Self-Talk and Missed Opportunity

I recently noticed that there was a density of trade businesses for sale --HVAC, electricians, body shops, heavy equipment, so I wanted to find buyers with experience in these areas. These retiring owners have created an amazing opportunity for someone in the industry to pick up an existing, profitable business, I thought.

So I set up a table at Renton Technical College during lunch on a Career Day where staggered lunch schedules poured students in from various trade groups into the cafeteria at particular times.

I visited several tables with students wearing protective goggles, scrubs, or Carhartts telling them about specific businesses whose owners were retiring or moving on and needed to find successors. What I thought would have been perceived as opportunity was perceived as an impossibility. I mainly heard these objections: "I can't afford to buy a business", "I won't know how to run it" or "I'm not ready yet".

For the few aspiring business owners out there, I say, take advantage of the flood of businesses available in your craft. Don't think of a business acquisition as a one-day purchase, but as a slow transition over the course of years to ownership that not only allows you to learn the craft and the business from the owner, but also learn and benefit from the employees and vendors. Put yourself into a challenge, be resourceful and unafraid to ask questions, you might be the best owner the company has ever had!