When could you own one? Pick a date, not a someday.
Dreams drift. Dates arrive. Tell this page what you have saved and what you can put away each month, and it hands you the honest month and year you could start shopping for a business of your own, plus the plan for every month in between. People with a date behave differently. That is the whole trick.
Three inputs. One month on a calendar.
The target, stated so you can argue with it: buyers typically bring roughly 10% of the total project cost, the project runs about 10% larger than the price itself, and we add a 20% cushion so you do not arrive at closing broke. Seller notes on standby, gifted funds, or a partner can all shrink your side under documented sourcing rules, which moves the date closer. A planning estimate, not an approval, an offer, or advice on a specific deal.
is when you could realistically start shopping
A separate account you never spend from, fed by an automatic transfer on payday. The date on this page only works if the transfer does not depend on willpower.
Ten minutes with the free deal-read checklist (PDF) against one real listing. By your date, you will have read dozens and the listings will have stopped being intimidating.
Lenders read your whole picture, not one score. What actually matters in your file takes ten minutes to read and six months to act on, which is why this step sits here.
A free call to pressure-test the plan: the size you are aiming at, your cash, your market. Adjust while adjusting is cheap.
Saved searches on, checklist in hand, and the discipline to walk away from nine so you can pounce on the tenth. This is the week the transfer was for.
A date is a compass, not a contract
Life will move the date, in both directions. A lean year pushes it out. A seller willing to hold a note on standby, which is more common than most people think, can pull it in by a year or more. Gifted funds with the right paperwork count. A partner's equity counts. The math on this page deliberately assumes none of that help arrives, so your date is the honest worst case, and surprises can only make it better.
One thing the date does not change: businesses get bought by people who were ready when the right one appeared. The monthly listing habit in the plan above matters as much as the monthly transfer. Cash gets you to the table. A trained eye keeps you from buying the wrong seat at it. Start with what your savings reach today so the aim you picked above is grounded, not guessed.
Where do these cash targets come from?
Can the date move closer than the math says?
What happens if I miss a month or save less sometimes?
Want the plan pressure-tested by a person?
Thirty minutes, free, in plain English. Bring your date, your monthly number, and the kind of business you are aiming at. You leave with the plan tightened and the first move scheduled.
Book the Free CallSee what today's savings already reach: What Could You Own.
Rather read first? The guide book walks the whole path for regular people.
More free tools: the full first-look toolbox.
No retainer required to talk. hello@clariqadvisory.com