Immigration: questions, answers and evidence

If you already run an established small business, you're in a stronger position than someone starting from scratch: you have experience, operating knowledge and a track record to build on. The challenge is deciding whether buying or operating another business in a new location will improve your financial position and your quality of life as a couple.

My recommendation is to treat this as a business investment decision and a relocation decision separately at first. Don't commit to moving until you've established what kind of business you want, what you can afford, and whether the places you're considering offer a realistic path to making a living.

Here's how I'd approach it in New Zealand, even without a chosen industry or location.

1. Agree on what a successful move looks like

Before browsing businesses for sale, sit down with your partner and agree on the outcome you're trying to achieve.

• Financial: What combined annual income do you need after business expenses and tax?
• Lifestyle: Do you want more free time, a rural lifestyle, a coastal location, or a bigger market?
• Workload: Are you happy working long hours, weekends or alongside employees? Would you prefer a business that can eventually run without you?
• Risk: How much of your savings are you willing to invest or potentially lose?
• Relationship: Will you both work in the business, or will one of you have a separate job? What happens if one partner wants out?
• Timeframe: Are you looking to move within six months, a year, or only when the right opportunity appears?

A particularly important question is whether you're trying to buy yourself a job, acquire an investment, or build a business that can grow beyond your own labour. These are different objectives, and they lead to very different purchase decisions.

2. Work out your real budget before looking at businesses

This is the most important financial exercise. A business can look profitable on paper and still leave you short of cash personally.

Build a budget covering four separate amounts:

• Purchase or startup capital: Deposit, legal fees, accounting fees, stock, equipment and any initial repairs or upgrades.
• Working capital: Cash to pay wages, rent, suppliers, tax and other costs while the business operates.
• Household reserve: Living costs, moving costs and unexpected expenses if the business takes longer than expected to provide an income.
• Exit reserve: Money you deliberately keep untouched in case you need to sell, close, change direction or return to your previous location.

Don't treat all your available savings as money you can invest. You need to be able to survive a disappointing first year without being forced into a bad decision.

Calculate what the business must earn

Use this simple starting point:

Annual household requirement	Example
Combined take-home income target	$120,000
Personal and household expenses not covered above	$10,000
Required after-tax household cash	$130,000

These are illustrative figures, not a suggested income for you. Your actual target should come from your household budget.

Then ask your accountant to calculate how much the business must earn to provide that cash, after operating costs, finance repayments, tax and any reinvestment. Remember that accounting profit, cash flow, debt principal repayments and money you can safely withdraw are different things.

Stress-test your numbers against:

• Revenue 15–20% below forecast.
• Higher wages, rent, interest or supplier costs.
• A few months of reduced trading.
• One partner being unable to work in the business for a period.

If the deal only works under optimistic assumptions, it probably isn't the right deal.

3. Decide what you want to buy — and what you want to avoid

You don't need to pick an industry immediately. Start by defining the type of business that fits your skills, finances and preferred lifestyle.

Established service business

Often worth investigating if you have management, sales, trade or operational experience. Look for repeat customers, reliable staff, predictable demand and low dependence on the owner.

Retail, hospitality or a customer-facing business

Can offer a tangible local presence, but examine rent, staffing, opening hours, stock wastage, seasonality and how much owner labour is required.

Trade, distribution or light industrial business

May suit someone experienced in logistics, procurement or technical operations. Check equipment condition, customer concentration, inventory and working-capital requirements.

Professional or home-based business

Could offer more location flexibility and lower premises costs. Check whether revenue depends on the seller's personal reputation, licences or relationships.

These are categories to investigate, not recommendations to buy any particular type.

For each opportunity, ask:

• Can I understand the business well enough to assess its risks?
• Is there proven demand, rather than just an attractive sales pitch?
• Can it pay a market-rate wage for the work I do, as well as generate a return on my investment?
• Could it operate if I took two weeks off?
• Is the business viable without the current owner's contacts or specialist knowledge?
• Could it eventually operate without both of us working in it full-time?

New Zealand's official Business.govt.nz guide to buying a business is a useful starting point for comparing existing businesses with franchises and other options. Buying a business or franchiseStarting a business

4. Research locations without committing to one

Treat location as a variable to test against your business requirements, not simply somewhere you'd like to live.

Compare a shortlist of two or three possible areas using the same criteria.

What to investigate	What to find out
Local demand	Who buys the product or service, and how often?
Competition	How many competitors are there, and what makes this business different?
Operating costs	Rent, wages, utilities, insurance, freight and travel
Staffing	Availability of suitable workers and the cost of retaining them
Customer access	Population, transport, parking, foot traffic or online reach
Supply chain	Distance from suppliers, freight costs and delivery times
Lifestyle	Housing, healthcare, recreation, community and your partner's options
Resale potential	Is there likely to be a future pool of buyers?

A smaller regional market may offer a lower purchase price or less competition, but it may also have fewer customers, a smaller workforce and less depth when you eventually want to sell. A larger market may offer more customers but higher fixed costs.

Don't compare purchase prices alone. Compare the likely annual owner income after all costs and the amount of capital tied up.

You can start this research nationally using New Zealand's regional profiles for an initial sense of regional differences, then investigate local industry data and competing businesses once you have candidate areas. New Zealand RegionsLeasing or buying premises

5. Decide what happens to your existing business

This deserves its own decision. Your current business may be the asset that gives you the freedom to make the move — or it may become a major distraction if you haven't planned for it.

You have four main options:

• Keep it and manage it remotely. Test whether staff, systems and reporting can operate effectively without your daily involvement.
• Appoint a manager or operating partner. Model the salary or profit share and confirm that the business remains worthwhile after paying them.
• Sell it before moving. Establish a realistic valuation, likely sale proceeds after costs and tax, and how long the sale might take.
• Keep ownership temporarily while testing the new opportunity. This can reduce pressure to make a rushed purchase, although it may mean carrying two sets of costs.

Work out how dependent your existing business is on you personally. If you are the main salesperson, technical expert or person who solves every operational problem, a remote arrangement may be harder than it appears.

Also consider whether your current business can provide a financial safety net while you evaluate the new one. A staged transition may be much safer than selling a successful business and immediately investing the proceeds elsewhere. Stepping away or selling your businessHealthy business checklist

6. Prepare a proper business-buying due-diligence process

When a promising opportunity appears, resist the urge to fall in love with it before you've verified the numbers.

In New Zealand, have an accountant and lawyer experienced in business acquisitions review the opportunity before you commit unconditionally.

Your checklist should include:

• Financial records: At least three years of accounts where available, recent management accounts, GST returns, bank records, margins, debtors and creditors.
• Maintainable earnings: What the business genuinely earns after allowing for a fair wage for the work you'll perform and adjusting for unusual or personal expenses.
• Customers: Repeat revenue, customer concentration, contract security and whether customers are loyal to the business or its current owner.
• Staff: Employment agreements, wages, leave obligations, retention risks and dependence on key employees.
• Premises: Lease term, rent reviews, assignment or landlord-consent requirements, and any upcoming maintenance costs.
• Assets and liabilities: Equipment condition, stock valuation, secured lending, outstanding disputes and obligations that could transfer with the transaction.
• Compliance: Required licences, permits, health and safety obligations, and any industry-specific rules.
• Purchase structure: Whether you're acquiring shares or business assets, how GST is treated, what liabilities you assume and how the price is allocated.

Verify the seller's claims independently. A high turnover does not necessarily mean a healthy profit, and a profitable business may still have poor cash flow or require substantial capital expenditure. Business.govt.nz provides a detailed due-diligence guide. Buying a business or franchiseCash flow forecasting

One further point: don't sign a binding purchase agreement or commit to a long commercial lease just because the headline figures look attractive. Have your advisers identify the appropriate conditions, including satisfactory due diligence, finance and any necessary consents.

7. Protect your relationship as well as your investment

When couples go into business together, financial and personal decisions can become intertwined very quickly.

Agree in advance on:

• The ownership split and each person's responsibilities.
• Whether both of you will receive wages, and how profits will be distributed.
• Who makes operational decisions and what happens when you disagree.
• How much personal money each of you is contributing and whether it is equity or a loan.
• What happens if one of you wants to leave the business or the relationship.
• How much time off, annual leave and personal time you will protect.

Get legal advice about the appropriate ownership structure, shareholder agreement and any relationship-property implications. Do this before investing substantial joint funds, rather than waiting until a disagreement arises.

8. Build a staged decision plan

You don't need to solve everything before you start exploring. You do need to know what evidence would justify moving to the next stage.

Stage 1 — Set your criteria

Weeks 1–2

Agree on your income target, available capital, risk limit, lifestyle priorities and the plan for your existing business.

Stage 2 — Explore the market

Weeks 3–6

Investigate several industries and regions, speak with business brokers and industry operators, and shortlist opportunities that fit your criteria.

Stage 3 — Test the numbers

Weeks 6–10

Build conservative cash-flow models, assess financing options, estimate relocation and housing costs, and investigate the strongest opportunities.

Stage 4 — Make a conditional decision

After verification

Proceed only when the business checks out, financing is viable, your partner is comfortable with the move, and the relocation plan is practical.

These timeframes are a suggested working plan, not deadlines. A good acquisition may take months to find and verify.

Your initial action list

Move-readiness checklist

0 of 7

Write down our minimum household income requirement

Calculate available capital and protected cash reserves

Assess whether our current business can operate without us

Define the business types and workloads we would accept

Shortlist two or three possible regions

Book an initial meeting with an accountant and acquisition lawyer

Agree on our shared risk limits and exit plan

My biggest recommendation

Use your existing business experience as an advantage, but don't assume the next business needs to be in the same industry. Look for a business whose earnings, operational demands and location fit the life you and your partner actually want.

Before narrowing the search, I'd start with one question:

What is the main outcome you're hoping to achieve by moving — more income and growth, a better lifestyle, or a business you can eventually run with less day-to-day involvement?

That answer will help determine which industries, business sizes and locations are worth investigating first.