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We live in a time where setting up an online business has never been easier. Through the internet and AI, we can do more and reach more people than ever before. Despite this, many ambitious founders fail or burn out and fail to realize their goals. why? Perhaps it’s because building a business isn’t for everyone.
Starting a business through acquisition can be a much faster route. Existing businesses already have customers, technology, staff, revenue, and product-market fit. Making money from these assets is easier than creating them and can eliminate the initial months or years of experimentation to get off the ground.
Sure, some people may resent sacrificing learning for day one profits, but buying a company rather than building it can help people who might otherwise get burnt out. The door will be opened. Even better, there are businesses to suit every type of entrepreneur and budget. Barriers to entry are as high as available capital.
Instead of spending years toiling away, buy a business that’s already profitable and has the talent you need to succeed. Focus on growth, not survival. Trade capital for time to market, trade late nights for instant income, and learn as you go. Are you interested? Find out below if acquisition entrepreneurship is for you.
Related: Want to start a business? Consider buying one instead. Here’s why:
Stairs or elevators?
Finding a market for a new product or service takes time and money. Before you consider expanding your business, you need to test whether people want what you’re offering. It can take months or years to build momentum between building a product or service, marketing it, and gathering feedback.
Now imagine that you can skip the initial testing phase and find that your product or service is in high demand and you could conquer market share the moment you launched your company. The time you save is time you can invest in growing your company, giving the market more of what it wants and doubling your revenue.
Acquiring a company with growing revenues and cash flow switches the focus from experimentation to extending proven strategies. The result is less financial risk, less budget wasted on unsuccessful marketing campaigns, and less pressure to find customers. Instead, you know exactly where to spend your money.
Such knowledge can only be gained by building a successful business or acquiring a business that has already learned the hard lessons. It’s the same carrier as taking the stairs or elevator. It’s up to you which one you prefer, but one is faster, easier, and can give you bigger rewards sooner.
polished product
Many people can’t code or don’t want to learn. it’s okay. When you acquire a company, you acquire an off-the-shelf, or “turnkey” suite of technologies, infrastructure, and processes. These suites are often operated by the people who built them and may survive the acquisition. This will give you the freedom to focus on what you do best.
Just because you acquire a technology company doesn’t mean you no longer need engineering expertise. However, before you hire a developer, you can achieve great results by using off-the-shelf, working, and bug-free technology. All prototypes are created, tested, and iterated. Just choose what to develop next.
Company roadmap is a font of new growth ideas. New features, especially those consistently requested by customers, can help increase value perception and justify price increases. Acquiring a company eliminates the need for expensive experiments to test the market. Your customers will tell you what they want.
Related: 5 Important Factors New Entrepreneurs Should Consider Before Buying a Business
Ready-to-use team
When you build a business from scratch, you typically need to hire people more skilled than you to perform various business functions. For example, roles such as human resources, engineering, and sales may not be very interesting. Finding the right people for these jobs is a long and complicated process. Hiring mistakes are stressful and costly, requiring the same process to be repeated (as is the risk of hiring the wrong person).
However, acquisitions may include their talented teams and leaders. That way, you can ignore the cost of sourcing talent and the time spent on interviews, aptitude tests, and onboarding. As long as you know how to lead (or are willing to learn or hire someone to lead), you can reduce risk by acquiring a talented team that complements your skills. You can maximize your return on investment in the short term.
follow your passion
There’s a reason startups fail at a rate of over 90%. In some cases, you may be in the wrong time and place. Some companies fall behind their competitors or spend money on problems without solving them. But the psychological strain of building a business from scratch can also reduce founders’ resilience.
Building a business from scratch means taking on all roles, including sales, marketing, operations, human resources, finance, and more. Does your entrepreneurial passion extend to these departments? Does closing the books every month get you as excited as creating a viral marketing campaign? It can ruin your experience.
The joy of buying a business is choosing the business you want to run and shaping your daily life. Do you like marketing? Buy a company that doesn’t advertise at all. Do you enjoy leadership? Acquire a company with a strong but rudderless team. With thousands of businesses to choose from, you don’t have to sacrifice your passion for profit. If you choose the right business, you will always love what you do.
Time travel for your career
Buying a business can shave years off your career and force you to think more broadly. Why do we make countless mistakes before realizing just one idea? How long does that period of trial and error last? Can you afford to sacrifice years of your career to learn how to build a profitable business from scratch?
You can acquire profitable companies for as little as $50,000. Will it be an eye-opening income? Probably not, but it’s a reasonable starting point. And the upside potential is huge. Acquisition is just the beginning of the journey. The next rung on the ladder is the exit. If you’re successful, you’ll reap the rewards of your hard work, potentially life-changing money, and the freedom to pursue new qualifications.
The grind is a rite of passage, and some may say you learn more from your failures than your successes. However, acquiring a business does not guarantee success. That alone will increase your chances. If you can raise capital, it often works better to buy a business because the mistake has already been made. The founders figured out what works and now they can take advantage of it by giving them the opportunity to exit.
Related: What you need to know to buy the right business and acquire an empire
Is buying a business beneficial for everyone?
Building a business isn’t for everyone, and neither is buying a business. Some people are better at going solo and doing things their own way. When you take the lead, there’s always the possibility of culture clashes. That being said, buying a company and becoming a full-time entrepreneur is the quickest path, allowing you to accelerate profits and focus on growth rather than survival.
Our advice? Start small. Buy a company whose greatest weakness is its greatest strength and see how far you can go. Repeat this until you learn how to consistently profit across your startup portfolio. Then you might be able to start something completely new, where all you have to do is “grind” your morning coffee beans. Everything else will be meaningful work and a happier life.
