- How much capital do you have readily available, to purchase and start operations?
- In what area are you looking to operate your business in (city and state)?
- Are you planning on being local, statewide, regional, and/or national?
- With you have actual drivers, contract drivers, owner operators, or a combination?
- What type of freight are you planning on transporting (dry goods, liquids, etc.)?
Now once you have done your basic homework there are other considerations, actually several more. But here are the basic 8 things to check when buying a trucking company:
1. When Buying A Trucking Company, Check If The Trucking Company Is For Sale By Owner…
This might seem obvious but not always. Many times a company is owned by a larger conglomeration of businesses. So it is best to know who you will actually be dealing with when buying a trucking company. This goes back to the research.
Source: www.businessbuddy.me.uk
There are several pros and cons to buying a business directly from the owner, though an agency or through a third party:
Buying a trucking company directly from the owner, -that is easy. This is the actual person or company who owns the business. The good thing about buying a trucking company from the owner is you have an actual point of contact. You can speak with them and negotiate directly with them.
Sometimes you can even work out a better deal, like lower down payment, owner financing or other perks. A drawback is that neither of you are real estate agents and you might not know all the laws regarding the sale of a business. Also the business owner might feel their property is worth way more than market value.
This is especially true when the owner was the one who originally opened the business because, after all he was the one who put the effort to open and run the business. This company was his baby; a baby that he raised and grows up and makes it to be what is now. Regardless the reasons behind for selling the business: he/ she might be aiming bigger goals and becoming corporate, or just somewhere on the run he/ she realized that having a trucking company it was not the right business for him.
Source: www.i1os.com
When buying a trucking company through a real estate agency, -they do a lot of the legal leg work for you. Often they not only help you find the business; they negotiate the transaction and can find out important things like legal historic background of the business and such. Unfortunately they also require a commission based on the final sale. Usually owner financing isn’t an option.
When going through a third party – you can find some great deals while buying a trucking company. Third party agencies can be banks selling foreclosures and government seizures. They can also be legal representatives (other than the real estate agency) who are assigned the task of unloading a property, perhaps from a will or a business that is downsizing. Often with these situations there is little or no negotiating and typically you must have full payment at the time of sale. This is especially true if you buy at an auction.
So as you can see it is very important to know who actually owns the business, or more correctly who you will be dealing with, when buying a trucking company.
Source: www.americanopportunityfla.com
