It won’t matter if the asking price is $1 thousand or $1 million, you’ll have to do some serious homework before deciding if it’s right for you. Here are some key points to consider before getting out your wallet.

Comparable Prices

Each business type is evaluated based on different factors. Cashflow, profits and growth potential are just a few. Consider how you would look at a local restaurant compared to evaluating a website or local pawn shop. They would all have similar, yet different factors to consider. How much traffic do they get? Are they in a good location? What keywords do they target with their advertising?

One way to figure all this out is to see what other similar types of companies are selling for right now. See what factors determine their value and compare them to the business you are considering buying.

Tax Returns

How much did the current business owners report on their tax returns? How much did they owe on the business? Don’t pay more than they reported. Don’t base your buying descisions on what the owner say, but on what was actually reported.

It’s dangerous and scary to pay for a business only based on someone’s word. As a rule of thumb, only pay for revenue that can be proven, like IRS statements or audited financial statements only.

Track Traffic and Sales Yourself

Alright, sit in the business and pay attention. Watch, count, track customers coming into the business for a day. Is it really as much as the owner says? Compare it to the average being reported.

Buying a website? Ask to have your own tracking widget installed for a week so you can see what kind of traffic is coming in, and where it is coming from.

In other words, no matter what kind of business you’re considering, check the stats for yourself. The only exception is if they have audited statements from a Big Five accounting firm. If they do, the accounting can probably be trusted. (And if there’s a mistake, you’ll have the recourse of suing the accounting firm.)

 Any Undisclosed Problems

I’m not trying to make business owners sound dishonest. However, they may not want to tell you all the drawbacks, or they may not even consider them a drawback because they’ve dealt with them so long it just feels like part of the every day routine.

So, it’s really your job to dig in and find out what kind of negative crap is out there about this business, because you’ll have to build up or around or on that negative feedback. Do a Google search with their name, plus words like “lawsuit” “sued” “complaint” “BBB” “scam” “review” and so on.

Are there just general complaints about the business? Was there good reason for it, or are these the type of customers who like to “complain” for sympathy?

Can you also see what the future looks like for this company? Maybe future repair costs for equipment, or traffic generation for a website?

Financing

Have you fully understood how the current owners want to be paid? Are they willing to help finance for a period of time? Are they willing to help train you in their current process? Many sellers are willing to help you continue their legacy or help you build a success one of your own. Just ask.

There are many more factors to consider before you whip out the credit cards or checkbook to pay for this new business. Take your time. Don’t feel rushed, and if you do, then let this one pass. Rushing in, or feeling rushed, spells disaster.

If you are considering a new business purchase, download our new Business Evaluation Worksheet for free!

• This list of low-cost small business opportunities, can help you get started for less than $300.

Freelancer 

If you have some skills already, you can build a career doing things for others. Can you write fairly well? Or, do you know how to build websites, or use code?

Getting started as a freelancer should cost you no more than $50.

Flip websites

When you flip a website, your job is to create websites that get ranked in search engines. Then, you do 1 of 2 things. You sell other people’s products as an affiliate, or you sell the website for more than you paid.

The great part of being an affiliate website builder, is that you never have to create any products of your own. You just market the site and get people to see and buy.

Getting started as an SEO affiliate marketer will cost about $50 to $100, depending on what tactics you’re using. Primarily this will be costs in domain and hosting, possible a few other small expenses.

Tutoring

Do you know a particular skill? Are you good at explaining confusing or difficult processes?

If you’re good with English, math or any other major academic subject, or you have other marketable skills like playing guitar or graphic design, you can earn pretty good money by tutoring.

Browse Craigslist to see what other tutors are charging for similar services. Then, set up your own ad with a bit of detail about you and your background.

Set a rate that’s at or slightly below market rate. For most skills, you should be able to earn $20 to $40 an hour tutoring.

This one may not cost you anything. However, phone, skype or computer time might be fees to consider.

Dropshipping

Dropshipping is what has made eBay millionaires. However, you’ll have to do a lot of research to do this one right. You can set up on a site like eBay or build your own, all inclusive website and then ship products without having to hold any inventory yourself.

This means you can launch a full-fledged ecommerce business while putting up very little money yourself.

Your primary expenses will come from needing to incorporate your business into an LLC and getting a Federal Tax ID number in order to work with wholesalers. The whole process should cost you less than $200 if you do it on your own.

These are only four  different small businesses that you can launch from your home for less than $300. Some will see an immediate revenue quickly (tutoring, freelancing) while others have higher earning potential but take longer to realize (dropshipping, SEO affiliate marketing).

Do any of these spark an idea for you? 

The acne light treatment from Tanda is intriguing to me, because I don’t like the idea of using a lot of chemicals on my skin to get rid of an imbalance that might be causing acne.

Acording to their website, Tanda offers the ONLYat-home device with interchangeable treatment heads. Once you have purchased any solution-based device kit from them, you can purchase any of their treatment heads to expand your system!  Tanda’s acne light therapy has clinically proven results too, without the side effects common with chemical treatments.

Here’s what I appreciate though, this system also provides age fighting benefits in addition to their acne removal system. With the change of an attachment head, the light begins boosting your skin’s collagen and elastin.

And um……. it offers pain fighting benfits? Holy moley! Check out their pain page where they say that using this kind of warmlight treatment for body pain actually results in;

• 72% decrease in pain
• 36% decrease in swelling
• 60% overall improvement

Plus,. they offer a 30 day money back guarantee!

Have you used light therapy for skin repair?

Where do you go when you need a little help in the love department? Maybe your mom or sister, brother or friend? But, maybe not! Sometimes keeping our family and friends away from a new love, or a long term relationship issues is best.

So, when you don’t know what do after the honeymoon is over, or when the eight year mark hits and nothing seems to be moving ahead, all these topics and more can be discussed on http://twoofus.org without judgement and even annonymously if needed. 

As an empowerment coach, I find that relationships enter into everything we do. Our business, our work, our everyday lives, are affected by what we experience and what we think we’ll experience in our relationships. So, when asked to take a closer look at http://twoofus.org and explore the relationship advice available on the site, I was both excited and warry.

Before visiting, I was worried about it being an advice site or a dating site. I didn’t want to go to a site all about dating. But toofus.org is not that kind of site. It is refreshing and I say that as a grown woman with kids, divorce and a long time relationship to work on. 

While the site offers tips on keeping your relationship fresh, it also covers topics like what living together can do to your kids, how marriage can benefit or break a relationship and what men vs women thing on different topics. 

One of the things I enjoyed is the video series covering many topics from dating, to recovering from a bad relationship. I love what’s said in the video with actor/author Hill Harper here, where he talks about having a conversation party and asking questions about the opposite sex and getting feedback on topics you may be facing about yourself. 

I can see this website working for single people and those who are married because our family dynamics play into everything we do. What we grew up with, who our role models are now, and what we think in our heads all affect our relationships no matter what stage we are at. 

Not only is their website full of useful info, user feedback and advice, but their Facebook page is also a great way to learn and interact. Go like twoofus.org on Facebook too if this is the kind of info you’d like to get. 

Would you mind sharing your top questions about relationships in a comment below? It’s nice to know we are all facing the same types of issues. 

I love graphics, art, photos and I love how these photos can be altered to look retro or somehow , well, funky, thanks to modern technology.

Jeremy  at Olivezombies Can take photos of yours, both real and digital and convert them into funky art to use on your computer, website, or even to print and frame.

For a donation of $7.50 he can turn your digital photos funky, retro or even zombi-fied. If you want a print, you can check out his prices or contact him directly for more information through http://jmhdigital.com/

Warning, horror ahead:

Until about 5 years ago I didn’t like horror movies. Then I watched 28 days later. It was (and is) the scariest movie ever (for me).  So, when I found someone who offers to turn photos into zombie art, I thought it would be funny, cool and something to remind me how scary the zombie apocalypse will be! Scroll down to see what Jeremy did for my photo. EWWWWW!

Sorry if I scared ya! But I did give you a big red warning!

Anyway, go check out what he can do for your photos and tell him Alex Sent you.