Pest Management Professional, September 2017

Merger Guide Sell when the time is right Knowing when its time to sell your company depends on many factors heres why one PMP struck a deal By Diane Sofranec Managing Editor T hirty two years after starting his pest management company Gary Maschmidt knew it was time to sell Garys Quality Pest Control I had a friend who three days prior to his departure to come visit me found out he had Stage IV cancer he says So looking at things in a broader picture gave me a different perspective on how I would prefer to live the final chapter of my life Maschmidt reached out to a broker who guided him through the sales process of his company which serviced residential and commercial customers in the Cape Coral Fla area He and 14 employees also offered subterranean termite control construction pretreats and termite inspections as well as lawn and ornamental care My broker put a package together and I signed off on it he says Prior to that I prepared a lot of paperwork for him not as much as I was going to once I got into the LOI letter of intent The deal progressed quickly within 12 hours Maschmidt agreed to sell his business to Arrow Exterminators which was eager to break into the Fort Meyers area Plus the company was family owned and had the same values he says Maschmidts business and personal finances were in a good spot which helped the sale progress smoothly I am by no means exorbitantly wealthy but I saved a lot of money in business and made some great choices he says I didnt spend money when business was booming I banked it Just because your company is making money doesnt mean you have to spend it Indeed Garys Quality Pest Control enjoyed consistent growth 8 percent to 10 percent for the past 5 years and 4 percent during the recession Maschmidt says his employees were an asset Thats really what makes your company successful he says Without them I would not be where I am today Customer retention is critical Maschmidt had customers from day one that he still serviced 32 years later I worked with three generations of families he says A lot of them have been customers for so long you know so much about them Buyers look at recurring revenue that is the customers a company is contractually obligated to service on an ongoing basis Recurring revenue plays a huge role in the valuation of a company he says For that Maschmidt can take credit He says he took care to provide what customers asked for and was very attentive to their needs When Gary MaschMidt you gave a customer your word you had to deliver on it he says I think that was part of our success He made himself personally available to his clients a move he says helped his company stand out from all the others But that meant the self described workaholic didnt take many vacations or spend enough time with family I was somewhat burned out and that probably was a fault of my own he says I was very hands on top to bottom which is good and bad Since he sold his company in May Maschmidt has had time to do the things he put off for so many years He says he plans to spend more time with his grandchildren and his 82 yearold mother who still lives in his hometown of St Louis Maschmidt relocated to Florida at age 21 with just 250 in his pocket He helped transport a boat from St Louis to Fort Myers and never left It was a great choice just an adventure he says The way things turned out it was one of the better decisions Ive made in my life Taking the advice of his brother a financial advisor turned out to be a good decision too He told Maschmidt to sell when you want to not when you have to My mom my brother and my friends situation all played a role in my decision Maschmidt says I turned 60 years old last December and I felt it was time for me PMP You can reach Sofranec at dsofranec@ northcoastmedia net or 216 706 3793 MG6 September 2017 Pest Management Professional mypmp net