NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Tired of bosses, corporate culture and bureaucratic runarounds? Why not run your own business?

But instead of starting from scratch, you may want to buy somebody else's business. That way you tap a ready-made list of customers, suppliers and products that you can grow into your own empire.

Here are today's 5 tips on buying a business.

If you're new to the business of buying businesses, you'll be tempted to trust a business broker. Using a broker has its benefits. They know what businesses are for sale in a given area and can help match you with a business that fits your interest and experience.

But before you decide a broker is your new best friend, understand that brokers generally work for sellers. When a business is sold, they get a commission, so they have a vested interest in getting a deal done.

According to Russell Brown, author of "Strategies for Successfully Buying or Selling a Business," while brokers are serving the interest of their sellers, they serve another important purpose for buyers: They're great intermediaries.

CNNfn's Gerri Willis shares five tips on buying a business. Play video (Real or Windows Media)

If you think about it, sellers are looking to get the best possible price for their business while buyers are looking to pay the least possible amount for a business. They're natural adversaries. Without someone to help facilitate compromise, few deals would ever get done.

To find a broker near you, contact The International Business Brokers Association, which screens brokers. Their Web site is www.ibba.org.

Before you buy any business, you'll want to do some serious research.

It's important to research the area you'll be buying in. For example, if you're buying a retail outfit, you'll want to know if similar stores in town are doing a brisk business.

Scope out nearby businesses. Are they getting a lot of traffic? Is there ample parking in/near your location? Have there been layoffs at nearby companies that would affect the economy the town or city?

Is there a big box store coming to town? Inquire at town hall about any recent permits that have been granted.

Remember, you can't trust everything a broker or seller tells you. Chances are you'll have to get your hands dirty to get the information you need.

Another important tip, says Brown, is to ignore all claims about "unreported income." A seller may try to tell you that they had a significant amount of income that didn't show up on their IRS tax returns. Their goal? They'll want you to consider this pie in the sky income in your valuation of their business.

Brown says, "If the business owner will lie to Uncle Sam, wouldn't they also lie to you?"

Naturally, you'll want a lawyer and an accountant with commercial business experience to look over all the terms of your deal. For more information on doing due diligence, visit www.businessbookpress.com and click on "business articles."

If you're looking to buy a business, the easiest way for you to go about it is through seller financing.

You may feel uneasy about this kind of scenario, but according to Brown, most business sales are seller financed since few banks will loan money to buy a small business because banks tend to lend money for hard assets like real estate and inventory. Sellers offering financing can generally charge a slightly higher interest rate than banks do, since it's a riskier loan.

Here's how it works. Say you're selling your widget shop for $100,000. A buyer has agreed to pay you $30,000 up front and give you a note for the balance. The note is generally backed by some kind of collateral, which is often the business itself.

If you (the buyer) fail to pay, the seller can take back the business and exercise any other rights spelled out in the default clause of the note.

There are all sorts of complicated equations that can be used to determine out the value of a business involving cash flow multiples and other figures.

But here's an easy way to think about valuation: A business is worth only as much as its ability to produce profits for you. So Brown advises working backwards to find a business's value, starting with verifiable profits.

For example, let's say that a sole-proprietorship has a total of $100,000 in profits (proven by IRS tax returns for the latest full year). If you plan to work full time in the business and figure a fair wage for the work is $40,000, that leaves $60,000 profit to work with.

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But don't forget to deduct the income taxes that you'll have to pay on that, so figure at least 30 percent. That leaves you about $42,000.

To determine the valuation using this number, figure that most sellers/lenders will want to see a relatively short payoff term, typically three to five years (let's say five years) and a fair interest rate on the money of about 8 percent (but for round numbers' sake, let's say 10 percent).

If you do the math, you'll find that yearly payments of $42,000 for 5 years at 10 percent interest works out to be about $165,000. This is the approximate total value of the business and a good starting point for negotiations with the seller.

Buying a franchise is another way to get into business. The benefits are easy to see. You're buying a business with a proven product, a recognized brand name, an existing operating system and marketing/advertising assistance.

According to Don DeBolt, president of the International Franchise Association, before you jump in, there are a few things you'll want to find out.

When you contact a franchiser (like Burger King), you'll typically get a list of current and former franchisees. The reason? So you can ask questions.

DeBolt says potential franchisees should contact these experienced entrepreneurs and find about their experiences -- how satisfied they are, whether they would do it again, and whether the franchise company was helpful.

If you decide to proceed, you'll need to sign a franchise agreement that details royalty rates (which is a percentage of sales), the franchise fee and the number of years you'll be licensing the franchise (10 years is typical).

If you go this route you'll also need to decide whether you're going to buy an existing franchise or whether you're going to start from scratch. DeBolt says an existing franchise may be more expensive but it has its benefits. For instance, you'll know what the revenues are, you'll have an idea how profitable the business is and you'll have employees.

Gerri Willis is a personal finance editor for CNN Business News. Willis also hosts CNNfn's Open House, weekdays from Noon to 12:30 p.m. (ET). E-mail comments to 5tips@cnn.com.