# Advice on selling my company



## Frodus (Oct 25, 2012)

Hi everyone !! just joined,and i just found this site.But i need some advice,I have a P&P company and Ive been in business 6yrs and work with only 2 nationals.At one point of time or the other Ive worked for just about everyone but over the last 2 yrs Ive narrowed it down to just to nationals.I cover the entire state i do business in,i have 11 contractors that live in the areas they cover,and they all have been with me the the whole time.

I do about 1mil a yr now steadily over the last 3 yrs.Ive got a office staff of 3,and a great relationship with the company's i work for.I'm their number 1 in the state for their work and they confirm it quite often.

So my question is.. Ive received a offer to buy me out,and as you know this biz is going to hell quite fast as seen buy the many post on these boards.

So how do i transfer over to the new owners my accounts and is this something that takes place often or is it rare.The new owners are green so Ive offered a 60 day training,the office staff is aware but the contractors are not.I don't think the contractors really care mostly do the the fact that i split a 60% for them and a 40% for the company which the nationals take 20% of the 40% i make.Some of the guys do quite well,but they are responsible for everything,locks,tools,trucks,i only help out with supply's on major jobs.

That being said I'm just burnt,and this cost estimators are getting to be a real pain in the ass.If i sale i will be completely out of debt with an nice chunk of change left.

My thoughts are I'm telling the company's that I'm still working for the new owners which i will probably be longer than the 60 days mostly do the fact i want them to succeed,and ill have nothing to do for a while anyway.

Nothing will change but the name and the owners..so thanks in advance and any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Forgive the spelling and grammer is be a "long-day"


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## hammerhead (Apr 26, 2012)

a good lawyer will sort it out for you


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## Wannabe (Oct 1, 2012)

Good luck. Your Service Company may or may not approve the new owner. Remember you really dont have anything to sell but your equipment since all the rest is not in your control... ie..BLUE SKY. 

Hope you have a sucker who is dumb, has CASH and doesnt get any advice AND you dont provide any escape clauses.


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## Frodus (Oct 25, 2012)

hammerhead said:


> a good lawyer will sort it out for you


The sale is going threw a Business broker with a lawyer on staff,i had a offer to sale from a guy in Atlanta who had brought a P&P business before and took over the accounts and folded them into his business.but i didnt sale at the time because of the price,I will find out here within the next few weeks if their is a protocol with the nationals for this type of sale.

The buyers want easy access to the companys im with,nothing will change but the name and tax ID number.


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## Wannabe (Oct 1, 2012)

Frodus,

I will input this.... I was doing a few X more in volume then your company and when our potential buyer attempted to purchase our 14 year old business not 1 (ZERO) of the nationals would "guarantee" the same workload to the new buyer or allow an assumption of our contract. Why would they?

The new buyer may or may not have the same competency as you OR when you go out of business then who assumes the liabilities?

As we figured out real quick was: if you want to sell then sell on contract and add them as a partner on your LLC or Corp filing...BUT.....YOU are on the hook for liability for how the new "buyer" performs or not performs. Wasn't worth the risk in our book so we shut down and helped our subs start their own companies.

As I stated before...Good luck.


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## foothillsco (Nov 8, 2012)

Frodus said:


> Hi everyone !! just joined,and i just found this site.But i need some advice,I have a P&P company and Ive been in business 6yrs and work with only 2 nationals.At one point of time or the other Ive worked for just about everyone but over the last 2 yrs Ive narrowed it down to just to nationals.I cover the entire state i do business in,i have 11 contractors that live in the areas they cover,and they all have been with me the the whole time.
> 
> I do about 1mil a yr now steadily over the last 3 yrs.Ive got a office staff of 3,and a great relationship with the company's i work for.I'm their number 1 in the state for their work and they confirm it quite often.
> 
> ...


Please keep us updated on this. I am considering the same.

I think you need to sell 99% of the company and keep your name on whatever is needed for the contracts. You just need to appoint new points of contact.

For the person who said all your selling is equipment, lol, thats what most business sell for. Your not buying computers and lawnmowers, your buying their client list. You think when a restaurant is sold they count all the chairs, tables and silverware? When people buy a business, they understand there is risk in everything, same with the people selling it.


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## GTX63 (Apr 12, 2012)

A business' worth is evaluated thru it's revenue, P&L and it's assets. A client list is worthless without a contract. If I'm spending six or seven figures on a company, I'm not sharing ownership or titles in order to prop up a cash flow. Yes, prior to closing on a cafe, I had full disclosure docs as well as a physical inventory of all fixtures and equipment, including furnishings, and perishables.
Said all that to say this- if your mowing grass for separate, private individuals, your a business; if your mowing grass for safeguard, your a guy with a mower.


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## Wannabe (Oct 1, 2012)

foothillsco said:


> Please keep us updated on this. I am considering the same.
> 
> I think you need to sell 99% of the company and keep your name on whatever is needed for the contracts. You just need to appoint new points of contact.
> 
> For the person who said all your selling is equipment, lol, thats what most business sell for. Your not buying computers and lawnmowers, your buying their client list. You think when a restaurant is sold they count all the chairs, tables and silverware? When people buy a business, they understand there is risk in everything, same with the people selling it.


Foothills,

GTX said it perfect! You do not have a client list....YOUR Service Company has a client list. All a P&P contractor has is a list of companies that may or may not do business with you. 

Listen I've been through this and faced all kinds of battles to sell a P&P Company that was doing 7mm at its "high time". There is no lawyer going to approve their client purchasing a business with maybe 1,2,3,4 clients PERIOD. 

Now I will say that you can sell it on contract BUT as stated previously YOU are ultimately responsible since YOUR name is on the Contracts, YOUR name is on the tax id #.... NO Service Company that I know of has ever transferred a contract to a new purchaser....REASON: Insurance and Liability 

OR 

Find a SUCKER with MONEY :whistling2:


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## Frodus (Oct 25, 2012)

Wannabe said:


> Frodus,
> 
> I will input this.... I was doing a few X more in volume then your company and when our potential buyer attempted to purchase our 14 year old business not 1 (ZERO) of the nationals would "guarantee" the same workload to the new buyer or allow an assumption of our contract. Why would they?
> 
> ...


I will keep you up to date,so far i refused i first offer,sent a counter offer over waiting on a reply no.

Lawyer and broker says its a go and legal,and yes their is no contract to sale and no guarantee of the work being transfered over.But these company's will send the work,maybe i wasn't clear in my first post,I'm going to still run the company and bleed the new owner in over time,the new owner have deep pockets and are going to move into other states which the company's have been asking me to do for sometime.

They send the work to my company not me.Both company's run side by side until they are paid up in full and they i still except liability for what Ive done not the new company,they get a new tax ID and new vendor number and new EO.As far as the they are concerned they are investors growing new business.

If you go over to www.linkedin.com you can see their is P&P company's for sale their too.Its in these companys to keep the work flowing to us,reguardless who the new owners are.


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## Wannabe (Oct 1, 2012)

Like I said "find a stupid buyer with cash" 

I know a guy that has now sold 6 P&P businesses on craigslist and Linkedin and other media. $100,000 each with a $15,000 downpay on contract. Funny that he resells over and over...Another scam.


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