The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.-John W. Gardner
As a plumbing business owner, your focus on achieving excellence in the profession has yielded great success. You love what you do and your passion and hard work has paid off.
Your business has managed to survive and prosper in the toughest economic climates and has earned the respect of your customers, peers and employees. Your plumbing company is considered a true asset to the community with a reputation for reliability and honesty.
All of this, however, has come at a price. You’ve had to sacrifice time you might rather have spent with family or pursuing a hobby or other interest. You may have postponed taking better care of your health and fitness. You may be at a point, right now where you want to retire from the business and start the next half of your life.
If you are like the majority of plumbing company owners, you simply haven’t had time to sit down and plan for the inevitable day when you will exit your business. In fact, the vast majority of owners of small and medium-sized businesses (nearly 80 %!) admit that they have no succession plan in place.
This fact points to a common assumption many business owners make.
“My business is so profitable and amazing that it will be easy for me to find buyers and sell it quickly.”
Unfortunately this is far removed from reality. Even in the best of times, for the very best businesses, the success rate for selling in the United States is less than 3%.
That’s why, if you plan on exiting your business, you should start putting together a plan at least two years before you intend to leave.
Document your financials to assist in valuation…
Putting together a thorough, comprehensive exit plan entails paying attention to some critical areas of your business in order to attract the highest caliber of potential buyers.
For example, you must have fully-documented financials available that cover a minimum of five years, including the present year.
