An Unconventional Path for Entrepreneurs: Startup isn’t for Everyone [New York Times]

But the Higginses are part of a growing trend: people with an entrepreneurial bent who are not inclined to start their own businesses. Rather, these people look to buy small to midsize companies — often family-owned firms that are being sold by the founder — and help them prosper.

Interest in this area is growing, experts say, for a number of reasons. First, baby boomers who started their own businesses — and who do not have children or successors — are ready to sell and retire. Additionally, money is easier to borrow than it has been in the last several years.

While it is not as risky as a start-up, it is not as safe as going the corporate path.

The option appeals to people who “want to be their own boss, help build an organization and be part of a community,” Professor Yudkoff said. And unlike working in a corporation, he says, it draws those who want to deal on a daily basis with people who are quite different from themselves.

Curated from “A Path for Entrepreneurs, When a Start-Up Is Not the Goal“