I've been running a business for a decade. Late last year I started thinking about the next decade.
I decided it involved me buying businesses and growing them.
Here are some reasons why:
- 💡 Nearly two-thirds of small business owners are over 50, more than one in five are aged 61-70 and just 11 percent are aged 40 or younger.
- Of those aged over 60 years old, 64 percent said that they do not have a clear succession plan.
- UK SMEs are under-prepared for the retirement of their owners.
- There are nearly 6 Million small businesses in the UK. That means around 4 Million of these businesses are either at the point where retirement is on their mind or it soon will be.
- Finally, Harvard did a study comparing entrepreneurship through acquisition and a traditional career path. Will leave that below 🤯
What's happened so far:
- I scoured the internet for some great deals
- I found a business that ticked all the boxes (27 years in existence, retirement sale, minimal competition)
- Made an offer and we got things underway
- BUT during due diligence, we ran into problems (sellers didn't want us on-site to value tools, buildings, and vehicles)
- Eventually, we managed to wear them down and get more access but by this point, the funder I had lined up became frustrated with the sellers (I don't blame him)
Next Steps:
- Find more opportunities. I put my eggs in one basket and that basket never got delivered. This time around I will be putting offers in on multiple businesses.
- The business size we are looking at will be a £500k minimum (must have an operator in place).
- I will not be looking at any owner-operated businesses UNLESS there is an existing member of staff capable of running the business.
- Continue the focus on boring and ideally business where a group of them could be rolled up into one larger entity.
- I have allocated some of my personal money to this and a good friend has become the first investor in the fund.
If you would like to invest in this first fund then please reply with the word "boring" and I can share more details with you.