HBR guide to buying a small business /​ Richard S. Ruback, Royce Yudkoff.

Includes index.

Machine generated contents note: You can buy a small business
-right now
-and run it as CEO
pt. ONE Think Big, Buy Small
1.The Opportunity: Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition
An attractive professional path that combines financial rewards with a flexible and fulfilling career
2.Is Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition for You?
What it takes, and who does it well
3.The Acquisition Process
An overview
pt. TWO Preparing for Your Search
4.Anticipating the Cost of Your Search
How much you'll spend depends on specific choices you make
5.Paying for Your Search
Raising capital to fund your effort
6.Identifying the Characteristics You Want in Your Business
Look for a business that is established and enduringly profitable that you have the skills to manage
pt. THREE Finding the Right Small Business to Buy
7.Managing Your Search Effectively: An Overview
Juggling sourcing opportunities and filtering prospects
Contents note continued: 8.Sourcing Prospects Using Brokers
Focus on companies that are explicitly for sale
9.Sourcing Directly
Finding prospects on your own
10.Enduringly Profitable Small Businesses
The key is recurring customers
11.Using Financial Information to Gauge Enduring Profitability
A Few Simple Calculations that Tell You a Lot About a Business
12.Filtering for the Owner's Commitment to Sell
How to avoid sellers who abandon the sales process after months of your time and money
pt. FOUR Making an Offer
13.Preliminary Due Diligence
Learn more about the company and begin building a financial projection
14.How Much Should You Pay for a Small Business?
The art of small business valuation
15.Deal Terms
Deal structure, financing, timing, and other fundamental points
16.The Offer
Take the big step with a letter of intent
pt. FIVE Completing the Acquisition
17.Confirmatory Due Diligence
Contents note continued: Cross-check what you (think you) know about the company
18.Raising Debt
How to get a small business loan
19.Raising Acquisition Equity
Finding the right equity investors for your deal
20.Negotiating the Purchase Agreement
Defining essential deal terms
21.The Closing Day and Beyond
The transition to ownership.
The opportunity : entrepreneurship through acquisition
Is entrepreneurship through acquisition for you?
The acquisition process
Anticipating the cost of your search
Paying for your search
Identifying the characteristics you want in your business
Managing your search effectively : an overview
Sourcing prospects using brokers
Sourcing directly
Enduringly profitable small businesses
Using financial information to gauge enduring profitability
Filtering for the owner's commitment to sell
Preliminary due diligence
How much should you pay for a small business?
Deal terms
The offer
Confirmatory due diligence
Raising debt
Raising acquisition equity
Negotiating the purchase agreement
The closing day and beyond.

Are you looking for an alternative to a career path at a big firm? Does founding your own start-up seem too risky? There is a radical third path open to you: You can buy a small business and run it as CEO. Purchasing a small company offers significant financial rewards - as well as personal and professional fulfillment. Leading a firm means you can be your own boss, put your executive skills to work, fashion a company environment that meets your own needs, and profit directly from your success. But finding the right business to buy and closing the deal isn't always easy. In the HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business, Harvard Business School professors Richard Ruback and Royce Yudkoff help you: - Determine if this path is right for you - Raise capital for your acquisition - Find and evaluate the right prospects - Avoid the pitfalls that could derail your search - Understand why a "dull" business might be the best investment - Negotiate a potential deal with the seller - Avoid deals that fall through at the last minute.