Buying a business or starting your own: which option is more advantageous?

Starting your own business: beginning with a blank page

Business creation represents the classic entrepreneurial journey: starting from zero with an idea, concept or vision, and progressively building your structure. It's the option that naturally comes to mind for most project initiators.

This approach particularly attracts innovative profiles, young entrepreneurs and those wishing to develop a unique concept. It allows you to shape the business exactly according to your vision, without constraints inherited from the past.

But behind this apparent freedom lie economic and operational realities that are essential to understand properly before launching.

The advantages of starting a business

Starting your own business presents several undeniable assets that appeal to many entrepreneurs:

• Complete entrepreneurial freedom: You freely define your positioning, company culture, processes and brand identity without compromise.
• Potentially lower initial investment: Depending on the sector, it's possible to start with limited capital, particularly in services or digital.
• Progressive approach: The lean startup methodology allows you to test your concept with an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) before investing massively.
• No liabilities to manage: You don't inherit debts, disputes or organisational problems from previous management.
• Innovation without constraints: No resistance to change, no established habits to disrupt, you can innovate freely.

These advantages explain why creation remains the preferred option for entrepreneurs who value autonomy and innovation above all.

The challenges and risks of starting a business

Despite its attractions, business creation involves significant risks that should not be underestimated:

• High failure rate: In Switzerland, approximately 20% of new businesses cease their activity within the first three years, and nearly 50% don't pass the five-year mark.
• Long profitability timeline: It generally takes between 3 and 5 years to achieve stable profitability, a period during which the entrepreneur often has to forgo a salary.
• Building clientele from scratch: Acquiring your first clients represents a major challenge, particularly in competitive markets.
• Uncertainty about model viability: Even a brilliant idea can face an absence of market or inadequate timing.
• Financing difficulties: Without financial history, obtaining bank credit or convincing investors proves complex.
• Intense workload: The first years require considerable personal investment, often at the expense of work-life balance.

These obstacles explain why more and more experienced entrepreneurs are turning to acquisition as a more secure alternative.

Buying an existing business: capitalising on what's established

Business acquisition consists of acquiring an already operational structure with its history, clients, teams and established processes. This option remains paradoxically little known in Switzerland, even though it offers considerable advantages.

With more than 100,000 Swiss SMEs whose directors are approaching retirement age, SME acquisition opportunities are numerous and diverse, covering all sectors of activity.

This entrepreneurial path particularly appeals to experienced business management profiles, executives in career transition and entrepreneurs who favour immediate profitability over the risk of creation.

The advantages of business acquisition

Buying an existing business presents major strategic benefits that considerably reduce entrepreneurial risks:

• Immediate turnover and clientele: From day one, you generate revenue with an established and loyal client portfolio.
• Team and expertise in place: Employees master the processes, know the clients and ensure operational continuity.
• Solid financial history: Recent years' balance sheets greatly facilitate obtaining bank financing for the acquisition.
• Established networks and partnerships: Suppliers, distributors and strategic partners are already in place, saving you lengthy negotiation phases.
• Immediate or rapid profitability: If the business is profitable, you receive a salary from the acquisition and can quickly amortise your investment.
• Reduced entrepreneurial risk: The economic model has proven itself, the market exists, drastically reducing uncertainty.
• Optimisation potential: Often, businesses available for acquisition have significant improvement margins that you can exploit.

To deepen your reflection on this journey, consult our complete guide on how to buy a business in Switzerland and avoid pitfalls.

The challenges and precautions during an acquisition

Despite its numerous advantages, business acquisition also involves specific challenges that should be anticipated:

• Higher initial investment: Acquiring a profitable business generally requires significant capital, even if financing solutions exist.
• Essential due diligence: Rigorous analysis (legal, financial, commercial, social) is essential to identify hidden risks before acquisition.
• Adapting to what exists: You must work with a company culture, processes and sometimes resistance to change.
• Transition management: The handover period with the seller and communication with teams, clients and partners require structured support.
• Risks of hidden liabilities: Legal disputes, undeclared debts, compliance problems can emerge if the preliminary analysis hasn't been sufficiently thorough.
• Dependence on the seller: In certain cases, the departure of the director can weaken the business if their presence was central to commercial relationships.

To avoid these pitfalls, it's crucial to prepare well. Discover the 7 most common mistakes when selling an SME to anticipate potential traps.

Comparative table: creation vs acquisition

To facilitate your decision, here's a synthetic comparison of the two options according to the most determining criteria:

Criterion	Business creation	Business acquisition
Initial investment	★☆☆ Low to medium	★★★ High
Time to profitability	★☆☆ 3-5 years	★★★ Immediate
Risk level	★★★ High	★☆☆ Low to medium
Access to bank financing	★☆☆ Difficult	★★★ Easy
Immediate turnover	★☆☆ None	★★★ Existing
Entrepreneurial freedom	★★★ Complete	★★☆ Limited
Administrative complexity	★★☆ Medium	★★★ High
Implementation time	★★☆ Fast (start-up)	★★☆ Medium (due diligence)
Experience required	★☆☆ Low	★★★ High
Clientele and team	★☆☆ To be built	★★★ In place

This table highlights that the two options respond to different profiles and objectives. There's no universally better choice, but a choice adapted to your personal situation.

Concrete examples of success in Switzerland

To concretely illustrate the two entrepreneurial journeys, let's examine typical cases of success observed in the Swiss economic landscape.

These examples, although anonymised, reflect real situations and allow better understanding of the dynamics specific to each option.

Successful creation case

Profile: Sarah, 29 years old, web developer passionate about ecological solutions.

Context: After 5 years as an employee in a digital agency, Sarah identifies an unmet need: a platform enabling Swiss SMEs to measure and reduce their digital carbon footprint. With 30,000 CHF of personal savings, she decides to start her business.

Journey: She develops an MVP in 6 months whilst maintaining freelance activity to ensure her income. The first 18 months are difficult: intensive prospecting, constant product adjustments, irregular income. She systematically reinvests her first profits into development.

Results: After 3 years, her business has 45 SME clients, generates 280,000 CHF annual turnover and employs 2 staff members. She finally achieves a decent salary and stable profitability.

Keys to success: Innovation in a niche market, lean approach, ability to maintain parallel income during the development phase, perseverance.

Successful acquisition case

Profile: Marc, 42 years old, experienced executive in industry with 15 years' management experience.

Context: Tired of employment and wanting to be his own boss, Marc searches for an SME acquisition opportunity in his sector. He has 150,000 CHF of personal capital and identifies a precision mechanics company (12 employees, 1.8 million CHF turnover) whose director wishes to retire.

Journey: After 6 months of negotiation and thorough due diligence, he acquires the business for 900,000 CHF (80% bank-financed thanks to solid history). A 6-month transition period with the seller ensures continuity. Marc quickly identifies improvement areas: process digitalisation, client diversification.

Results: From the first month, Marc receives a comfortable salary. After 2 years, he has increased turnover by 25%, improved operating margin and repaid 30% of the loan. The business now employs 15 people.

Keys to success: Solid sector experience, available capital, rigorous due diligence, structured transition period, ability to optimise what exists.

Which option to choose according to your profile?

The choice between starting a business or buying a business fundamentally depends on your personal situation, resources and entrepreneurial objectives.

Here's a decision guide to orient you according to your profile and priorities.

You should favour creation if...

• You have an innovative or unique idea that doesn't yet exist in the market and represents a genuine disruption.
• You have time to progressively develop your activity and can accept 3-5 years before achieving stable profitability.
• Your starting capital is limited (less than 50,000 CHF) and you don't wish to incur significant debt.
• You favour complete freedom in your strategic choices, positioning and company culture.
• You're prepared to accept high risk in exchange for exponential growth potential in the long term.
• You're targeting a new or disruptive market where there aren't yet established businesses to acquire.
• You have an alternative income source (employment, freelance, savings) to cover your needs during the start-up phase.
• You're young and have time ahead of you to bounce back in case of failure.

Creation particularly suits innovative, passionate, patient and resilient profiles, ready to invest enormous time and energy to build their vision.

You should favour acquisition if...

• You're seeking rapid profitability and wish to receive a salary from the first months.
• You have substantial investment capital (100,000 CHF and more) or can obtain bank financing.
• You have business management experience and master operational, financial and managerial aspects.
• You wish to minimise risks by capitalising on a proven economic model and existing clientele.
• You want immediate turnover rather than spending years building your client portfolio.
• You're capable of managing change and uniting existing teams around a new vision.
• You're seeking a specific sector opportunity where established businesses are available for acquisition.
• You favour financial security and cannot afford several years without stable income.

Acquisition suits experienced, pragmatic profiles with managerial capabilities, who favour security and rapid profitability.

Discover now the acquisition opportunities available on Leez and find the business that matches your ambitions.

The financial aspects to consider

Beyond strategic and personal considerations, the financial dimension plays a determining role in the choice between creation and acquisition. Let's analyse the economic issues of each option.

Initial investment:

• Creation: Variable according to sector, from 10,000 CHF (services, digital) to 200,000 CHF (retail, industry). Possibility to start with minimal capital and invest progressively.
• Acquisition: Generally between 100,000 CHF and several million depending on business size. Price based on valuation (often 3-5x EBITDA for an SME).

Bank financing:

• Creation: Difficult to obtain without personal guarantees or history. Banks rarely finance more than 30-40% of the project. Alternative: love money, crowdfunding, business angels.
• Acquisition: Facilitated by the target company's financial history. Banks can finance up to 70-80% of the acquisition price if the balance sheets are solid.

Valuation and purchase price:

For an acquisition, the business valuation is crucial. It determines the price you'll pay and therefore your return on investment. To correctly estimate a business's value, consult our business valuation service.

Hidden costs:

• Creation: Frequent underestimation of marketing costs, time needed to acquire clients, fixed charges during the start-up phase.
• Acquisition: Due diligence fees (legal, accounting), potential compliance costs, necessary modernisation investments.

Return on investment:

• Creation: Potentially very high if the business succeeds (exponential growth possible), but risk of total capital loss.
• Acquisition: More predictable ROI and generally faster (3-7 years to amortise the investment), but sometimes limited growth potential.

Necessary cash flow:

• Creation: Plan for 12-18 months of fixed charges + initial investments, as revenue takes time to stabilise.
• Acquisition: Limited cash flow need if the business is profitable (it self-finances), but plan for a reserve for unforeseen events and transition.

And why not both? The hybrid approach

There exists a third path often overlooked but particularly interesting: buying an existing business to transform or pivot it.

This hybrid approach combines the advantages of both options: the security of an existing operational base (clientele, team, revenue) with the freedom to innovate and reorient the activity.

How it works:

You acquire an established business in a sector related to your vision, then progressively transform it. For example: buying a traditional communications agency to reposition it in digital marketing, or acquiring a retail business to develop an e-commerce strategy.

Advantages of this approach:

• Immediate cash flow to finance the transformation
• Team and infrastructure in place to accelerate development
• Existing client base to whom to propose the new offering
• Credibility and history facilitating partnerships
• Reduced risk compared to pure creation

Examples of successful transformations:

Many entrepreneurs have succeeded by buying traditional businesses to digitalise them, acquiring local SMEs to develop them internationally, or taking over declining activities to reposition them in growing markets.

Precautions to take:

This approach requires a clear vision of the desired transformation, change management skills and the ability to simultaneously manage the existing activity and development of the new direction. You must also anticipate potential team resistance to changes.

Conclusion: a strategic decision not to be taken lightly

The choice between starting your business or buying an existing business isn't a question of one option's superiority over the other, but of alignment with your profile, resources and entrepreneurial objectives.

Creation offers complete freedom and innovation potential, but involves high risks, intense personal investment and several years before profitability. It suits innovative, patient and resilient profiles with time and capacity to absorb uncertainty.

Business acquisition guarantees immediate income, established clientele and reduced risks, but requires greater capital, solid managerial skills and adaptability. It appeals to pragmatic entrepreneurs seeking rapid profitability and security.

The hybrid approach, consisting of buying to transform, represents a promising third path combining security and innovation.

Whatever your orientation, an honest self-assessment of your strengths, weaknesses, resources and aspirations is essential. It's also strongly recommended to be supported by experts specialised in business transmission and acquisition. Discover our network of expert partners who can guide you in your project.

Let's remember that SME acquisition remains an option still too little known in Switzerland despite its numerous advantages and the thousands of opportunities available each year. With the ageing of Swiss SME directors, it's the ideal time to explore this secure and profitable entrepreneurial path.