Rapidly changing markets, as well as the natural flow of business owners preparing for retirement, there are various businesses that are ready to be acquired. Whether the aim is to augment an existing business or to enter a new segment, even in financially challenging times,  opportunities are everywhere.

The biggest advantages of acquiring a business over starting one from scratch include:

• Establish presence in a new market: Acquiring a business that is already established in a new market will save you the time it takes to create a presence from scratch.
• Tried and tested marketing strategies can be employed immediately to take advantage of customer loyalty.
• An established customer base that the business knows well and has collected data such as sales statistics, purchase history, and even local cultural understanding; using existing knowledge may help you gain leverage of the information.
• The talent that has been collected over the years will allow you to concentrate on using the team to accelerate achieving goals. The same goes for re-using infrastructure.
• Intangible assets and intellectual property is acquired as well, such as patents, copyrights, franchises, licenses, and even well protected processes, methods, and technologies.

However in assessing risks, there are reasons beyond retirement to sell a business. The points to be wary of are as follows:

• The business may be known all the wrong reasons and the brand perception may outweigh the value of the business
• Some part of the workforce may not be happy with having a new owner and may even leave
• Equipment or processes can be old or otherwise in need of overhaul
• Poor business performance and external issues such as bad sellers

As long as one assesses the pros against the cons thoroughly, acquiring a business will be profitable and a powerful business move.  For further assistance with buying a suitable business contact us on 1300 TAX 000 or at enquiries@tagwealth.com.au