5 Tips to Selling Your HVAC Business.

There comes a time in every HVAC owner’s life when they need to move on. According to the Exit Planning Institute only 30-40% of businesses that are listed for sale actually sell. Here are 5 things you can do to improve your chances of a sale.  

  1. Profitability: Make sure that your store is profitable.  While having a profitable HVAC company doesn’t guarantee that you will be able to exit the business when you want, without healthy profits, your business has a much lower chance of selling.  There are 7 key areas that you need to focus on when improving profitability and you can email me to receive a copy of that report.  Healthy, profitable HVAC businesses are valuable and the right buyers will pay good money for them no matter where they are located.
  2. Ensure the Business Doesn’t Revolve around You:  A vibrant business that comes with a team is much easier to sell than a HVAC business where you as the owner are making all the decisions and managing all the sales and doing all the work. Building your team and empowering them to be able to work when you are not around, creates a business that isn’t totally reliant on you and is therefore more valuable.
  3. Start planning early:  Unfortunately, most people don’t think about selling their business until a catastrophic event happens. They have a health issue, someone close to them dies, a key staff member leaves, or a pandemic hit.  In reality, exiting your business should be something that you have spent some time thinking about.
  4.  Be creative with your options: This means that you may need to be thinking about potential buyers’ years before you actually sell, grooming those buyers and making it easier for them to acquire you.  Staff, competition, friends and family are all potential buyers. Additionally consider that in many business sale transactions you will have to finance some of the sale of the business yourself as well. What are you willing to finance and at what rates?
  5. Get some Help: When you are thinking of selling your business it is important to talk to your accountant to ensure that you have solid financial advice in order to limit your taxes. Additionally, you will need advice from your lawyer as you proceed with the sale or closure of your business and if you are planning to sell your business, a professional business broker who specializes in selling businesses is probably worth seeking out.

While your friends and neighbours might be working for corporations or governments that provide them with pensions, as a small business owner, much of your retirement is tied up in your HVAC business. Preparation is the key to you being able to retire successfully.

Dave Fuller, MBA, is a member of the International Business Brokers Association and an associate member of the HRAI. The author of the book “Profit Yourself Healthy” and an Award-Winning Business Coach.  Questions about the value of your store? Email dave@pivotleader.com

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