When Should You Exit Your HVAC Business? Part 1

When you exit depends on a number of factors, but mostly when both you and your business are ready.

Nov. 1, 2024

2 min read

So many contractors have become multi-millionaires after selling to private equity that the Wall Street Journal took note. According to an October 14 column, “The wave of investment is minting a new class of millionaires across the country.” How do you know when it’s time to take your exit?

For starters, when you exit depends on a number of factors, but mostly when both you and your business are ready. Start with the business. For the most part, private equity (PE) does not buy what the business has done in the past or even what it is doing today. It buys its expectations of future profit.

If you are not growing, even if it is related to structural industry issues like the shipment cliff, PE will forecast further declines going forward and drop their valuation.

Whatever trend your business is following will get projected forward by PE firms. If you are not growing, even if it is related to structural industry issues like the shipment cliff, PE will forecast further declines going forward and drop their valuation.

Fortunately, it also works in reverse. If you are growing and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) is on the rise, the valuation of your company will likewise grow. This means the best time to sell a business is after a series of good years with each being better than the one before it. When the company is on an upward trajectory is when your business is ready. This does not, however, mean that you are ready.

In the next Hotmail, I’ll address how to identify when you, personally are ready to sell.

For more information about preparing a business for sale, visit the Service Roundtable at www.ServiceRoundtable.com. For inspirational stories with business lessons for contractors, by Matt Michel’s book, Contractor Stories at Amazon.com.

About the Author

Matt Michel

Chief Executive Officer

Matt Michel was a co-founder and CEO of the Service Roundtable (ServiceRoundtable.com). The Service Roundtable is an organization founded to help contractors improve their sales, marketing, operations, and profitability. The Service Nation Alliance is a part of this overall organization. Matt was inducted into the Contracting Business HVAC Hall of Fame in 2015. He is now an author and rancher.