anyways, might as well get the practice in now. TIME KILLS ALL DEALS.