Not by how much money it makes. That absolutely should be a part of the decision but not all of it. Most of us can get jobs that pay us more money than we can sometimes make by owning a small business. So, if it isn't money, what is it?
Passion. Owning a small business is never easy. Great Harvest is the fourth business I have been a part of and they are all hard. When I first joined our family, I kept hearing how hard this business was. Well, yeah, but they all are. I kept trying to understand why people here thought it was hard and came to the conclusion that it wasn't any harder than 2 of my previous three. Just different.
Owning a small business is the classic trade off of risk vs. reward. To get the reward, you really need to love what you do. If not, then the cost of the stress and long hours and financial risk becomes less attractive.
When I was in my search mode that ended in buying Great Harvest, I had a handy dandy 17 point checklist by which I scored all prospects. Sure, many of the points were financial since you have to have income to pay for the good stuff, but Great Harvest really stood out in the intangible areas and that is how I decided to buy a franchise business.
What where those things? A product I could really respect. 
People I could really embrace. A legacy that was rooted in the simple values of trust, honesty, and open communication. An opportunity to make a difference in our communities. In short, it gave me a platform to both make money and practice corporate responsibility.
Sure, I work hard, many would say too hard, but, I can look at myself in the mirror each morning and be proud of what I do. To me, that is the reason to buy a particular business. Find one that makes money and gives you pride, so that you can market it without thinking twice, and you are set.
What things do you think about when you consider buying a small business?
Thanks for reading.
