In order to assist you in choosing a business that suits your character traits and your current lifestyle I have created a very simple questionnaire. If you expect family involvement in the business then the questionnaire applies to each and every member of your family that you expect to be an integral part of and involved in the business.
Some of the following questions may seem to be very obvious, patronizing or even foolish, but you would be surprised at how many people have not considered each and every item. You may find it difficult to answer yes or no to a question, but it is important that you give it your best try. It is also important that you are honest with yourself and remember that there are no right or wrong answers.
If you desire to make the best use of the following questionnaire I recommend that you and each member of your family answer the questions now (if you wait until you have identified a potential business it is much harder to answer the questions impartially and honestly).
Once you have identified a business that is a potential acquisition, compare the character traits and lifestyle that you will need and must have if you actually consummate acquiring the business against the answers to the questions that you gave initially. Then you can determine if you are willing to accept the changes to your attitudes and lifestyle that your new business will demand. If nothing else the completed questionnaire will show you the consequences towards your attitudes and lifestyle should you consummate the acquisition of the business in question.
If for instance, you initially answered, “yes” to question number 1;
“I want to work a basic 9 to 5 day”
and you are investigating a business that currently opens at noon and closes at 9 p.m. you would not have a “Match” and you would not check off the box under “Match”. After you have checked or not checked all of the “Match” boxes you can go back and decide whether or not you will accept the lifestyle differences. In this case you would have to decide whether or not you would be prepared to adjust your lifestyle so that you could work from noon until 9 instead of 9 to 5.
You may wonder how to respond to a “Match” on a question such as number 7;
“I pick my children up from school or other events on a regular basis”.
You may think that this has little if anything to do with the business that you are considering acquiring, however it does. In many businesses you will find that your time scheduling is seldom your own. For instance, if in your new business venture you end up spending most of your time out of the business on the road selling, making commitments to be at certain places at specific times such as picking up the children will be difficult due to traffic congestion, delays, lengthened or changed appointments or other items not under your control.
Calling a prospective client to say that you will be an hour late or that you have to postpone your meeting until tomorrow may work fine. Leaving the kids in front of the school for two hours will probably not work out at all. You may be looking at a retail store that has a substantial, reliable, well trained, staff. In that case it may not be a problem for you to leave the store for an hour everyday to pick the kids up from school.
There is an additional advantage in filling out the questionnaire and that is that it may highlight items that you did not think of when you first looked at the business you are considering acquiring. If when you attempt to do the “Match” and find that you do not know the answer as to whether it is a match or not will allow you the opportunity to find out, before you have committed. Simply put, if you do not know what the operating hours are of the business that you are considering acquiring, you could not respond to the “Match” portion of question number 1.