Buying a Business

[crastogi]

I would like to tap the wisdom of this board about the following: 

 

I have family immigrating to the USA.  They are in their late 50s, physicians in their homeland.  So, they cannot practice medicine here as the clock is running out for them to recertify, etc.

 

But they are young and inclined enough to start a business.  Any suggestions on what kind of businesses are available?  A franchise would be preferred.  I do not have the foggiest idea where to start looking.  Any directions to help them start this search would be appreciated. 

 

 

[Green King]

I would like to tap the wisdom of this board about the following: 

 

I have family immigrating to the USA.  They are in their late 50s, physicians in their homeland.  So, they cannot practice medicine here as the clock is running out for them to recertify, etc.

 

But they are young and inclined enough to start a business.  Any suggestions on what kind of businesses are available?  A franchise would be preferred.  I do not have the foggiest idea where to start looking.  Any directions to help them start this search would be appreciated.

 

Best thing to do is land and start the immigration process and work in their home country part-time if they need the money, if they don't need the money early retirement or get a hobby.

 

With some contemplation, they should not be taking on risk at this age so allocation should be below 20%. I don't think you should give be giving advice on this topic if it doesn't work out it will create real human misery.

 

[Jurgis]

Money range to be invested would be helpful. Below $1M? Above?

 

Also like Green King said, what's the percentage they look to invest into business compared to their total savings?

[bci23]

I would like to tap the wisdom of this board about the following: 

 

I have family immigrating to the USA.  They are in their late 50s, physicians in their homeland.  So, they cannot practice medicine here as the clock is running out for them to recertify, etc.

 

But they are young and inclined enough to start a business.  Any suggestions on what kind of businesses are available?  A franchise would be preferred.  I do not have the foggiest idea where to start looking.  Any directions to help them start this search would be appreciated.

 

Best thing to do is land and start the immigration process and work in their home country part-time if they need the money, if they don't need the money early retirement or get a hobby.

 

With some contemplation, they should not be taking on risk at this age so allocation should be below 20%. I don't think you should give be giving advice on this topic if it doesn't work out it will create real human misery.

 

He asked for advice on where to start their search not advice on whether they should start a business or not. OP, bizbuysell.com could be a place to start to look for business broker listings in your area.

[crastogi]

I would like to tap the wisdom of this board about the following: 

 

I have family immigrating to the USA.  They are in their late 50s, physicians in their homeland.  So, they cannot practice medicine here as the clock is running out for them to recertify, etc.

 

But they are young and inclined enough to start a business.  Any suggestions on what kind of businesses are available?  A franchise would be preferred.  I do not have the foggiest idea where to start looking.  Any directions to help them start this search would be appreciated.

 

Best thing to do is land and start the immigration process and work in their home country part-time if they need the money, if they don't need the money early retirement or get a hobby.

 

With some contemplation, they should not be taking on risk at this age so allocation should be below 20%. I don't think you should give be giving advice on this topic if it doesn't work out it will create real human misery.

 

 

I think they have no financial need to work, but they feel that doing something productive will keep them active and young.  I know it is a decision fraught with risk. I am just trying to get them all possible information, so they can make informed decision

 

[crastogi]

I would like to tap the wisdom of this board about the following: 

 

I have family immigrating to the USA.  They are in their late 50s, physicians in their homeland.  So, they cannot practice medicine here as the clock is running out for them to recertify, etc.

 

But they are young and inclined enough to start a business.  Any suggestions on what kind of businesses are available?  A franchise would be preferred.  I do not have the foggiest idea where to start looking.  Any directions to help them start this search would be appreciated.

 

Best thing to do is land and start the immigration process and work in their home country part-time if they need the money, if they don't need the money early retirement or get a hobby.

 

With some contemplation, they should not be taking on risk at this age so allocation should be below 20%. I don't think you should give be giving advice on this topic if it doesn't work out it will create real human misery.

 

He asked for advice on where to start their search not advice on whether they should start a business or not. OP, bizbuysell.com could be a place to start to look for business broker listings in your area.

 

Thanks BCI!

[LC]

yes bizbuysell and other business brokers are available, but most businesses being sold are being sold for a reason. so just think about that.

 

at that age, if they just want to keep busy, there are hobby-ish businesses that don't really make a great profit but are essentially jobs...things like a flower shop/nursery garden, neighborhood cafe, these types of community job things.

 

 

[gfp]

Probably best to keep to their interests when selecting a business.  If they hate gardening, a nursery is a bad choice; if they despise food service, a restaurant franchise is probably a poor choice, etc...

 

In my town, New Orleans, we have this lady who brokers a lot of businesses.  Your region likely has similar specialists - they are a lot like realtors and many of them will list their stuff on the national websites like mentioned above.

http://www.capitalbbw.com/business/broker/Louisiana/Michelle_Seiler/18/

 

Like another poster mentioned, these are people self selecting to get the hell OUT of the given business - so buyer beware.

 

Franchise conventions / fairs will have all the usual suspects for that route.  And there is always the motel and convenience/corner store industry, always popular with immigrants. 

 

One of my friends here in town immigrated from Venezuela after meeting her man, a jazz musician in town.  They purchased a small bar (less than 700 sq. feet but with outdoor seating as well), with the real estate included (commercial condo technically) for less than $400,000 - most of which was eligible for a commercial mortgage.  The business consistently turns out $250,000 per year in cash owner earnings to the husband-wife principals every year, and they have no landlord looking to raise the rent to share in the success.  A good deal for sure, but it just shows that opportunities come around and they don't have to be multi million dollar investments to put off a nice comfortable income stream for the family.

[Green King]

"Primum non nocere"

 

I don't see it as any different from any other form of capital allocation. Investing is a hard and should be done with caution. I am not sure any advice given at this point in time could be beneficial instead of harm.

 

Best bet would be to get re-certified if they don't need the money could be fun and the world always needs more doctors.

 

Second best thing to do is for them to look into their networks and see if there is anything interesting there.(In their case the field of medicine) It is will be primary information flow and might command an information advantage that we don't have.

 

Those that start a second wind around their 50s already know what they should be doing.

[winjitsu]

https://hbr.org/product/hbr-guide-to-buying-a-small-business/10090E-KND-ENG

 

Highly recommend the above book on search funds, basically tiny 1 man PE shops targeting companies with EBITDA in $1-10mm range. I can't recommend it enough. Book is based off a popular course at HBS.

 

At the end of the day, it's all about access to deal flow. As some others have alluded, looking at websites [low quality] and working with a lot brokers is the best bet.

[kapilm]

How about becoming a financial advisor / planner? The prior HC experience would be helpful in connecting with doctors / other med professionals. Valuations are high in this market at the moment but should be able to find smaller advisory businesses in 1.5-3.0x EV/sales range.

[SharperDingaan]

Green King makes a very good point.

 

Spend a few bucks to simply re-certify in Canada - in what they know, don't expose the rest of the capital, & just work for a health care facility as many hours as they wish. Their return will be in what's meaningful to them, they will always be in demand (population is aging with them), and there will be minimal waste of their human capital. Hard to see any negatives.

 

SD

 

 

[crastogi]

Green King makes a very good point.

 

Spend a few bucks to simply re-certify in Canada - in what they know, don't expose the rest of the capital, & just work for a health care facility as many hours as they wish. Their return will be in what's meaningful to them, they will always be in demand (population is aging with them), and there will be minimal waste of their human capital. Hard to see any negatives.

 

SD

 

That was their first choice.  Unfortunately recertification in USA is a very involved process.  Hence, the search.

[JayGatsby]

I'm always skeptical of franchises. Some people do really well by finding the right concepts, but I've heard more negatives than positives from people that have done them. If there's a business you think is truly great and can be replicated I think those can be very attractive.

 

As someone said, bizbuysell.com is quite good if you're looking to buy a "main street" type business. If you want to work in a business full-time (effectively buying a good job) the number of reasonably attractive opportunities is fairly plentiful. If you want a semi-passive compounder the opportunities are far more limited. Yes, they're sellers and you have to understand why, but often there's a good/real reason. These aren't Nebraska Furniture Marts that get bought by Berkshire, so often the choice when it's time to move on is either to sell the business to another owner/operator or wind it down.

 

Feel free to reach out if you choose to look into this route further. I've spent a fair amount of time looking at these businesses, but my challenge was that I didn't want to work there full time.

[Aberhound]

He should locate where he can be a doctor even if that means a different country or state. For instance, I had a part-time nanny who had trained and worked as a nurse in the Philippines. I found out she had been given the run around for two years so I helped her get a job as a nurse in Alberta where the nursing body didn't have the ridiculous rules we had in BC.

 

He might retrain and become a naturopath or some other medical related business and run that type of business where his knowledge and training will be an advantage.

[FFHWatcher]

I received this listing from my broker.  I am a Canadian Citizen, I had a desire to both move to the US and start or buy a business. I bought a business in the US, rec'd an E2 Visa and I run the business in Florida, 12 months of the year.  It is working out great for me.  Great use of my capital too.

 

Corporate Investment Business Brokers websites:

 www.floridabusinessbrokers.com www.businessbroker.com

MLS Services websites:

 www.aflbb.com (Alliance of Florida Business Brokers)

 www.bbfmls.com (Business Brokers of Florida)

 www.ibba.org (International Business Brokers Association)

Additional websites:

 www.bizbuysell.com (BizBuySell) is in alliance with http://online.wsj.com/public/us (WSJ)

And National Exposure on 150 partnered websites

 www.businessbroker.net

 www.businessmart.com

 www.buybusiness.com

 www.businessesforsale.com/www.businessforsale.com

 www.business2sell.com