To Be, or Not To Be (A Start Up Business) That is a question, isn't it?

Week 5 (question 6)

Almost all of us have dreamed of owning our own business. However, It is quite a daunting task to do the research and investments necessary to open a business from scratch. There is always the option of buying an existing business, a 'turn key' operation, but that sometimes comes with risks of its own. So i'd like to present some of the advantages of buying a previously owned business, versus creating a new business from scratch. For simplicity sake, I will first list the advantages of opening a start up business:
- you can create the business exactly how you want it.
-you pick the location, and what it looks like.
-no specific rules to follow, or formulas to keep.

Obviously and contrarily there are disadvantages to starting from scratch when opening a business:
- potentially higher, and non-specific, fluctuating costs. its hard to tell exactly what it will take financially to open the doors to your business.
- all the details of planning, marketing, accounting, etc are all uncertain and the owners responsibility.

So its easy to see what some of the draw backs are for opening a business from scratch, and what some of the advantages are. Just be imaginative and flip those for an exisiting business. But to elaborate, some of the most evident drawbacks to opening an existing business are:
-what if the business has a bad reputation? (thats hard to over come, once a location is tainted).
-its difficult to change the known forumula, without fear of losing clients.
-have to sacrifice creativity in many cases.

Its really up to the individual to know whats better for them. A young woman may be clever to buy an existing hair salon that has a solid customer base, if the current owner is ready to get out of the business due to move, or age, etc. It would be a smart investment. But the guy wanting to quit his job and buy a restaurant that has changed hands a few times over the past 5 or 6 years may want to second guess that decision. Why has it changed owners so much?

Thke away message: there is no "right" answer. Each situation must be weighed on its own merit, in its own context. Life is funny like that.