You'd Better Shop AroundBuying an existing business? Smart idea. But before you sign on the dotted line, make sure the business is all it's cracked up to be.
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After spending 18 years working for a Fortune 500 corporation,and moving and traveling continually, Ian Mitchell put away hissuitcases in 1997 and went into business for himself. "My wifeand I had been thinking about it for a long time. Our daughter wasin high school, and we decided she needed some stability,"says Mitchell, 53, who bought The Mary Curtis Shop in Concord,Massachusetts, a bustling gift store, decoy shop, printingbusiness, and coffee shop.
Mitchell decided to buy an existing business rather than startone from scratch because he wanted to try something new. "Tostart a business, you need expertise in that field, and Ididn't want to go into the same career," says Mitchell. Hechose the business because it was well-established, showed a goodprofit, and had an experienced staff and an impeccablereputation.
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