The presidential election has ended - FINALLY. You can stop fighting with your friends and family on Facebook about your political choices. You can turn the TV back on without being assaulted in :30 second increments by one party or another. Lastly, you can stop refreshing your favorite websites (whether it's Huffington Post or The Drudge Report) for the latest insights, predictions and nuances of the election. The pundits all turned out to be mostly wrong anyway. It seems to us restaurant brokers that you're going to have a LOT of time on your hands!
If you are like millions of Americans, you've been in a holding pattern while this election was being waged across the country. The most expensive election in United States history dominated the airwaves whether you were seeking news, entertainment or escape. Now that the campaign has ended and $6 billion dollars has been spent (or wasted) to attract our attention, it's time to move on. Now you can get back on course and buy a restaurant.
In the opinion of these restaurants brokers, now is a great time to buy a restaurant. Why you ask? Well consider that layoffs are continuing to be announced by large corporations at alarming rates. Last week alone, all of the following companies announced significant downsizing of their ranks: Westinghouse, Research in Motion, Boeing, US Cellular, Commerzbank, Iberia, ING, Caterpillar, CVPH Medical Center, Lightyear, Hawker Beechcraft, Pepsi, Bristol Myer. There’s no longer any refuge in the corporate world where “one day you’re in and the next day, you’re out.” The opportunity to achieve may just be better placed in your own hands versus that of a company that hires and fires at will.
The sputtering recovery is another reason to buy - yes, that's right - buy. Despite the fear about the fiscal cliff, Obamacare and other efforts by those in Washington to instill their will on us, a small businessman is still well situated to weather the storms of the economy. Why? When you own your own business you exercise a large measure of control over your own destiny. You have the flexibility to make changes as the need occurs versus asking a committee. You can manipulate your own cost structures and work an extra shift to make sure earnings stay on par. Those with larger businesses (say 50 employees or more) are in the bull’s eye of regulation while the small operator can still escape the spotlight.
Here are three other reasons why a slow economy signals a good time to buy a restaurant.
Landlords are looking for strong tenants. They are willing to wheel and deal to get them. If you have strong credit, they want to talk and rental rates have never been better for those in a good position to deal.
Pricing on existing restaurants has never been better. Sellers delaying the sale of their business and waiting for things to improve are losing patience. They are taking lower pricing to make a deal happen.
An under employed and very talented workforce is out there seeking a job. You can get talent that was unheard of a few years ago along with loyal and conscientious employees.
With all that being said, wake yourself up from your election funk. No matter what party you support, Washington’s a long way from home. Buy a restaurant and put your talent and energy into your own success. Call your own shots and start making a living the American way. No one’s coming to rescue you. It might be just the time to buy a restaurant.
Like this article from the Restaurant Brokers? Please SHARE it on Facebook, Twitter or Linked In.