I come seeking advice

If you use the tools that are available. AARP has some great mentor programs and other things available. Use the current owner for his knowledge and his experience. Get a good tax guy and take his advice, etc... If you do that, it would be hard to FAIL at that business. You'll stumble, you'll hit bumps in the road, but epic fail? Not likely. As long as you keep an open mind and use the tools available, you should be OK.

The most important thing I can tell you is this. Your customer can buy what you're selling down the road (or on his web browser on his cell phone, these days). What are you doing differently that he can't get anywhere else? Usually the answer is: excellent service. It's free for me to provide and it always reaps benefits.

Marshall