One of the most stable sectors in business is the service industry. Vancouver Islands economy has historically been relatively stable because of its demographic and limited dependency on a resource-based economy like other provinces.
This service-based business has been established for over 25 years and has had stable growth historically, other than one short period during the 2010 global crisis. It did very well during covid and has remained strong and growing.
After 25+ years in the industry, the owner has decided it is time to semi-retire and enjoy their retirement while they are young enough. For the past 3 years the business has been managed by an employee for the most part so has demonstrated that the company needs limited ownership involvement with a qualified manager in place. The owner has learned the key factors to retain qualified employees and engage new ones when needed.
This business has some seasonality. It has 8 full-time year-round employees but does have up to 15 in the busy season. The owner does some of the recruiting but relies on the team to choose and work together as they support each other who have the same mindset, dedication, performance and quality of workmanship.
The owner has engaged a third party to create software that tracks every job. Each job has a breakdown of all costs. The owner knows what the profit is per job, not just a blanket profit of the company as a whole. This is very important to provide accurate quoting and track employee performance. This software allows a new owner to step into control very quickly as the learning curve to quote accurately has detailed history to rely on. The buyer does not need a strong knowledge of the industry. Specific knowledge of this companies operations and management style can be learned quickly. The owner is willing to stay on for up to 6 months until the buyer is confident in their role.
The growth opportunity comes with new ‘blood’ in leadership. The current owner found their comfort zone and made enough income to be content. If a new owner wishes to grow the business. There is lots of work and capacity to do so as the software allows such.
The company also owns proprietary software that can be acquired that could leverage a new arm of revenue or to further expand this business directly. This proprietary software can be licensed out to other businesses in the industry that are outside of the trading area and expanded throughout North America to create a complete separate complementary business.
