What Every Entrepreneur Should Know Before Buying a Business” is Carol’s recent post on the Bank of America Small Business Community. Given everything it takes to get a business up and running, you may think it would be easier to just buy a business that has already experienced some success.

Carol shares what you need to know if you’re considering buying a business. She begins:

“When you get the itch to be an entrepreneur, you have options. You can build a business from scratch, you can franchise a business from another brand franchisor or you can buy a business from another entrepreneur looking to exit.

Getting a business going is the most difficult part of a business’ lifecycle, one that most new businesses do not survive. So, you may follow the path of logic that you minimize that startup risk by buying an established business. While it costs more money up front, you may think that an established business track record, vendor relationships, knowledgeable employees and a customer base will allow you to hit the ground running.

However, as with everything related to business, it’s never that easy. Buying a business can sometimes be equivalent to taking over someone else’s problems.

Here are some things you should know before you engage the purchase of any business.

 Entrepreneurs are Greedy!

Here’s the thing about people—and entrepreneurs are no exception—they are greedy. Their greed is something that you need to understand when you consider buying a business.”

You can read the rest of the post here.