After three years managing a cozy waffle and coffee shop tucked inside a downtown food hall, one worker received a surprising offer from their boss: buy the entire business for $65,000.
The boss, who now only visits once every few months, said the shop no longer fits into their plans. They want to free up cash for another business they’re scaling and believe the employee is the best person to take it over.
“Average month is around $30-35k. Busy months can get close to $40k,” the employee wrote on Reddit recently. “[The owner] claims the business nets about $3k–$4k in profit per month.”
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On the surface, paying around twice the annual profit might seem like a bargain, especially when the person already runs day-to-day operations. But Redditors raised one big red flag: “If it’s truly so low-maintenance, why would they sell?”
Many in the thread urged caution.
“Every single person I know who’s bought a business off their boss has gotten screwed by some massive iceberg floating towards the business that the boss never told the employee about,” one person warned.
Others said the lease was the most important factor to examine. The shop operates on a percentage-of-sales rent model inside a food hall. If the lease ends soon or jumps in cost, the math could change fast. “This all goes up in smoke if the lease ends in 18 months and market rent is 40% higher,” one commenter said.
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Another major concern: the seller admitted to running personal expenses through the business, which could muddy the financial picture. “You’ll want to get the last two or three years of actual tax returns,” one commenter advised. “Do not accept Excel spreadsheets,” another added.
The shop doesn’t come with equipment ownership since the food hall rents it out. And there’s no clear franchise or brand value either, though the current owner did pay for a Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) resale license.
Still, some argued the deal could make sense as a lifestyle business, not a get-rich plan. “Doing what you’re already doing with a little more responsibility and a $3,000 a month pay bump… seems like a win to me,” another person added.
