Onward
Searching while still employed: did owners take you seriously?
I can't quit my job until I've found the business, but I worry owners see a part-time search as a sign I'm not committed. How did you handle that?
Searching for a business
Finding owners, judging a fit, first conversations, LOIs.
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Members ask a question here, under their own name and photo or anonymously. These are sample conversations between invented members.
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What do owners actually want to hear in a first message?
I keep rewriting my first message to owners. Too long and it reads like a cover letter, too short and it reads like a broker blast. Owners: what made you answer?
That you'd actually looked at my business, not businesses like it. One specific thing you noticed, why it matters to you, and what you'd want to keep. That's it.
See all 2 answers
How many owners did you talk to before one said yes?
Six months in, I've had real conversations with five owners and none have gone past a second call. Is that normal, or am I doing something wrong in how I approach them?
What changed it for me was asking about the business before anything about price: what they're proud of, who'd they worry about. The owner I'm buying from said I was the first person who asked about her head baker.
See all 3 answersHow the community works
Your name, or an alias
Members post under their own name and photo. Anyone can tick “Post anonymously” to post under an alias instead, with no name, no photo and no link to a profile or listing.
Experience, not advice
Members share what worked for them and why. For your own situation, the answer still comes from your attorney, accountant or lender.
No selling
No pitches and no “message me”. Brokers and other professionals are welcome to answer, and their badge says who they are.