I am currently the controller for our family business, a business my DH started with a partner 11 years ago. Prior to working here, I was a business analyst for a medium sized, publicly traded financial institution for 7+ years. The businesses in my portfolio ranged from $50 million down to one-man shows. The bulk of my customers fell into the $500,000 to $5 million range.
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Originally Posted by K-Mom3  Where can I find profiles of businesses that were turned around from unprofitable to profitable business? I read Good to Great and loved it, wondering about advice for smaller companies.
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Is the business you are interest in purchasing unprofitable? Many small businesses are intentially shown as breakeven or unprofitable for tax purposes. If it isn't showing a profit, just make sure you know why. I could write pages on this topic.
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Originally Posted by K-Mom3 How crucial would you consider business classes?
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It depends on your understanding of cash flows and accounting.
My DH has no formal business education but can look at our aging reports and in a glance, can accurately predict cash flow and profits for the quarter. I saw the same thing when I was in banking. There was some owners that had no education beyond high school but were extremely successful because they understood the importance of cash flows over profits.
On the flip side, I worked with MBAs that couldn't read a financial statement to save their lives.
At the very least, I would recommend basic accounting classes.
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Originally Posted by K-Mom3 What are some ways your families have been positively and negatively impacted by running your own business?
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Oh boy, this is going to sound very negative but in general, it is more negative than positive just because it is
so much work when all the responsibility is on you.
We are very close friends with two other couples where the husbands were raised (and continue to work) in succesful family businesses. The three guys should sit down and write a book about their experiences. Two out of the three have no relationship with their family anymore. Weaknesses that existed before were maginfied 100x over when money and business management comes into play.
My opinions/observations based on my work/family experiences:
Owning a business will take 10x more time and energy then ever imagined.
Make sure you can pay yourself a fair wage. Sure, there may be a start up period where cash is tight but look at it this way, if you weren't there to do the job, you would have to pay someone else to do it.
I would caution anyone who thinks they will have a super-flexible schedule because when two employees call in sick the same day or the snow plow guy doesn't show up and the lot needs to be cleared or you can't meet payroll because your best customer's payments bounced, the owner needs to kick into high gear to solve the problem.
Owners spend more time doing tedious stuff like bookkeeping and managing employees than the actual "business"
Pick a business based on profit potential, not passion. I know this sound harsh but when I worked at the bank, the small businesses that were based on the owner's passion were far more likely to fail then ones created/purchased based primarily on money-making potential first, interest second.
Having clearly defined roles "at work" helps keep the relationships strong. If, for example, you will be handling the finances, do that job and don't stick your nose into your spouses duties. Expect the same in return.
[/QUOTE=cchrissyy;15006651]as for pricing, there are formulas and guidelines but it is also very individual. it varies for every industry, it varies based on the economy and on the owner's need to sell. it varies by your use of cash versus financing. businesses don't have prices really - one will come out in the negotiation eventually but you would have to do a lot of digging into the business and consulting with an accountant before you would know what it's worth, and that could be much more or less than the owner is expecting. GL!
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Good advice.
OP - would the current owner's be willing to hire you for six months or so? That would be an excellent way to educate yourself prior to making a purchase decision. If not, try to find a similar job somewhere else. If you can't or don't want to do that, ask yourself why.
