Buy a Small Business in the United States

Advice for anyone looking to buy a small business in the United States.

Keywords:

small businesses, business opportunity

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If you are looking for a business opportunity, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has an excellent website, including a search option for small businesses for sale in the United States. They also have financial options for those who are looking for a business opportunity to consider.

Small businesses consistently employ fifty percent of the workforce in the United States. Fifty-three percent of all small businesses are home-based, while three percent are franchises. You can always find a business opportunity that has to do with franchises. Franchises are a worthwhile consideration, simply because in most cases, the name and products are well known. If you take advantage of this type of business opportunity and buy a successful franchise, you usually don’t have to worry about it folding in the first year. Franchise.com has a list of franchises offered for sale in the United States, as well as in other countries. You can look at a list of franchises and decide on the one you are interested in, and then learn more about it. The website also lists the franchise fees and investment required.

According to the SBA, there were 24.7 million small businesses in the United States in 2004, the last year for which figures are available. 580,000 new small businesses opened in 2004 and 576,000 closed in the same year. The competition for any small business to succeed is ferocious, but with more than 24 million in existence, it’s clear that they do succeed.

If you are going to be working in the business yourself, it’s important that you buy a business that you truly care about. If however, this business opportunity is purely an investment for you, then certainly the best business deal financially would make sense. Some people who open new businesses work 14, 16 or even more hours per day until the business really gets off the ground. This would be almost impossible to do if you didn’t like what you were doing.

Home business opportunities are as far and wide as your imagination. You can start your own business or buy an existing one. You could have an online business, or a more conventional store or office. If you select a business opportunity that will have you doing something that you love, the money will likely follow.

It’s not difficult to find a business for sale. There are listings all over the Internet, as well as in almost every newspaper in the country. What matters, obviously, is finding the right business - one that will meet all of your needs, not just your financial ones. How much time do you have to devote to this business? Will this be your only business or one of many? Will you run it yourself or will you hire people to do that for you?

You can do, or you can hire others to do, some sophisticated market research to ensure that your product or service will sell in certain areas. Of course, if it’s an online business opportunity, you can do plenty of your own research quite easily. You can look at what other websites are selling, whether it is a product or a service, and to a degree, you can see how popular they are.

If you need to get a loan for your business opportunity, you have several options. The SBA can direct you to several loan options, although they don’t lend money themselves. The SBA is a great place to start anyway, simply because they do have so many resources. They have a lot of statistical information that you might find helpful in your market research, and they have several free publications to help you along in your small business journey.

Probably the most important thing you can do before buying a small business is your homework. Investigate more than one business before settling on a specific business opportunity, and above all, make sure it is something that you enjoy!



http://www.bizseller4u.com

Delaware Ranked #1 In The United States

Each year the United States Chamber of Commerce announces which States have the best and worst legal system. For the fifth year in a row, Delaware has received the top honors, being named the State with the fairest legal system. Additionally, a survey of U.S. businesses ranked Delaware as the State doing the best job of creating a fair and reasonable legal environment. As many of the top businesses in the United States, and a growing number of small and medium sized businesse...

Keywords:

harvard, delaware corporations

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Each year the United States Chamber of Commerce announces which States have the best and worst legal system. For the fifth year in a row, Delaware has received the top honors, being named the State with the fairest legal system. Additionally, a survey of U.S. businesses ranked Delaware as the State doing the best job of creating a fair and reasonable legal environment. As many of the top businesses in the United States, and a growing number of small and medium sized businesses, have chosen Delaware as the place to incorporate, that ranking should not come as a big surprise.

The results of the 2006 study, which was officially conducted for the United States Chamber Institute for Legal Reform by The Harris Poll, surveyed a national sample of in-house general counsel or other senior corporate litigators to explore how reasonable and fair the legal system is perceived to be by U.S. business. In order to ensure the integrity of the results, respondents were first screened for their familiarity with States, and those who were very or somewhat familiar with the litigation environment in a given State were then asked to evaluate that State.

When deciding where to incorporate, there are a number of considerations that businesses must take into account. Perhaps the single most important consideration for any business is the legal environment within the incorporation State. Over the past few years, several States have tried to create more favorable climates for businesses; but year after year, it is Delaware that provides the most fair and competent judges, the best and most efficient handling of litigation proceedings and juries that are competent, fair and predictable. It is also Delaware that provides the most flexible and business-friendly incorporation laws, including minimal regulation and minimal yearly filing requirements. (visit www.delawareinc.com)

Recently, formation companies in the State of Nevada have been mounting an advertising campaign to drive businesses into the desert, touting the State's minimum regulation. What is missing from Nevada, however, is a fair, competent and predictable legal environment. In fact, in 2006 Nevada ranked worst among the States in terms of creating a fair and reasonable legal environment while ranking 37th overall. Additionally, according to several magazine publications, venture capitalists and angel investors they will all routinely throw away business plans they receive from companies incorporated in Nevada. What this means, of course, is that if you are a legitimate business you could get inappropriately labeled as unsavory simply because you have incorporated in Nevada.

Additionally, many, if not most of the Nevada companies who help individuals set up companies, tout the fact that when you file a Nevada LLC the owners of the LLC can remain anonymous. To some, such anonymity may be helpful, but the Nevada promise is misleading at best and completely disingenuous at worst. While you can anonymously create a Nevada LLC, the company must provide the Secretary of State with the names and addresses of each manager or managing members on or before the last day of the first month after the filing of the Nevada LLC. See Nevada Revised Statutes 86.263. Therefore, the promise of anonymity in Nevada can be a hollow promise.

While anonymous ownership may not be important to all, in some situations there can be a legitimate business interest in keeping matters private. Unlike Nevada, Delaware truly does offer an answer to those in search of privacy. Simply stated, in Delaware, if you want to create an anonymous LLC you can do just that. No where in the Delaware laws is there any requirement that the managers or members be identified in any filing. In fact, the Delaware law relating to the formation of LLC's specifically says that the names of the managers or members may be included, but are not required. See Delaware Code § 18-102. Therefore, if anonymity is what you want then Delaware is the place to incorporate, not Nevada.

When deciding to incorporate in Delaware, companies of all sizes receive the benefit of the most developed business laws in the United States. The Delaware Chancery Court is renowned throughout the country for its handling of complex business matters. In fact, other States attempting to copy Delaware's successful business climate turn to and defer to the Delaware Chancery court and its rulings, thereby acknowledging the superior climate provided to businesses by the State of Delaware.

Where you incorporate is a big decision, but for companies of all sizes Delaware has made the decision very easy. Whether you are a start-up business, family business, small business, large business or subsidiary, Delaware is the place to incorporate. Whether you are forming a LLC, a partnership, a general corporation or a C-corporation, you will benefit from the nation's premier legal system.