Pest Management Professional, December 2013

TIME TO SELL 7 questions to ask yourself EXIT STRATEGIES Every pest management company owner should answer these questions to determine whether its time to sell their business Norm Cooper Daniel S Gordon CPA and John P Corrigan JD MBA CPA W hen trying to decide if its time to sell your pest management business soul searching blended with logic and awareness of financial aspects will help you assess your situation and make things clearer Lets use the example of a pest management business S Corp for tax purposes generating 15 million in annual revenues with about 10 percent of such amount 150000 allocated to the business owner in salary and perks each year A one time annual revenue rule of thumb values the company at about 15 million Also assume there are 100000 in liabilities outstanding at the time of sale This would leave the owner with about 14 million before taxes and 950000 after tax assuming a blended federal and state rate of 30 percent using federal LTCG rate of 239 percent and a state tax rate of 6 percent The following questions might help you decide what to do 1 How old are you and given your health how many more years do you want or need to work in the business given responsibilities to yourself and your family 2 Is your business still in an expansion mode or is it a mature and declining business because of increased competition loss of key employees or local economic problems 3 If you sold the business would the after tax sale proceeds provide you sufficient income replacement for the years you expect to live or will you have to seek a new career to sustain your lifestyle 4 Does your business have employees or family members to fill your role if you were unable to work because of a disability or you needed to work part time drawing a salary or potentially retire and draw a pension 5 How important are you personally to the business in terms of maintaining client relationships vs internal administrative systems that work efficiently whether you were there daily retired or a part time employee 6 Do you have financial resources available outside of what the business provides you to maintain your lifestyle and financial obligations e g large inheritance from parents grandparent or a pension or equity vested from an earlier career before becoming a PCO operator 7 Are you tired of the business and have ambitions or opportunities to start a new business or hobby after the sale of the business disregarding the maximized sales price Honest answers to these questions will help you determine whether to stay the course and sell later when business is more valuable find a younger employee to mentor during the next 5 to 10 years merge with a regional pest management company to continue working with greater resources and a support team or cash out to a larger company and retire to pursue your hobbies Norm Cooper is a renowned PCO Merger and Acquisition specialist John P Corrigan is an Attorney MBA and CPA and Daniel S Gordon is a CPA working together as the M A team of PCO Bookkeepers Visit http www pcobookkeepers com selling html or send an email to info@ pcobookkeepers com 26 December 2013 Pest Management Professional www mypmp net