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I'm 38, single, and have no dependents and have worked in credit risk in various banks since I graduated college. I've got to the point where I'm completely burned out with the job and am tired of being another small cog in the big corporate wheel. After reading TML twice and Unscripted , the most appealing fastlane to me presently would be to buy a business. This is appealing to me because (a) it would be an established business with a long history of proven profitability (i.e. not a start-up) and (b) I have the money to skip ahead and buy something that's already established and works versus having to build it step-by-step over a longer period of time (thus getting to the fastlane faster).
I'm just about done reading the HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business and have found it to be pretty useful to this point. I have come up with a preliminary set of requirements for a business by combining the CENTS requirements as well as some guidelines from the HBR book. Moving forward, here are the decisions I need to make:
1. Where do I want to live? - I currently live in Houston. I don't mind it but all the things I really like doing (e.g. skiing, hiking, being in the mountains) I can't do here. I think I would be happier living in a place like Denver, Colorado Springs or Salt Lake City where all these things would be in my backyard. Denver is presently the most appealing but I need to spend more time researching other cities as well. Initially, my search for businesses will include Houston in addition to cities near the mountains. If I move, I plan to live very cheaply while searching for an acquisition and running it the first year or so.
2. How much am I willing to spend on a business? My net worth is currently ~$1mm consisting of $20k in cash, $790k in stocks ($550k in retirement accounts / $240k in after-tax brokerage accounts) and ~$190k in home equity. I don't think I want to put all my eggs in the acquisition basket, perhaps just the $240k in the brokerage accounts and the $190k in home equity should I decide to sell my house. That would give me ~$430k of equity I could put down; assuming equity is 35% of the acquisition funding (the rest would be bank debt and seller financing), this would allow me to purchase a business with a total sale price of ~$1.22mm. I could purchase a larger business should I decide to raise additional equity outside of my own, but I don't know if I want to deal with partners / investors. I guess if the right opportunity presented itself, I would consider it.
3. What type of business? I'm generally agnostic to this as long as it fulfills the CENTS requirements and other criteria I've come up with. Ideally it is one where the present owner is looking to retire and is willing to stick around for a few months after so that I could learn the business. Would also like one that has good management already in place, both to satisfy the time commandment and to have people on board that know the business and would ensure a smooth transition. I realize I may have to spend more for a business with management in place versus one where the owner is the primary manager.
4. What do I do with my house? - Presently have ~$190k of equity in a house worth ~$400k. I could sell and use the cash from it as equity in the business acquisition. Alternatively, if I decide not to risk so much of my own equity in the acquisition, I could refi from my 15 year mortgage into a 30 and rent out the house. If I did this, I think it would generate ~$1k a month. My neighborhood is undergoing to redevelopment, so there is decent potential that the house can appreciate nicely over the next few years. I'm leaning towards selling the house; it's the higher risk move but the business will generate a higher ROI than the house.
5. When do I leave my job? - Job pays $15k / month plus I get a bonus of ~$50k (~$35k after-tax) at the end of January. Ideally, I would leave when I get the bonus in January. This would give me a few months to find a business and move along in the acquisition process while still cashing a good paycheck. However, leaving sooner allows me to dedicate myself full time to an acquisition and gets me to the fastlane quicker. If work stays relatively quiet, I can work on the acquisition at my job, however, with people quitting and the bank restructuring my group, I have the feeling I may hit my FTE before now and January.
For now I'm continuing to read on the process and things to look for / avoid while reaching out to various business brokers to get on their email lists to get prospects. I've also started working on a spreadsheet with both qualitative and quantitative metrics so I can start filtering businesses as I find them.
Would love to get any advice on where to live, types of businesses to consider, and from people who have been down this path before.
I'm just about done reading the HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business and have found it to be pretty useful to this point. I have come up with a preliminary set of requirements for a business by combining the CENTS requirements as well as some guidelines from the HBR book. Moving forward, here are the decisions I need to make:
1. Where do I want to live? - I currently live in Houston. I don't mind it but all the things I really like doing (e.g. skiing, hiking, being in the mountains) I can't do here. I think I would be happier living in a place like Denver, Colorado Springs or Salt Lake City where all these things would be in my backyard. Denver is presently the most appealing but I need to spend more time researching other cities as well. Initially, my search for businesses will include Houston in addition to cities near the mountains. If I move, I plan to live very cheaply while searching for an acquisition and running it the first year or so.
2. How much am I willing to spend on a business? My net worth is currently ~$1mm consisting of $20k in cash, $790k in stocks ($550k in retirement accounts / $240k in after-tax brokerage accounts) and ~$190k in home equity. I don't think I want to put all my eggs in the acquisition basket, perhaps just the $240k in the brokerage accounts and the $190k in home equity should I decide to sell my house. That would give me ~$430k of equity I could put down; assuming equity is 35% of the acquisition funding (the rest would be bank debt and seller financing), this would allow me to purchase a business with a total sale price of ~$1.22mm. I could purchase a larger business should I decide to raise additional equity outside of my own, but I don't know if I want to deal with partners / investors. I guess if the right opportunity presented itself, I would consider it.
3. What type of business? I'm generally agnostic to this as long as it fulfills the CENTS requirements and other criteria I've come up with. Ideally it is one where the present owner is looking to retire and is willing to stick around for a few months after so that I could learn the business. Would also like one that has good management already in place, both to satisfy the time commandment and to have people on board that know the business and would ensure a smooth transition. I realize I may have to spend more for a business with management in place versus one where the owner is the primary manager.
4. What do I do with my house? - Presently have ~$190k of equity in a house worth ~$400k. I could sell and use the cash from it as equity in the business acquisition. Alternatively, if I decide not to risk so much of my own equity in the acquisition, I could refi from my 15 year mortgage into a 30 and rent out the house. If I did this, I think it would generate ~$1k a month. My neighborhood is undergoing to redevelopment, so there is decent potential that the house can appreciate nicely over the next few years. I'm leaning towards selling the house; it's the higher risk move but the business will generate a higher ROI than the house.
5. When do I leave my job? - Job pays $15k / month plus I get a bonus of ~$50k (~$35k after-tax) at the end of January. Ideally, I would leave when I get the bonus in January. This would give me a few months to find a business and move along in the acquisition process while still cashing a good paycheck. However, leaving sooner allows me to dedicate myself full time to an acquisition and gets me to the fastlane quicker. If work stays relatively quiet, I can work on the acquisition at my job, however, with people quitting and the bank restructuring my group, I have the feeling I may hit my FTE before now and January.
For now I'm continuing to read on the process and things to look for / avoid while reaching out to various business brokers to get on their email lists to get prospects. I've also started working on a spreadsheet with both qualitative and quantitative metrics so I can start filtering businesses as I find them.
Would love to get any advice on where to live, types of businesses to consider, and from people who have been down this path before.
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