Post by rhapsodyvf on Sept 12, 2006 9:49:31 GMT -5
I bought a Janitorial Service and Supply Company from someone several months ago and take it from someone who knows:
1) They are never ready to get out of the business no matter how much they say they are.
We bought the business from a 70 year old man that wanted to retire. When we were looking at the business he seemed like a sweet old man and made promises to help, teach, do whatever it took to make us successful. Then we signed the paperwork. Now he is just a money hungry pain in my ass that I wish would just go away but I can’t risk offending him because he is too well known in the community. Things have gotten better recently but I think he just had to learn that I wasn’t going to let him push me around. But hey I guess that’s just the kind of risk you take when you buy an established business.
2) The clients *don’t* like change.
They really don’t. When the supply clients that came in after we bought the business found out that the business had been sold 9 times out of 10 they turned around and walked out. We have just in the last couple of weeks done a ton of advertising and gotten some of the business back. However the majority of it has been new business. The clients in the buildings that we service were not happy either but they were easier to please because we to a top job. However we had just gotten them settled back into a routine and made ourselves known when the old owner went around stirring up trouble again. He really is a pain in my ass. I can’t imagine what would happen if I was paying him salary or had a partner. If I were you I would be running so far away from that situation you would never find me. It might not be that bad of a deal if they didn’t want to stay on but this way….you’re looking at a worse nightmare then I was.
3) The business is never doing as well as you think it is.
That’s why they call it due diligence. Do it. And remember: THE BUSINESS IS NEVER DOING AS WELL AS YOU THINK IT IS!!! Its really easy to fudge numbers to make things look better but the more digging you do the better off you are. Don’t try to rush to closing either should you decide to buy it. The faster you close the faster the headaches start. Do your research, do your checking, and get an awesome lawyer. I am serious about that: get an awesome lawyer. If you can’t afford to come up with enough money to totally run the business for the first 3 months on top of the money you are coming up with to buy the business then you need to walk away. Because remember The business is never doing as well as you think it is. Oh, yeah: get an awesome lawyer.
4) Buying a name isn’t always a good thing. You get the good and the bad, but mostly just the pain in the butt.
People call the name. However if your not the name then people don’t want to talk to you. Sad but true.
If you have any questions I would be happy to keep answering them. I just went through this like I said and I can walk you thought pretty much all the steps and tell you what to expect. In this case however my best advice is to run fast and hard the other way.
If I were you I would take the money that you would have used to buy into this business and start your own. But that’s just me looking back.
1) They are never ready to get out of the business no matter how much they say they are.
We bought the business from a 70 year old man that wanted to retire. When we were looking at the business he seemed like a sweet old man and made promises to help, teach, do whatever it took to make us successful. Then we signed the paperwork. Now he is just a money hungry pain in my ass that I wish would just go away but I can’t risk offending him because he is too well known in the community. Things have gotten better recently but I think he just had to learn that I wasn’t going to let him push me around. But hey I guess that’s just the kind of risk you take when you buy an established business.
2) The clients *don’t* like change.
They really don’t. When the supply clients that came in after we bought the business found out that the business had been sold 9 times out of 10 they turned around and walked out. We have just in the last couple of weeks done a ton of advertising and gotten some of the business back. However the majority of it has been new business. The clients in the buildings that we service were not happy either but they were easier to please because we to a top job. However we had just gotten them settled back into a routine and made ourselves known when the old owner went around stirring up trouble again. He really is a pain in my ass. I can’t imagine what would happen if I was paying him salary or had a partner. If I were you I would be running so far away from that situation you would never find me. It might not be that bad of a deal if they didn’t want to stay on but this way….you’re looking at a worse nightmare then I was.
3) The business is never doing as well as you think it is.
That’s why they call it due diligence. Do it. And remember: THE BUSINESS IS NEVER DOING AS WELL AS YOU THINK IT IS!!! Its really easy to fudge numbers to make things look better but the more digging you do the better off you are. Don’t try to rush to closing either should you decide to buy it. The faster you close the faster the headaches start. Do your research, do your checking, and get an awesome lawyer. I am serious about that: get an awesome lawyer. If you can’t afford to come up with enough money to totally run the business for the first 3 months on top of the money you are coming up with to buy the business then you need to walk away. Because remember The business is never doing as well as you think it is. Oh, yeah: get an awesome lawyer.
4) Buying a name isn’t always a good thing. You get the good and the bad, but mostly just the pain in the butt.
People call the name. However if your not the name then people don’t want to talk to you. Sad but true.
If you have any questions I would be happy to keep answering them. I just went through this like I said and I can walk you thought pretty much all the steps and tell you what to expect. In this case however my best advice is to run fast and hard the other way.
If I were you I would take the money that you would have used to buy into this business and start your own. But that’s just me looking back.