Selling a Landscape Service Business
The landscaping business is a lucrative one, and with the increase in interest in green spaces and natural landscaped that is good for the environment even in urban areas, the outlook for the industry overall is good.
This means it could be a great time to sell your landscape service business. To get things in order, you may need the help of a business broker who can also help you find the right buyer for your business at the right time.
Even before you contact a business broker and offer your business for sale though, there are some things you should do to get your business ready to sell. If you are better prepared, you will get more offers, a higher asking price, and come out ahead on the sale of your business.
Demand For Landscape Services
There are two things that drive the demand for landscape services. The first is new construction spending and the second is the overall health of the economy. When consumers have disposable income, they are more likely to pay for landscaping services rather than going the DIY route.
Be able to demonstrate to your potential buyers that there is reasonable demand in your area for your services, and what the future of the market looks like.
Landscape Service Equipment
There are essentially two backbones to the landscape industry. One is labor (more on that in a moment) and the other is equipment. While trucks, mowers, trimmers, and blowers tend to last a long time, you need to be able to demonstrate that your tools are in good shape and well-maintained. This means gathering maintenance records and making sure they are organized.
Have any warranty information handy, and if you do not do repairs and maintenance yourself, be sure to have a recommendation and introductions ready as well. Your buyer needs to understand your equipment status and plans for keeping it running and up to date.
Labor for Landscape Services
One of the other primary concerns with the landscape industry is labor. What are your costs, and what is your revenue per employee annually? This is not always a statistic you would think of gathering, but landscaping is a labor-intensive business, and those costs are important for a buyer to consider.
Another factor is the employee market in your area. How easy is it to find new employees in your area, especially if your company primarily works seasonally? What do employees do in the offseason, and do you have some other work for them like snow removal or Christmas decoration projects?
In addition, if you have local regulations and laws regarding the use of pesticides and herbicides, how do they affect your personnel? Who has to be licensed and what does that cost?
While these are not obstacles to buying a landscape business, the better informed your buyer is, the better the decision they will make, and the more likely it is your sale will go through.
Landscape Service Competition
Who is your competition in your area and how do you set yourself apart from them? The new owner will run the business their way, but the better idea they have of how you do things, the more likely they will be to succeed.
Make this a part of the information you provide your business broker to help them better present your business to a buyer.
Financial Position
Most small business owners structure their income to give them the best tax advantage, but this is not always good when you go to sell your business. You want to show the true income you make, how it varies by season, and how you deal with those cash flow fluctuations.
This means you may need help from your accountants or business brokers to recast your cash flow statements and your profit and loss statements to showcase the profitability of what you do. You want your true financial position to shine through.
Getting your business ready to sell is important. While a business broker can help you find the right buyer at the right time, the more prepared you are the better. Good businesses priced right that are well-prepared sell faster and for better prices. Make sure your landscaping service business is among them.
Have questions or are you ready to sell? Contact us at Rogerson Business Services for more information today.
