Due Diligence Deciphered: How to Avoid Buyer’s Remorse with Elliott Holland [Ep.144]

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s a lot on the line when you buy a business, so you want to make sure you buy a business that is primed for success. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">An important lesson you need to learn as a buyer is that you can’t take businesses at face value. There’s a lot going on below the surface that you need to uncover.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That’s where due diligence comes in. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Few people know more about the due diligence process than Elliott Holland. Elliott is the Co-Founder and CEO of Guardian Due Diligence, a diligence solution for first-time buyers and self-funded searchers.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode, Elliott takes us on a deep dive into the due diligence process. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He highlights red flags buyers should look out for, the common mistakes buyers make, and he breaks down the due diligence process, step by step. According to Elliott,</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></p> <blockquote> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">“There are four main buckets of due diligence in online business.</span></em> <strong><em>Financial</em></strong><em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">,</span></em> <strong><em>Operational</em></strong><em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">,</span></em> <strong><em>Commercial</em></strong><em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">, and</span></em> <strong><em>Online metrics.</em></strong> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">In online business, 70 to 80% of due diligence is focused on financials. Financials are created through the operations of a business, and so they are a great way to really understand the story of the business.”</span></em></p> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Elliot also shared his top due diligence war stories and the lessons buyers can learn from them.</span><span style= "font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style= "font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><