Buy a Business
Frequently, people ask me should they start a business from scratch or should they buy an existing business. I have owned four businesses over my career. I started my first business in my twenties and was able to grow it to eight million in revenue with over 50 employees. My partner and I were the original franchisees for Garagetek in the greater Chicago area which was almost the equivalent of a start up. We also purchased a dormant direct mail franchise in New York City, built it up and sold it. For the past six years I have been working as a business broker at AJR Business Advisors which I also founded. As a business broker I make my living selling existing businesses with positive cash flows. I do not get involved in start ups or sell new business offerings. Although some of my businesses that I started from scratch were very successful I have very strong feelings on the subject. Though I will be accused of being biased, I usually recommend that people buy a business rather than s...