When you start looking at businesses to buy, it’s easy to get excited about the structure — creative financing, seller terms, no money down.
But one thing that’s helped me slow down is asking:
“Would I still want this business if the deal wasn’t perfect?”
It forces you to look past the terms and really think about:
the day-to-day operations
customer dependency
the skills required to run it
and whether it fits the life you’re trying to build after leaving the 9–5
A strong business can survive an average deal. A weak business rarely survives a great one.
What’s one thing you’d need to clearly understand about a business before seriously pursuing a deal?