Here's a controversial statement that gets people either loving me or hating me when I say it:

If you want to make a lot of money very quickly in business, regardless of whether or not you have a lot of experience, money or credit, then you need to know -- despite the hype and mainstream misinformation out there -- that it's way more difficult to start a business from scratch than to simply buy an existing one.

Why?

The main reason is the money.

What happens is you go out and start a business from scratch, and you really can't borrow any money because nobody wants to lend it to you, except maybe Mom and Dad. And even if they want to lend it to you, the chances are slim you'll be able to pay them back any time soon (if at all) because you will have no profit for a while.

On the other hand, if you go out and buy an existing business, and buy it for a normal market price, you can finance just about the whole thing with a lot less trouble and red tape. Usually, if you understand how the "game" is played, you can finance it 100%.

Don't misunderstand: This is NOT "no money down". But it is 100% financing. When I was teaching how to buy businesses nationally, all the real estate programs were talking about "nothing down" in real estate. Well in business, you don't have "nothing down.” There'

s a difference between 100% financing, or close to it, and "nothing down.”

And, unlike start-ups -- that are not immediately making a profit -- with existing businesses, if you have enough cash flow (and you shouldn't even bother with a business if it doesn't have adequate cash flow out the gate) you can finance the whole thing using any number of different financing methods, including using investors.

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