Whether you are venturing out on your own and plan to start your own law firm, or your current firm is expanding, you may be considering buying a law firm. Purchasing a law firm is a bold move and one of the biggest decisions you will make in your career, so it is important to first consider a few important factors. Below, we’ll show you how to buy a law firm and the key things to consider before your purchase, including the time of sale, due diligence, and more.

There are many reasons for buying a CPA firm. One of the main reasons many CPAs purchase an existing firm is simple: buying an accounting firm that is already up and running is much easier than starting one from scratch. Buying an existing firm, along with existing operations, also minimizes the risk associated with starting a business because the firm will (a) have existing clients (and therefore work in progress and accounts receivable), (b) have an existing space and infrastructure in place (phones, email, server, filing systems, and the like) and, last but certainly not least (c) have existing staff members. These are just a few of the most critical aspects of any accounting firm and, when combined, create an opportunity that simply is a safer bet than starting from scratch.

As we have established thus far, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is designed to help you get the funding you need to start, purchase or expand your small business. Though the SBA does not lend money directly, it does back and supervise the lending process, removing much of the uncertainty for both lenders and applicants alike. This article provides a brief overview of each of the SBA’s four main loan programs. I will be discussing each loan program in more detail at a later date.

As my first article on the Small Business Administration “Buying a Business is Easy: 5 Steps to Secure SBA Financing” received so much attention, it seems prudent to continue delving into this topic. This will therefore be the first in a small series on just that. Stay tuned.

Part one: Networking Made Easy – Part One: Expanding Horizons

Part Two: Networking Made Easy – Part Two: The Strategy

One of the most daunting aspects of striking out on your own is the inherent financial insecurity. You are exchanging constraint and stability for freedom and risk. Hesitance is normal, but it should not stop you from chasing your independence, especially when there are government agencies designed to help. One of these is the government-backed U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA’s business financing programs “[provide] small business with an array of financing…from the smallest needs in microlending – to substantial debt and equity investment capital.” The most common SBA small business loan allotment is about $130,000-140,000. Yet they range from just $5,000 to $5,000,000.