1.5 year pest control company update. I've been approached about being aquired

[moshia]

Hey all.

I almost to the 1.5 year mark for my small pest control company. I'm at 125Ish accounts and 50k in yearly recurring revenue.

I'm way behind on my goals. At this point I wanted to be at at least 90k. I was able to quit my full time job in October and focus on the biz more but got a part time job to help pay the bills. Im now working on the business full time and I planned to grow this summer. The problem is I'm lost on what to do.

My wife is a stay at home mom so I'm the only one bringing home money and right now there isn't much of that coming in. And it's weighing on me. I want to grow but I don't know the best way forward to add more customers. I have been given advice by several people but much of it isn't working. I don't have a budget for marketing and I can't take on debt right now. And I don't want to.

I was recently approached by a larger pest control company that wants to expand to my area. They want to buy me out and make me manager of my area. Then pour resources in to help grow my location. I'm torn.

Part of me is relieved that I'll be able to get a steady paycheck and only have to focus on certain parts of the business (the parts I enjoy like training and operating) instead of every single part. Part of me is disappointed that I haven't been able to grow more and enjoy the entrepreneurial journey. Because it was way tougher than I thought it would be.

I haven't made a decision yet. We've already met but we're meeting again in a couple weeks.

Advice and comments are welcome.

Thank you.

 

[sadmemories20]

@moshia What was the deal? Just a Manager role? How much they will pay to acquire. How long would it take you to reach that amount? As they are big they would spend the same in advertising if you turn down will that affect your current growth? I would consider these things.

 

[omssandy]

@sadmemories20 All of this, and my concern... would be that this larger company is already planning to enter your territory... could you really compete against them?

Its tough... but i personally feel like (depending on the details) it would be best to sell... take the money and take the job... if anything, try to learn how they do things for that side of the business... maybe you’ll start back up some day...

I wouldnt look at this as a failure... sure you may not have been able to hit all your goals. But you did something to the point in which you got on this companies radar.... you may not have hit the high earner status yet, but you were paying the bills...

you accomplished a lot.

 

[moshia]

@omssandy That's one of the pros of this opportunity. There are a couple guys there who I have a tremendous amount of respect for and I could learn things I just don't at this point.

 

[saltlee]

@omssandy This!
You know more today and have been more successful than most.
Keep learning and growing.
Good luck!

 

[moshia]

@sadmemories20 Yes a manager road. They would market and do advertising for me. In pest control they usually pay 1-1.5 your yearly revenue for businesses under 1M

 

[budi]

@moshia If you can get that, would that be enough to pay off any debts? I think it could be a great time to start reducing your personal “overhead” now and aggressively saving while taking manager pay and learning so you can act on what you learn with the money you saved. Heck if you can, pay off your mortgage and everything. I’m sure there will be a non-compete clause in the acquisition so just set your goals accordingly. You may even shift to start a complementary business and keep relations tight with the new owners. There are a lot of options here but make the most of the opportunity.

Like everyone else says, don’t feel bad. You’ve done more than most ever hope to. And this isn’t the end. It’s a strategic step forward. Keep integrity and work ethic along the way, provide value and build relationships. Market yourself. Stay relevant in the community personally.

Strike at your next step when the iron gets hot. You got this!

 

[moshia]

@budi Yes it would pay off all debt except my home.