You do not buy a business. You buy a person's problems.

Rick Kurtz

10d • General discussion

Everyone shops for businesses the same way.

They filter by revenue. They sort by industry. They get excited when the listing says "owner wants to retire."

Then they start imagining themselves behind the desk. Running the thing. Collecting the checks.

That is the fantasy. Here is the reality.

Every business for sale has a reason it is for sale. And the reason is almost never what the listing says.

"Owner wants to retire" usually means the owner is burned out and has been mentally checked out for 18 months. Which means decisions have not been made. Maintenance has been deferred. The best employee already left because nobody was leading.

"Relocating" usually means the business cannot survive a move because it runs on the owner's relationships in that specific zip code.

"Pursuing other interests" usually means the numbers are about to get ugly and they want out before you can see it.

I learned this the hard way. I bought a business where the seller told me everything I wanted to hear.

Great margins. Loyal customers. Clean books.

What he did not tell me was that he was the business. His phone number was on every account. His handshake was the contract. His memory was the operating manual.

The day he left, I did not inherit a company. I inherited a cleanup job that cost me five figures and a year of my life.

Now I evaluate every deal with one filter: am I buying a business, or am I buying someone else's mess with a logo on it?

That single question has saved me more money than any spreadsheet ever will.

What would you ask a seller before you handed over a check?

Drop it below.

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