Know Before You Own · A buyer tool

Build your buyer questions.

Before you fall for a business, decide what you need from it. Choose what matters most to you and leave with three questions to ask before you pursue one.

Free to use No sign-up needed

Your priorities.
Three questions to start.

Choose three

What matters to you. What to ask.

What matters most to you?

What do you want owning a business to give you? Choose the three that matter most.

Time for the rest of my lifeAn income I can count onA team I can rely onCustomers who will stayWork that fits what I’m good atFreedom to run it my wayKeeping my other commitmentsA job, a family, or a business you already run.Staying rooted in my community

Every question, to choose from:

Time for the rest of my life: “What does a normal week look like for you, and what happens when you take a day off?”
An income I can count on: “What have you paid yourself in each of the last three years, and what made it go up or down?”
A team I can rely on: “Who is likely to stay after a sale, and what do they handle today without you?”
Customers who will stay: “Which customers rely on you personally, and how would you introduce the next owner?”
Work that fits what I’m good at: “Which parts of this job took you longest to learn, and how would a new owner learn them?”
Freedom to run it my way: “What could a new owner change in the first year, and what is fixed by a lease, contracts, or a franchise agreement?”
Keeping my other commitments: “How much would a new owner need to be on site in the first six months?”
Staying rooted in my community: “Which local relationships keep this business going, and would they continue with a new owner?”

Designed for people buying Main Street businesses, generally under $2 million in annual revenue.

From three questions to your next step

Buy the business. Understand the job.

A business can fit your ambition and still ask more of you than you expect. Take these questions into your next conversation, and add your own.

Start with a conversation

Bring your questions.

Explore whether business ownership could fit your life in a free, 30 minute Buyer Open Session.

Join a free Open Session

Make it personal

Explore your own situation.

The Buyer Decision Guide connects your goals, experience, working style, and financial circumstances to your next decision.

Explore your Decision Guide — $99

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BEAM Collaborative is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All membership fees, program fees and add-on proceeds support BEAM's charitable mission of keeping local businesses locally owned and retaining the jobs, payroll and local ownership they create.

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