Far as I can tell, someone wrote:
>There are many positives:
> 1. great potential because of mismanagement.

Or maybe a load of problems that will take forever to fix.

> 2. equipment and space can support multiple bakers and a 4-5 fold
>increase in sales.

Getting customers to come buy is harder than simply increasing
production. Can you afford to advertise? Look deeply into costs for
that. I find it very expensive.

> 4. on the route to and from downtown.

EZ on and off the road? People pass my shop at high speed on the way to
work.

> 5. there's been a bakery on this site for 60 years.

That's a very major plus!

> 6. I understand business (former finance professor, current
>consultant)

Also a major plus. But until you do front line work every day until
you're bored sick of it, you are only fantasizing.

> 7. I can get more excited about baking than I can about software.

It won't be exciting after about six months. After that, it'll be a
grind, I promise.

>But also a few negatives:
> 1. there's a big difference between baking a couple of loaves of 3
>different kinds of bread on a Saturday, and 50 loaves of 10 varieties
>every single day - PLUS dozens of donuts and the like.

You betcha. BIG difference.

> 2. what's a low carb bread???

A current fad. Probably worth ignoring very soon.

> 3. is the current popularity of low carb diets a fad or a trend?

See above.

> 4. increasing the commercial side is critical and I really don't care
>for the sales process.

That might kill your business. Unless you can afford to hire a
salesperson. I hate it too, and I did it for years.

Do you fully understand the hiring/firing process? Do you have the
cojones to fire an employee? Will the present owner spend a month with
you going over every part of the business?

All that being said, if you really love baking, you're well off. Any
self owned business will become humdrum if you don't love it.

I do most of my own baking, product ordering, inventory control, and
lots more. My wife does the books, (with the help of a CPA) a lot of
the baking, payroll, and much more. We both work the counter, make
deliveries, and put in 70+ hours a week. Every single week. Often more.
We will have been open a year on mid-March. We have not made a penny
profit yet. That is expected as a start up. We knew what we were
facing. Peopel LOVE us, but sometimes they don't return for weeks.

It can be both exhilerating and discouraging at the same time.

Yesterday, sales were very poor. Today they were terrific, but there is
NO explaining why.

I strongly strongly strongly advise you to go to a local office of the
Small Business Developement Center http://www.sba.gov/sbdc/. Get all
the help you can from them.

Needless to say, there are a million factors to look at-- How long you
can go without a salary, condition of the equipment, your lease,
employees, suppliers, actual value of the business, etc.

SBDC will help you, at virtually no cost, much more than you can
imagine.