Millions of Americans are Starting a Business Now… Why Not Buying Instead?

This pandemic forced hundreds of thousands of small businesses to close, and despite of this, Americans are starting new businesses at the fastest rate in more than a decade, according to government data, creating new opportunities after the shut down and economy reshaping.

I was reading that applications for the employer identification numbers that entrepreneurs need to start a business have passed 3.2 million so far this year, compared with 2.7 million at the same point in 2019, which is a good sign and the highest level since 2007.

As we all know, many of these businesses won’t last. It’s not a secret that more than half of new businesses fail within five years. Also, it is very difficult to predict performance on new businesses since there is no sales data available of the last 12-months, and most small-business’ revenue has been lower than pre-pandemic levels. Most entrepreneurs realize the probability of success is not high, and the question is: Are they jumping on market opportunities that have emerged rapidly given the current environment?

So, considering all these facts, entrepreneurs might want to think about a non-often-considered, but higher probability and profitable option of buying a business. This will allow to reduce the risk of failure by acquiring an established business that won’t have the unexpected expenses of a startup and the high cost of positioning a new brand on the market. Also, buying a business will allow to take advantage of those businesses that were already up and running and due to Covid-19, owners needed to re-think their life course and decided that retirement or relocation was a better option for them, or even if they just realized they needed to change their professional journey. More important, these businesses provide data available to analyze the sales performance pre & post pandemic and make the right business decision.

It’s up to the entrepreneurs to decide which way to go, and based on my experience, the best option is to buy a business.