Benchmark Business Advisors can also assist buyers in their search for a business. Initially, we consult with you to establish your acquisition criteria and to determine your financial qualifications, skill sets and business acumen. A Confidentiality Agreement, Brokerage Disclosure, Financial Statement and Buyer Profile are completed at this time. From this criteria we search and identify potential targets from the many businesses for sale. Once a suitable business for sale is identified, we assist you in gathering and reviewing the information to better understand the opportunity and to make a sound decision.
After an initial dialogue has been established with the seller(s) we assist you to with obtaining answers from the seller regarding your questions about the businesses under consideration. If further interest is warranted, we can schedule visits to the seller’s facilities. If a suitable target business is identified we can assist you in developing and presenting an offer. A purchase agreement contract is then prepared and made available for review by your attorney, accountant, and advisors. Benchmark acts as an intermediary in negotiating the details of the purchase agreement contract between you and the seller.
We also advise buyers who are just starting to consider buying a business.
Should you consider buying a franchise business? There are some good proven franchise businesses for sale at any given time. McDonald's franchises have made many of their franchisees wealthy. A franchise business should have several characteristics to be considered by anyone who is considering buying a franchise business:
1.) Is this a proven franchise with at least several operating locations? This will give the franchise buyer a good sample of other franchise operators to gauge whether the franchise business model is consistently successful. If some franchises do well and others struggle, this could be a cause for concern that the franchisor's systems and demographic research are not well developed.
2.) How good are the franchise training systems? A good franchise should be continuously developing and improving their training program. This includes training programs for the franchise employees too.
3.) Is the franchise scalable? One of the primary attractions to buying a franchise is the ability to scale-up to multiple locations. If all the territories have been purchased, a buyer might consider looking for another good franchise with room to expand.
Before Benchmark offers any business for sale we perform a thorough analysis and 'normalization' of the business financials to show clearly the Sellers Discretionary Earnings (SDE) of the business. We also compile a clear and understandable operating summary of the business. This information is provided to potential buyers in order to help buyers make an informed decision on which is the best business for sale opportunity that suits their particular skill set and financial goals.