One of my most controversial business-buying "rules" is to only buy a business where you can be "hands off." It's the cornerstone of everything I taught at my seminars and is something I still follow to the letter today with each business I buy.
However, this always begs the question of, how do you get to the point of being hands off? Don't you have to be there at the beginning to make sure everything is going smoothly after the sale?
My answer: Yes. In the beginning ONLY -- for the first two months, in most cases - Im talking to the manager hourly. And Im coming in almost every day to get familiar with the company. But after that, I dont get there very often. Ideally, no more than once per year.
Now, look, theres nothing wrong with being hands on, but if youd like to have a healthier life, and maybe own multiple businesses simultaneously, what you should consider doing is nothing hands on. Let somebody else do it.
In fact, I tell all my mangers right in the beginning, Look, Im a blue collar type guy. As a blue collar type guy, I dont like to work after five oclock and I dont like to work on weekends. If you ever call me at home after five oclock with a problem you could have solved, I will fire you at nine oclock tomorrow morning.
True story, I have never gotten a phone call.
And believe me, these guys love it because theyre getting the run of the company. They dont have some pain in the butt owner driving them nuts, disturbing the staff and poking his nose into everything.
And besides, the manager has been running the company for five or ten years successfully. What am I going to do? If I dont show up, the business is going to do a lot better. So I make it a point not to contribute anything. And when you buy a business, you should highly consider doing the same thing. |
