The Facts of Business Life by Bill McBean Page A

reality, though, was that I didn’t have very much money. Recognizing, once I had gotten enough experience, that I would have to create an opportunity myself, I approached a number of business owners and offered to make a small investment in their companies, run the companies for them, and buy them out over time. To my surprise, several of the owners I approached offered me another option: to open a new business, or buy an existing one outside of their market area under a partnership arrangement.
    This wasn’t my ideal, but I recognized that since I had such limited funds, this option might be my best chance at ownership, and that eventually I might be able to get enough “meat on my bones,” that is, enough capital, to either buy my partner out or enable my partner and me to purchase a larger business with even more potential. I investigated each offer and studied each market, and continued to gain industry experience. As I was preparing to make my decision, seemingly out of the blue another possibility opened up. One of the owners I was interested in partnering with called an equity lender on my behalf and suggested they approach me to partner, operate, and eventually take full ownership of a business they would buy or open. I knew from the self-analysis I’d done that this was exactly what I was looking for.
    What I’d done was create an opportunity for myself by going out and talking to owners, telling them what I was looking for, and asking if they could help or guide me. As a result, I created several options for myself, and eventually got lucky with one I hadn’t even considered. Sometimes this is how it works, but the point is that most ownership opportunities have to be created because if they were obvious, owners in the market would jump on them even before you knew they were there.
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Building and Maintaining a Team at Level 1
    Since at Level 1 your business is still in the preparation stage and doesn’t actually exist yet, you obviously won’t have a staff to work with. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have to put together a good team of mentors and advisers. You will need a group to help you determine whether you want to become an owner and, if so, which opportunity you should pursue. Since, again, there are two aspects of Level 1, the team you put together to help you achieve the first objective may not be the same as the one you build to attain the second.
    Among the people who can help you make the ownership decision—or an expansion decision—are current business owners in your market or owners of similar businesses in different markets, as well as bankers and accountants who know the specifics of your industry. Once you’ve decided you do want to be an owner—or to expand your business—you begin analyzing the opportunities available to you. You can gather information from local business associations; owners outside your market area; people who are experienced in buying and selling businesses; owners who have already been involved in expanding businesses; suppliers within your industry, who know the cost of products and sales histories; and members of state, provincial, or national industry associations.
    Regardless of which objective you are trying to attain, in selecting the people you ask to provide assistance, you should be looking for those who have certain characteristics, including experience in doing what you want to do, the ability to assess markets, knowledge of your specific industry, a history of success in their fields, an understanding of the important role owners play in a business’s success, and a willingness to help you when your business becomes “live.”
Developing the Individual at Level 1
    At this level, the only employee you are likely to have is yourself. However, developing individuals starts with developing yourself. And if ownership is your goal, there are a number of abilities and/or skills that you