Making the decision to go out on your own and buy a business is a huge decision.  What other things should you think about when deciding what type of business should you buy?  Here is a list of items to consider:

• how much equity do you have?
• how much debt can you afford to carry?
• how much debt will a bank lend you?
• what is your expectation of the salary that you are to receive.  if you are investing $100,000 and hope to get a salary of $100,000 per annum, stop looking for a business because that is not realistic but many people believe that they can do this.
• how many hours are you willing to work each week?
• how far is the business from your home, how much time will be spent commuting?
• do you have kids?  do you need to go home during the day, is that possible with the new business?
• do you want a fixer upper or do you want a business which is well established, needs little improvement? The former will be cheaper, the later will be a more expensive business to buy.
• when you find the business, do they have proper accounting records?
• are their external financial statements prepared by an accredited accountant?
• what type of opinion did the accountant provide, notice to reader, review engagement or audit?
• ask for internal financial statements for the current and previous year and compare the two so that you can see the trend in revenue and profits on a month to month basis
• how many employees do you want?
• are you a people person?
• do you have all the skills to operate the business or do you need help?
• do you need a partner to help with the business?
• do you have the support of your spouse and your family?
• do you have a plan of how much you are willing to pay for a business?  you need to determine how you will determine the price you are willing to pay.  Buying a business is based on sound economics and not on emotions.  If you buy on emotions, you may over pay for the business.
• do you have your support team, lawyer, accountant, banker selected before you start your search?

These are just a few items to consider when buying a  business.